Irish Rose
by Vixen With A Vendetta
Summary: TVD/TWD Crossover. With the dead walking and trying to keep Mystic Falls safe, the last thing Damon expected to find in Georgia was Rose's doppelganger, Maggie, and bringing with her centuries of secrets and curses relating back to the Original brothers. Maggie and other The Walking Dead characters, mostly TVD. Kol/Maggie/Damon. [Don't have to watch TWD to read] COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter One_

It had been a long time since heat exhaustion was something to be seriously worried about for him, but even this oppressive Georgia heat was starting to make his nerves short. _That, or the lack of proper diet, so to speak._ At this point, even the sight of the almost untouched strip with the small grocery store was a relief to be out of the sun with a real purpose. Trash littered the parking lot and the air was silent, except with a few birds chirping from the woods surrounding the road and parking lot. An abandoned minivan and pickup truck sat in the parking lot with a faded blue Camaro between them.

Inside the store, a thick layer of dust added to the musty feeling which felt like sandpaper with each breath he inhaled. The power grid had failed this part of the state a long time ago, leaving the store cloaked in darkness. However, the man in the black leather jacket didn't seem hindered by it as he strolled through the isles with a red plastic basket. His eyes scanned the shelves, some of the stock missing, but a good number of it still there, as if it had been a typical Saturday morning at the liquor store.

The basket was already pretty full with a bunch of canned goods. A year ago, if someone had told him that he would be scouting up and down the East Coast, picking up human food and _not_ snacking on lonesome travelers, he wouldn't believe it even under Original compulsion. It's amazing how the dead rising could derail the plans of even the supernatural.

His musings were interrupted as his eyes spotted a couple glass handles of an amber liquid that caused his eyes to light up like a child on Christmas. "Oh, there is a Lord! And his name is Daniels," He grinned to himself as he plucked the bottles of Jack off the shelves. It wasn't the high quality stuff he used to drink, but beggars couldn't be choosers these days.

The moment of victory was short lived as his ears picked up a noise in the distance. His head turned in the direction of the front door as he froze in his steps. The sound was unmistakable and as far as he knew, walkers hadn't learned out to drive yet. He could hear the rolling of the tires on the pavement and the rumblings of an old engine in desperate need of a maintenance check coming closer to the store strip.

It had been a while since he came across anyone that was alive, but the times that he had, he found all sorts of different types of people in this new world. He remained in the shadows as the red and white Suburban pulled up directly in the front of the store. While he couldn't clearly see them, he heard two people climbing out of the vehicle with hushed voices and keeping an eye out for walkers. What they didn't know is that they wouldn't find any inside, since he already had taken care of a fly infested store clerk that paid him about as much attention as he would have on a normal night.

A young Asian man stepped into the store with a loaded pistol pointing out his line of vision. Immediately, Damon kept a watchful eye on him as the boy squinted in the darkness and the room was silent except for the sound of his nervous breath. Using the darkness to his advantage, Damon stalked him silently and circled slowly towards the door. If this had been different times, he would've drained him faster than you could say chicken dinner.

However, plans changed and now he wanted to see what the other person outside was like and possibly if there were more of them.

Because of that reason, that's why Glenn was able to walk down the aisle untouched and spotted the baby powders and formulas, completely unaware of the man with raven hair and piercing blue eyes standing near the front entryway. Glenn left the door ajar on his way in, which left Damon able to slip through it without the hinges creaking again.

Just as he stepped outside, he spotted the other person standing by the Suburban with her back to him, watching the road and oblivious to the silent predator. He faltered in his steps as his eyes swept up and down the young woman, her figure so distinctly familiar to him he sucked in a sharp breath. He couldn't see her face, but the curves of her body and short chocolate brown hair stirred up memories. Damon barely even noticed he took a few steps away from the door and closer to her as she began to turn around.

"_Rose_?" He was barely aware of the name passing his lips.

Maggie jumped at the voice behind her, turning to face the man and freezing her step. Where had he come from? She didn't even hear a footstep and suddenly there he was, dressed in a black leather jacket, white shirt underneath and an equally dark wash pair of jeans. His looks threw her off just as much as sudden appearance. His pale skin contrasted the raven hair and blue eyes, more surprisingly was how clean cut he was. It didn't seem like he belonged apart of this world at all. The only thing he had in his hands was a red plastic basket full of cans and booze, like if he was just making a liquor run instead of trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.

If it was possible for his blood to run cold, that's what Damon felt in this moment. There was no compulsion or poison creating a hallucination this time, sure enough he had Rose standing just a few yards away from him. She was looking at him with those green eyes, wide and frantic with her body tensed in an almost animalistic way that reminded him too much of that last night. The basket slipped from his fingers and fell to the pavement with a combination of a thud and clinking of the Jack bottles.

"How – I staked you!" Damon voiced, starting as a confused question and ending in a statement of disbelief.

Maggie snapped out of her stunned daze at his voice, feeling goose bumps on her arms at the sense of danger. Quickly, she pulled her pistol out from her belt and pointing it at Damon's head. To him, her movements were predictable, but they didn't make any sense, which was why he didn't bother moving at all. This was Rose, who normally ran when the odds weren't in her favor. She always chose flight, not fight. So why was she standing here dressed in black, looking at him with fiercely cold eyes and a gun pointed at his head.

"Rose," He repeated her name as his voice lowered into a threatening growl, glaring at her just as sharply. "I'm really _not_ in the mood to find out if those are wood or not."

Maggie felt her heart pounding up into her throat. Whoever this man was clearly thought she was someone else. More importantly, where the hell was Glenn? Did something happen to him? She had to focus hard on keeping her expression under control while her mind was starting to freak. "I'm not Rose," She found her voice, harsher than she was expecting. "Who are you?"

Damon blinked in surprise at her words. For someone who wasn't Rose, her voice sounded almost exactly like hers… but this one was tougher in a way. Gears started to turn in his head as he considered his options in a long silence between them. "Damon," He said simply at first, watching her closely.

Nothing, not a blink, not a change in her heart rate… which was still beating at a ridiculous rate. The pistol remained pointed at his head, her hands noticeably shaking.

"Damon Salvatore," He clarified in a gentler tone.

The woman said nothing and there wasn't an ounce of recognition, surprise, or understanding across her features. Damon started to get a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized this woman truly had no idea who he was. The back of his mind twisted uncomfortably at this confrontation, which was starting to seem eerily similar to a different girl he had met before.

"What's your name?" He asked quietly, losing any malice that had been in his voice before.

Maggie stared at him, hesitating for a long moment. Under any other circumstance, she didn't want to give away her name. However, this time, this Damon clearly thought she was someone else and the way he was looking at her, she wasn't sure if she wanted to be confused for that someone else. Against her better judgment, she answered him, "Maggie Greene."

Damon raised his eyebrows and let out a numb, "Oh."

The situation started to hit him with full force as it processed in his mind the implications of it. Somehow, saying she looked exactly like someone he knew, who would've been celebrating her 25th birthday for the 500th or something time had he not driven a stake through her chest didn't quite cover it. The more he looked at her, he started to notice the slight differences that told him this wasn't Rose. The harshness in Maggie's eyes was nothing he had seen in Rose. Her skin was kissed by the sun and not pale from spending an eternity hiding in the dark.

"Greene… I don't suppose that's an Irish family name," He smirked with a sarcastic touch.

There was only one word he could think of to explain this. _Doppelganger_. And quite frankly, he could've used at least a few decades' break after the amount of trouble the last one gave him.

* * *

_Author's Note: So this was just an idea I had floating in my head between the two shows. Honestly, I'm surprised no one has done it before. But please review and let me know what you think. Should I continue it? It's a fun idea, should I run with it?_

_If I do, I'm thinking definitely AU with events altered from TVD plot, somewhere in early third season but I could explain as I go. Anyway, review and let me know if you're interested. If no one is interested, then at least I got it out of my head. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Two_

"Greene… I don't suppose that's an Irish family name," He smirked with a sarcastic touch.

There was only one word he could think of to explain this. _Doppelganger_. And quite frankly, he could've used at least a few decades' break after the amount of trouble the last one gave him.

* * *

Maggie said nothing in response to the mysterious stranger, instead just narrowing her eyes at his sarcastic comment and fell into an awkward standstill. He didn't take a step away from her or towards her, he seemed to be rooted to the ground. His hands didn't move to his jacket for a weapon, not that there was any sign of one. At the same time, he didn't seem to raise his hands in surrender while he stared down the barrel of her gun and directly into his eyes. She was unaware of the frantic mental struggle he was going through that was much deeper than the threat to her survival and safety.

"_What now?"_ was the question screaming through Damon's mind at that moment. He could just let her go on her way, wherever that was in this god forsaken abandoned state, back to whatever scraps of humanity she was probably clutching to. However, every part of his body was yelling at him to not just let her go, just like he had Rose go. He knew this wasn't Rose in front of him, but she had to be her doppelganger and that meant some part of her was Rose.

A chilling thought entered his mind. _I failed Rose, but I owe it to her to protect her descendant. _

Before he could act on that condemning thought, he heard a voice calling out to Maggie from within the store. Then the next series of actions seemed to happen in a blink of an eye and he swore at himself mentally for getting so caught up and ignoring his surroundings around him.

Glenn emerged from the store with a red basket in his hand, full of baby formula and a few other canned goods. "Maggie?" He said and then tensed at the scene before him, his girlfriend pointing a gun at a new stranger, who didn't budge an inch. Seeing the tense uncertainty in Maggie's eyes, Glenn started to reach for the gun at his belt.

"Hooohhh! Hold it right there," A scruffy voice chimed, emerging from behind the tailgate of the abandoned pickup truck. A third gun came into play, this one pointed at Glenn's head, causing him to freeze his hand hovering over the holster. Maggie jumped in startled surprise at the voice and ratty appearance of Merle. She visibly hesitated from her gun trained on Damon and pointing it at Merle, not sure who was the larger threat at this point.

"Hands up," Merle grinned, his face full of scruff and not seeming to recognize Glenn just yet. "and don't you move either, darlin'" He added directly to Maggie. He took one more step forward and completed the standoff square that they had formed with Maggie and Glenn being the two corners closest to the back of the Suburban. Damon stood closest to the cab of the pickup and Merle at the bed. On the other side of the Suburban, the blue Chevy was parked and ignored, along with a deep purple minivan on the other side of the Camaro.

"Look what we have here!" Merle barked in exclamation when Glenn turned his head to look at him. "How about a hug for your ol' pal, Merle?"

Merle was the only one that laughed and opened up his shoulders, as if daring anyone to touch him. Damon watched the interaction closely, noting how the gun was still pointed at the Asian man and the… stub with the knife was pointed in Damon's direction. He wasn't fooled into thinking that was coincidence.

"We don't want any trouble," Glenn said nervously in a quiet voice. Damon tilted his head to the side and his eyes darkened while watching the three with a predatory look. None of them were looking in his direction to notice or even faintly aware of Merle was a declawed kitten compared to him. On any normal day, he could've stripped the one handed man in a moment and snapped the necks of the others before they even knew it… or just compel them they hadn't seen anything.

"Funny, that pig said sumthin' like that on the rooftop too," Merle snarled in response to Glenn.

"And then, left me to cut my own hand off, like a fuckin' animal," He continued on, gesturing with the knife.

Damon raised an eyebrow, not knowing the background on this group, but it definitely sounded like one hell of a drinking story. While he contemplated the snatch, kill, and compel move, his eyes flickered to Maggie and that plan was snuffed with a sick twisted remainder in the back of his head. There was another doppelganger he had compelled when he first met her and again later when it mattered to him most. He knew now that it wouldn't have mattered to her if she did remember those times, but there was always that voice in the back of his head wondering how different things may have turned out…

The conversation carried on while Damon was caught up in a different past.

"We went back for you, man," Glenn tried to plead with the irrational madman. "All of us… Rick, T-Dog, Daryl." His voice choked with nerves.

"Sure you did," Merle clearly didn't believe him. "And how is my baby bro?" His feral expression shifted then, there was a hint of vulnerability in his eyes. "Is he…?"

Damon made up his mind by then. He wasn't going to compel Maggie, which meant he would have to take care of this the old fashioned way.

"He's alive," Glenn answered unsteadily.

Merle lit up with a sinister smile. "Well, what are we waitin' for? Let's go then…"

The alarm flashed across Maggie's expression and seemed to be equally shared with Glenn. "No, we can't… Glenn," She pleaded, looking between Glenn and Merle.

"That wasn't a question, sweet cheeks," Merle narrowed his eyes for the first time on Maggie. Damon didn't like the filthy way he looked at her and took it was his cue.

Damon lunged forward in a swift motion, slamming into Merle. A gunshot rang through the air, followed by a piercing scream.

Damon winced as a knife plunged deep into his abdomen while Merle's back smashed against the wall of the store. Not wasting a moment, Damon reached up with his hands, placing one over Merle's mouth and the other at the back of his head. He gave a twist and a sickening crunch answered him before feeling the man's body slump.

That was the end of Merle Dixon. Heat exhaustion, starvation, amputation, and walkers couldn't end him, but even Merle was only human and didn't stand a chance against the supernatural.

Damon let out a ragged breath, feeling the blade of the knife scrap against his stomach before slowly backing away. He hissed sharply between his teeth as he pulled the knife out, letting the body drop completely to the ground with an anticlimactic thud. It was just a knife, but it hurt more than usual since it had been a while since his last proper drink.

He didn't pay much attention to the young couple off his right shoulder. Merle had pulled the gun towards Damon when he saw him lung, so the bullet shot off somewhere into the distance. Regardless of that, Maggie lowered her gun and was by Glenn's side in an instance to see if he was okay. He placed a rattled hand on her forearm to let her know he was okay, just deeply shaken. Their eyes shifted to their reckless savior, who had a hand placed over his stomach, trying to hide the knife wound.

"Hey, are you okay?" Glenn asked Damon, who pulled his hand back a bit and frowned at the sight of blood on his hand and feeling this wound was going to take longer to heal because of his particular dehydration. "Oh shit," Glenn vocalized Damon's same thought when he spotted the blood.

Damon let out a groan, which easily could've passed for a sign of pain. He was really swearing at himself mentally because now he would have to pretend to be injured. Compulsion would be so much easier. Right is not always easy, he had to remind himself.

"He needs to see Hershel," Glenn said looking back at Maggie instead. Her eyes widened with uncertainty and she began shaking her head, immediately thinking of the safety of the group and knowing Glenn was more compassionate than Rick or Daryl. "No, the group…" She said in a hushed voice, not knowing Damon could hear them with no problem.

Damon didn't pretend to have a clue who all these people they've mentioned are, but it was safe to guess this Hershel guy would be able to "help" him. The rejection upon Maggie's face made his jaw clench and his eyes flickered back and forth between the two, trying to figure out how he would play this situation to his advantage without his manipulation.

"Maggie, he just took down_ Merle_ for us," Glenn said more firmly, seeming to find his spine again without a gun pointed at him. He gave her a pointed look that communicated more than just those words. "It's the least we can do," He added and he could see her resolve shaken.

She frowned and continued to shake her head a little, "I don't like this, Glenn…" She looked at Damon, whose shoulders were hunched a bit as he clutched his stomach with one hand. Her gut twisted and knotted while her skin crawled with the distinct of danger. She didn't know what to make of this Damon and how he just took a knife for two strangers on an abandoned road… And at the same time, she didn't miss just how easily this man had snapped the neck of a nightmare she had several stories about.

Damon took the opportunity to chime with a faux pained expression. "If I can get patched up, I'll be on my way… I was heading to Florida, I'm not looking to stay," He lied seamlessly with his free hand in the air as a sign of surrender.

Maggie and Glenn gave him a long look over and Damon held his breath while he gauged their reactions. He could almost see Glenn coming around before him, more convinced by the moment. Maggie was a different story though. While her gun hung by her side, he noticed the white knuckles of clutching it tightly and the obvious expression that held a combination of shock, distrust, and a hint of fear. If it wasn't seriously hindering him at the moment, he would almost praise her natural danger instinct.

She still wasn't completely convinced, but at the same time couldn't deny Damon would need medical help and soon. "Glenn…" She drew his attention and tried to vocalize her concern, her eyes looking pointedly at the Suburban. He gave her a perplexed look, a little slow on the uptake.

Damon picked up on her worry immediately. "I drove here," He supplied and suggested at the same time. That seemed to clue Glenn in and made him realize after what they had just witnessed, Maggie wasn't comfortable with riding in the small confined space with the man and neither was Glenn truthfully. With a deep exhale, Glenn gave Damon a nod, and then Maggie a look at said his decision was final.

"Okay," Glenn said to no one in particular. Maggie clenched her jaw and glared at Glenn with a look that screamed 'We're going to regret this!' Saying nothing, she moved to the passenger side of the Suburban, yanking the door open roughly and slammed it shut.

Glenn sighed and then looked at Damon, unknowingly uttering the two most condemning words for Atlanta group.

"Follow us."

* * *

_Author's Note: So what do you think? I doubt many people are sad to see Merle go. I'm thinking Mystic Falls will make an appearance in chapter four or five, so bear with Georgia a little longer._

_Originally I was only going to continue this if there was interest, but I slept on it and ideas kept popping into my head so I'll continue this anyway. PLEASE REVIEW!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Three_

Glenn sighed and then looked at Damon, unknowingly uttering the two most condemning words for Atlanta group.

"Follow us."

* * *

Damon had to suppress a devious smirk at those two words. A glint of satisfaction entered his eyes. It was almost as satisfying as being invited into someone's home. No matter how many times it happened and how long he's been alive, the vampiric predator always reveled in invading the most private of space of their prey.

The moment was short lived as Glenn's expression took an unexpected turn. His face hardened and his right hand suddenly shot to the gun at his belt. Damon furrowed his brows and froze, wondering what he had done that set him off. Glenn movements were mechanical and automatic from months of practice. He pulled the gun out and seemed to aim it directly at Damon.

"Easy with that," Damon growled, starting to lose his patience with the distrustful humans.

Glenn pulled the trigger and the shot rang out with a bang, echoing off the buildings and carrying across the parking lot.

The bullet pierced straight between the eyes with splatter effect out the back of the head. A body slumped and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

It was then Damon looked behind him and realized that for the second time Merle was put down. This time he was dead completely. Damon cursed himself for getting about that annoying tendency. He curled a lip up in disgust as he stared down at the grotesque corpse, distorted by the broken neck and the brains now decorating the pavement.

"That one spoiled quickly," Damon commented lightly before turning from the body and looking at Glenn, knowing he would think that Damon was referring to him turning. Truth was, he didn't particularly care for the blood once they turned, no matter how soon. Something about that blood was positively revolting, not even comparable to Stefan's bunnies.

"He was rotten to start with," Glenn said bitterly, putting the gun back into his belt and jerking his head in the direction of the vehicles. "Come on, we're losing daylight."

Damon nodded, having enough excitement at the corner store for one day. He took a few steps forward, pausing to grab his shopping basket while Glenn moved around to the driver's side of the Suburban. No point in letting some good Jack go to waste. Moving to his Camaro, he put the basket in the trunk along with several boxes of other supplies and heard the engine of the Glenn and Maggie's ride roar to life.

Damon hesitated before climbing into his car. His eyes narrowed at the minivan that was parked on the other side of the Camaro. His senses were setting him on edge and he would almost bet there was someone there. However, the movement of the Suburban's tires told him it was time to go. He shrugged it off and quickly followed their lead.

Once on the road, he saw that their windows were rolled down so Damon made a point of not blasting any music from his CDs and dangling one arm loosely out his window. He focused intently on the young couple, staring at them through their back windshield and paying half a mind to where they were going.

"I really don't like this, Glenn," Maggie finally voiced breaking the long awkward silence since they left the store. Her hands rubbed against the top of her thighs anxiously in the passenger seat while she tried to calm herself down from the whole exchange.

"I know, but we couldn't… we had to do something," Glenn tried to justify his actions. Part of his gut was in agreement with Maggie, but his mind was so relieved to see Merle dead. She didn't know that reoccurring nightmare that had been for the group, not knowing where he might show up and what sort of revenge he wanted to exact for what happened in Atlanta.

"If Merle had his way, we wouldn't have gotten out of there alive," Glenn continued on coldly.

Maggie nodded her head, "I know." She had the stories about the other Dixon brother, but hadn't lived the experience that was clearly replaying in Glenn's eyes as he stared at the road. "I'm grateful he got rid of Merle… but did you see the _way _he did it?"

Glenn swallowed heavily, words failing to describe what she thinking.

"His _bare hands_, Glenn! Not a gun. Not an arrow. Not a knife… He just snapped his neck like a butcher animal," Maggie shook, clearly not going to be able to calm down for a while.

"I saw," Glenn admitted quietly. "And that's part of the reason why I want to get back to the group… and not be out alone with this guy." They exchanged a look that said they both believed in the same thing. _Safety in numbers._

Not too far behind them, Damon Salvatore had a smug smirk.

The couple fell into a long heavy silence, contemplating the latest predicament they were in.

"I think we should wait before tell Daryl about Merle," Glenn suggested, earning a quick nod from Maggie in agreement. Neither of them particularly wanted to be the bearer of that news. Fifteen minutes of silence passed between them.

"What did that guy-"

"Damon," Maggie supplied his name.

"Right. What did he say to you before I came out of the store?"

Maggie shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head and thinking back to the conversation. "A bunch of nonsense… He thought I was someone else."

* * *

Only an hour of daylight was left by the time the familiar fencing of the prison came into view. For a while, Damon thought they were leading him astray and it surprised him just how far they had traveled for the baby formula. He had consulted his map along the way and frowned at the route they took. It wasn't direct, but at least he still knew his way back. It was just another annoyance to add to the ever growing list of the day. The Camaro followed closely behind the red Suburban as Glenn laid on the horn to get the attention of everyone outside.

It seemed like the whole group, except for Hershel, Beth, and the baby came running towards the gate. Rick and Carl provided cover as they picked off a few walkers at the gate while the two vehicles passed by them and pulled into the exercise field. Maggie and Glenn quickly shot out of their vehicle and were greeted by relieved hugs and the red basket disappeared quickly as Carl took it back to the cell block.

For Damon, it was anything but a warm welcome. He noticed right away that everyone seemed to be carrying a weapon of some sort. He cut the engine of his car and remained in the driver seat for a long moment, letting Maggie have a moment with her group and weighing his options. It wasn't lost on him how they quickly formed a half circle around the blue Chevy. _These people are more paranoid than the Council_, he sighed heavily.

He could hear Glenn explaining to a brown-haired man with dirty white shirt, jeans, and a desperate need of a shave the short version of what happened at the store. Merle's name wasn't even mentioned, claiming that Damon had gotten hurt while taking a bandit down for them. They started to argue what to do with him in hushed tones. Looking down at his stomach, the wound was completely healed, but still had dried blood on it and his shirt was stained. Hopefully it would look fresh enough from a distance, he thought to himself, and hopefully none of them are a doctor that would know there should be more blood.

Placing a hand against his stomach to keep up the injured façade, Damon slowly climbed out the car with the other hand raised in surrender. His eyes fell upon Rick, but also saw the raised crossbow from Daryl and a machete in another dark skinned man's hand. He swallowed thickly, fighting several emotions at once. Part of him wanted to laugh in their faces and taunt just how easy it would be for him to kill them all. But he also knew that was the bloodlust that was speaking and being around this many humans wasn't helping that. However, he had to keep it together and appear to be a wayward traveler grateful for their hospitality.

"Look, I don't want to stay here or anything like that… I'm not looking to cause trouble," Damon finally spoke, directing his words at Rick and guessing he was the group leader.

"Good," Rick stated simply, but Damon didn't miss the threatening tone. The ex-Sheriff then launched into a series of questions and Damon had to suppress an eye roll. _Nothing like being reminded of MFPD._ The questions weren't hard for him to lie his way through. The standard, "Who are you? Where are you from? What do you want? Yada yada." Damon painted a story of a lonesome traveler having reached the end of his wits and heading to Florida in some hopeless fantasy of finding surviving family members, who's seeming lacking of the proper supplies for such a journey attested to his mental instability that would make them all the more eager to be rid of him.

Even with that bogus backstory, which they didn't seem to doubt, Damon could still see in Rick's eyes that he was seriously considering just throwing him out or killing him. Taking one step closer to look Rick directly in the eyes, Damon whispered to him and his eyes dilated, "Let me stay one night and I'll be gone."

Rick's eyes glazed over for a moment, but the rest of his expression didn't change due to his stoic nature. To everyone else, it just seemed like he was considering Damon's plea. Internally, Damon was grinning like a banshee. While he had promised to himself that he wouldn't compel Maggie, everyone else was fair game.

"Alright, _one night_. You stay in this field and you're out at sunrise," Rick ordered firmly.

Over Rick's shoulder, Damon saw Maggie turn away from the group and stomp up the gravel path towards the cell block. Her disapproval of the whole situation radiated off her shoulders and Glenn followed shortly after her, looking like a pathetic lapdog in Damon's mind. The group slowly started to disperse at the final verdict and Damon stuck by his Camaro, not particularly wanting to wander around a prison that was half infested with walkers and the other half invested with half-starved paranoid humans. Rick and Daryl seemed to hover from a distance, keeping a close eye on him the entire time. It wasn't long before Hershel came limping down the path on his crutches with a young blonde in tow and Damon let out a quiet snort. _Just when I thought Mystic Falls' paramedics were pathetic…_

Hershel came to Damon's side, telling him he was going to have a look at the knife wound. The old man used the side of the Camaro to help support himself and on a normal day Damon would've warned him to not scratch the paint. The young blonde set the supplies down within reach and quickly backed away from the two. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Maggie probably told the rest of them how dangerous he was and stay away.

With a mental shrug, it didn't matter to Damon whether or not these people liked them. He didn't have any intentions of seeing them again after tonight… Maggie was a different story and a plan had been formulating in his mind during the drive here. With Rick and Daryl putting twenty yards of distance between him and Hershel, it was easy for Damon to compel him into thinking it was a small wound that only need a few bandages and 'Damon had gotten lucky'. He also figured out this was Maggie's father and the other girl was most likely her younger sister because she turned up again to help the old man back to the prison when he was done.

After that Rick made a show of locking the gate between the exercise field and the rest of the prison. The message was loud and clear, he was cutting him off from the rest of the group and he was by no means welcomed. If that didn't get it across though, it was the words Damon heard with his vampire hearing exchanged between Rick and Daryl. "If he tries anything at all…" Rick began and Daryl finished, "Shoot him. Got it."

Damon smirked with his back to them, as if they could_ actually_ hurt him. The sun was beginning to set at this point. He reached into the trunk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Taking a deep gulp, he then made himself comfortable on the hood of the convertible with one hand tucked behind his head. It looked like he was idly staring up at the sky, but really he was passing the time and acutely aware of the prison movements, listening in carefully as the group settled in for the night.

It was several hours later when Maggie emerged from the cell block and made her way towards the guard tower. Despite the excitement and mystery of a new person, the group had listened to her testimony about not trusting the stranger. Everything about his persona screamed danger, all the way down to his devastating looks. Obviously, that particular detail she didn't voice in front of Glenn, but she knew Beth had definitely noticed the same thing.

It was dark out, but the moonlight helped guide her as she climbed the tower and peered out around her. It was against Rick's wishes to go out at night, but she just had to get away from the group and have her own thoughts for a while. Besides, she already knew that Daryl was out here somewhere. He did no better at staying cooped up in these walls as a feline in captivity. She was exhausted and felt dead on her feet from the trials of the long day, but her mind still seemed to be racing a mile a minute. Unable to let her just go to sleep.

She was barely aware she had been pacing around the circular balcony of the tower while lost in her thoughts. Time didn't matter up here. There was only the crisp air that chilled her to the bone. The silence of the forest was not too far away from them, only interrupted by the occasional rattling of the fence by restless walkers.

She let out a soft deep breath, barely seeing the trees.

A shatter exploded behind her.

Maggie jumped and turned around, stepping around to the other side of the tower towards the courtyard next to the cell block. The sound pierced through the air and was the unmistakable tone of a glass breaking. She barely had time to process this fact before she felt a gust of wind against her skin and then a blow to the back of her head. The pain erupted into her vision and she hopelessly fumbled to hold onto the railing before consciousness escaped her completely…

* * *

_Author's Note: Quick update, but I was on a roll! Brief introduction of the TWD group, but that's it… next chapter is all Damon, Maggie and Mystic Falls!_

_IrishBeauty: It's weird, but I find it highly amusing so I couldn't help myself! I'll give you a hint though, MF is not run over by walkers (as if all the vampires, witches, werewolves, and hybrids would let that happen!), but apocalypse definitely has an impact on it!_

_If you ever have questions about the story, please leave a review and I'll answer them. _


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Four_

A shatter exploded behind her.

Maggie jumped and turned around, stepping around to the other side of the tower towards the courtyard next to the cell block. The sound pierced through the air and was the unmistakable tone of a glass breaking. She barely had time to process this fact before she felt a gust of wind against her skin and then a blow to the back of her head. The pain erupted into her vision and she hopelessly fumbled to hold onto the railing before consciousness escaped her completely…

* * *

The throbbing pounded through her head, pulsating and never ending. For a long time, her unconscious mind thought it would never end. It slammed against her and lingered a few moments before slamming her again, like a receding wave followed by another. With each wave, a little bit of awareness started to creep into her mind, as if washing away the shells of uncertainty away from the beach.

It felt like she was in constant motion, but at the same time she couldn't will herself to move at all. Her eyes fluttered under her heavy eye lids. Her head lolled to one side before she started to come around. Her body felt trapped, she knew she was moving, but couldn't actually move around.

Maggie opened her eyes, her head hanging and thus staring down into her own lap. It took a couple of blinks for her vision to blink while her brain took longer to form any coherent thoughts. It was then she realized why she wasn't able to move. A pair of handcuffs was clamped tightly around her wrists, the cool metal digging in uncomfortably. More alarmingly, it seemed half of her body was covered in duct tape. Her legs were pinned together by tape wrapped around her ankles and again at her knees. More tape was wrapped around her midsection, almost in a solid band as if a bunch of children had gotten carried away in a fit of glee.

But there was nothing to laugh about in this situation as it dawned on her that she was strapped into the passenger seat of a car.

The driver on her left had known the moment she woke, but didn't draw attention to himself and let her put the pieces of the puzzle together herself.

Maggie swallowed deeply and looked around her, the frantic glint in her eyes. She soon figured out she was sitting that blue Camaro that Damon had been driving earlier. The sensation of moving then made sense as she saw the trees passing by them quickly while the engine hummed down a desolate highway. Nothing looked familiar to her, it sounded crazy, but there was something about the Georgia forests they had spent months trudging around in that she would recognize anywhere.

_I'm being kidnapped,_ the horror passed through her mind along with the million implications and things that could happen because of it. There are so many reasons for a young beautiful woman to be kidnap and she was no fool to think any of them were good.

Feeling the panic setting a fire to her, she started to jerk against the restraint on her body.

"Finally, you're awake!" Damon gasped followed by a smirk.

Maggie's head jerked in his direction, but her jaw kept clenched shut from anything, simply staring at him with wide green eyes.

Damon prepared himself for the typical hostage reaction. The freaking out, begging, pleading, and endless of questions. "Who are you? What do you want?" and his particular favorite, "Why me?" When none of that came though, he raised an eyebrow for a fleeting moment and carried on as if nothing happened.

"I ran out of music crossing the Tennessee border," Damon casually, his eyes flicking back towards the road.

Maggie froze in her seat, trying to will herself to unhear the words he just said. "We're in Tennessee?" She asked in a quiet, disbelieving tone.

Damon looked back at her, slightly impressed by how composed she was. Only slightly.

"Virginia, actually," He corrected quickly.

"But technically we were in North Carolina for a while too," He added, just to see her face pale a little bit more. While she wasn't the yelling and screaming type, her expression of unhindered shock was quite memorable.

Maggie sucked in a deep breath, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her and think through the situation. All the experience with the group and the particular situation with Randall definitely taught her she had to make her moves carefully.

"Where are we going?" She asked after several long minutes of silence, keeping her voice calm and less shaky.

Damon said nothing during her silence, his eyes flickering between her and the road. It intrigued him how composed she was, which he didn't doubt came from the terrors this new world had forced herself to harden against.

"Mystic Falls," He answered.

"Never heard of it," Maggie answered flatly with a frown.

Damon let out a chuckle that seemed jarring to Maggie with the tension in the small space. "You and the rest of the world… Which is probably why we were able to keep the town safe."

Maggie's eyebrows rose at the word _safe_. For so long, it seemed to be a fictional pipedream. Some idea that they had clung onto, hoping it came in the form of answer of a place they could settle down and start to build a life again. She didn't even use that word with the prison though, because no matter how hard they had tried, people were still dying and they were still sleeping with their eyes open.

Safe was just a word she couldn't trust herself to believe in any more. Her eyes narrowed at Damon, who seemed completely relaxed at the whole situation in contrast to the tension rippling through her body. At the very least, maybe she could get some information from him...

"How many people are there?" Maggie asked suspiciously.

Damon gave her an odd look. Of all the questions she had, she was asking that one? He knew from the moment he saw her that she would be different. It was almost unnerving how she wasn't reacting in any of the predictable manners he was expecting.

"I don't know, about half the town survived," He gave an annoyed shrug. "See for yourself, we're almost there."

Maggie frowned at his response. She had no idea how big this town was so it didn't really answer her question.

After a while, her worry got the best of her and she had to ask, "What did you to do my group?"

Damon let out a small sigh. Finally, a normal reaction! "Relax, they were sleeping in their cozy cells when we left," he neglected to mention the fact he had to knock out the redneck too in the process.

"And, I'm sure they put two and two together when they woke up," Damon smirked at her, also neglecting to mention the fact he had busted open the exercise field gate lock to get his car out and it was probably filled with walkers by now.

Maggie shuddered at his answer, not liking the tone of it at all and the feeling there was way more to it than that. She didn't say anything more though, part of her not wanting to push her luck with questions and the other part afraid to find out what actually happened to them.

Before he said anything further, his eyes caught something on the horizon and narrowed on it. "Damnit," He then muttered under his breath and his expression suddenly became seriously. The car slowed to a stop and Maggie looked around them in confusion. They stopped in the middle of a two land highway. There were a few abandoned cars, but otherwise there was no sign of civilization around them, forest crowded the highway with mountains in the distance. This obviously wasn't their destination.

Damon quickly rolled up the window on his side before he cut the engine and engaged the locks on the doors.

"What's going on?" Maggie asked.

"Herd heading this way," Damon nodded, anxiously rubbing a hand against his chin. "Maybe a hundred or so," He clarified.

Maggie's eyes widened and looked to the horizon. She could barely make out the shuffling mass, but there was no denying it. A large pack of walkers was heading straight in their direction and they only had a couple of minutes before it would be on top of them.

Feeling her blood run cold, she asked temporarily putting aside the hostage situation, "Shouldn't we find another way?"

Damon shook his head, "No, I don't feel like finding another route that may or may not be blocked."

Maggie gave him an 'Are you crazy?' look.

"They shouldn't be able to smell you in here," Damon explained, trying to appear more nonchalant than he actually was. "We have to stay still and quiet."

Maggie shook her head, thinking that was the worst logic she ever heard. "Smell me? What about you?" She hissed, already lowering her voice, even though there was no way the approaching herd could hear them yet.

Damon snorted, ignoring the venom in her voice, "Let's just say I'm not their type."

He didn't have the time to explain to her that not once in the past year had a walker ever tried to take a bite out of him. Not just him, but no walker ever expressed particular desire in munching on Stefan, Elena, Klaus, or even Barbie.

Maggie stared into the blue eyes of what had to be a delusional madman. This was not the type of environment to have a superiority complex and now this kidnapping nutjob was going to get her killed.

"Just stay still and quiet. We'll wait for them to pass through," Damon tried to reassure, doing letting to actually calm the brunette.

He then leaned a little closer and stared with an intensity she hadn't seen before, causing her to inhale sharply. "I promise I'll protect you," He whispered to her softly. He looked at her in such a way she wasn't sure if there was more meaning to those words. Feeling uncomfortable at the shift in tension, she tore her eyes away from and out the windshield, watching the walkers approaching less than ten yards away now.

Against her better judgment to flee from the herd, the two sat in silence as they grew closer. She tensed and waited for the snarling to beginning. The herd seemed agitated and moving with a determined pace, probably having heard the sound of the car before. She visibly jumped as the first few bumped against the front bumper.

She jumped a second time when she felt a hand on her forearm and seeing Damon giving her a warning look out of the corner of her eye. Letting out a very shaky breath, she gave the faintest nod and tried to focus on remaining still. Nervously, she watched the first couple of walkers start to shuffle by her side of the car. A decayed African American businessman stopped in his steps and seemed to sniff at air even though the cartilage of his nose was completely gone. Maggie clenched her fists to keep herself from shaking more than she already was.

The walker jerked his head back as if he caught a whip of something foul… fouler than a herd of walkers. Then the creature turned his head back and continued scuffling on.

The bumps against the car started to increase as more walkers came into contact with the blue car. The noises of grunts and moans penetrated through the windows and the sound of clothing or body parts rubbing against the frame of the car as they stumbled by.

Maggie continued to twitch and jerk, despite the hand that remained on her forearm. Her mind couldn't fully process how they were still alive. They should've been ripped apart by now and the car crushed.

"Close your eyes," Damon hissed so softly Maggie barely caught it.

She slammed her eyes shut and tried to push the image of walkers completely consuming the field of vision around the car out of her mind. It was then she became more aware of the hand on her forearm. She had to remind herself that the walkers couldn't touch her right now, trying to build up a sense of security within the car, even though she knew it was false.

Instead, she tried to focus on the one hand that was touching her. It remained exactly where he had first placed it, but now his thumb was rubbing back and forth in the universal gesture of reassurance. Nothing could reassure her that she would survive this right now, but it did give her something to distract her from the walking dead around them.

They remained in that silence for the better part of an hour before the last stragglers of the herd started to shuffle past their doors.

Damon let out a deep sigh, anxious the storm had passed them and itching to get out of there. He took his hand on Maggie's arm away to start up the engine. "It's okay now," He announced to her and slammed on the gas. Maggie's eyes shot open and she looked in the side mirror as the last of the walkers turned back around and hopeless tried following after the Camaro. The burning smell of rubber was the closest they would get as the car took off down the highway again.

They were silent for the rest of the trip was fine by Maggie. She needed the time to process what had just happened and how it was possible they just drove away as if they were simply stuck in holiday traffic. Oh, and there was also the fact this was probably the oddest kidnapping she had ever heard of.

Slowly the terrain changed as it was clear they were climbing into the mountains. A few hours had passed and she figured it was somewhere in the late afternoon by now, not quite sure if the clock on the dashboard was accurate or not. They had driven by several exits and changed highways a few times, but Damon never showed any signs of stopping.

At least not until they reached a particular stretch of the road that was straight for the most part before bending off into the woods again after a mile. Suddenly Damon brought the car to a stop, but left the engine running and not even putting it in park.

"Okay, now I need your help," Damon looked at Maggie.

"Excuse me?" She scrunched her brows in confusion.

Damon shifted uncomfortably, not particularly enjoying asking for help, but there was no way around it. He pointed out to the sides of the road where there were pegs in the ground with yellow cloth dangling from them. "You see those? That's the county line for Mystic Falls," He explained. Sure enough, Maggie spotted them as well as several more yellowing markings the tree trunks going into the forest on either side in a line. "There's a second line behind it," He added. About a hundred yards past the first boundary line was a second identical one.

Maggie nodded.

"Good, when we cross that first line, I'm going to need you to take the wheel until we cross the second one," Damon stated seriously.

Maggie choked out, "What? Why?" in surprise.

Damon ran a frustrated hand through his hair, trying to figure out how to explain this in a way she would believe him. "Because as soon as I cross that line, I'm going to be in a lot of pain… No matter what I do or say, I need you to make sure we get across that second line," He looked her directly in the eye, "If you don't do this, we're both dead." He didn't try to threaten her, but express the gravity of the situation.

Maggie remained silent a long time, staring at him with a blank expression. For a moment, he considered compulsion just to know what she was thinking, but he pushed that thought away. She couldn't pretend to understand what was going on with this man. Something in his expression told her that he was deadly serious about all this though. And if nothing else, maybe she would be able to use the situation to get away from him.

She held her hands up in front of her. "How am I supposed to do that?" She clinked her wrists together, itching to get rid of the handcuffs.

Damon reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small key. Holding it up between them, he smirked at her, "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"It's a little late for stupid. You already kidnapped me," Maggie snapped before her mind caught up with her words.

Damon's eyes widened with a flare of something she didn't recognize as he reached forward and took the handcuffs off. "If you crash my car, I'll be pissed," He smirked, pocketing the cuffs and turning his attention back to the road.

"Ready?" He asked, taking a deep breath and frowning at the county line.

Maggie rubbed her wrists, which were sore and stiff, before giving a slow nod.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yay for a little roadtrip bonding… kinda. And not quite Mystic Falls, I know! But next chapter the real fun begins. _

_PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know what people think… even if it's just to tell me I'm completely crazy._


	5. Chapter 5

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Five_

Damon's eyes widened with a flare of something she didn't recognize as he reached forward and took the handcuffs off. "If you crash my car, I'll be pissed," He smirked, pocketing the cuffs and turning his attention back to the road.

"Ready?" He asked, taking a deep breath and frowning at the county line.

Maggie rubbed her wrists, which were sore and stiff, before giving a slow nod.

* * *

Damon pressed his foot to the pedal and the engine roared as the car took off. He sped closer to the closer to the county line flags, trying to pick up as much speed as possible and get it over with quickly. Maggie watched apprehensively and her hands tense, ready to spring to action.

No sooner the hood of the car crossing the line did Damon's entire demeanor shift. His hands jerked away from the wheel as if stung and reached up to clutch his head. Panicked, Maggie leaned as far as she could against her restraints and one hand shot out to the wheel, causing the car to jerk unsteadily. The pavement started to blur faster and faster by them as she realized his foot was still pressed down on the gas and the Camaro continued to gain speed.

"Damon?" Maggie asked nervously when she heard him hissing and groaning. It was then she chanced a look out of the corner of her eye to see his eyes slammed shut and twitching violently, his fingernails digging into the sides of his head. The hiss between his clenched teeth turned into a groan that erupted into a pained cry.

The second county line was quickly approaching.

Before they passed it, Damon's cries ceased abruptly and he slumped with his head smacking against his window.

"Damon?" Maggie repeated and the car passed the second county line, but still accelerated. Chancing another look at him, she saw his eyes closed and he wasn't moving. Switching her hands, causing the car to swerve again, she started shaking his shoulder.

"Damon, wake up!" She pleaded as the pavement in the straight stretch was starting to run out. The road curved sharply after that and she wasn't sure how much she had left before they would end up wrapped around a tree.

"Damnit, Damon!"

She pulled the wheel as the road curved, if it hadn't been for the restraints she would've been thrown across the vehicle. Her eye couldn't help but flicker to the trees along the road, wondering which one would impale them.

A loud gasp cut through her panic.

Damon jerked upright in his seat.

His eyes shot open and yanked the wheel from her grasp. Next thing she knew, he slammed on the brakes and her head pulled forward. The tires squeaked against the pavement as her stomach rolled from being pulled this way and that. The car fishtailed quite a bit before they finally came to a stop in the middle of the road with the car perpendicular to the pavement.

For a long minute, they both sat in silence while Maggie felt like her heart was pounding out of her chest and tried to calm herself. The smell of the burning rubber slowly permeated through the ventilation. She looked over at Damon, who for the first time made no show of hiding his pure shock and confusion over the whole situation.

"Judgy witch is trying to kill me," Damon hissed so softly under his breath that Maggie barely caught it, frowning in response to his nonsense. He looked at her for the first time, showing a flicker of concern, "Are you okay?"

Maggie swallowed and barely managed a nod while her hands were still shaking.

"Damon, what happened?" She asked finally.

He didn't answer her right away, instead looking out ahead of them and letting the car engine run for a while he gained his composure back. "I don't know," He answered honestly, but also knowing he wasn't being completely truthful in that way with her.

Looking in the correct direction of the road, he knew it was only a mile or so from the gate. He reached into his pockets and pulled out the handcuffs. Maggie's eyes narrowed on them and she tried to stubbornly fight her hands from his. While he gave credit for her tenacity, she didn't stand a chance and soon enough her wrists were restrained again. He reached behind him into the backseat where a mess of supplies were, pulling out a pillowcase and another stray rag.

"You know how I said you reminded me of someone I used to know?" Damon started to explain while seeing the fear enter Maggie's eyes again. "Because of that, I can't have anyone recognizing you right away when I get into town." He wasn't sure why he felt the need to explain this and his tone held no regret, but it made him feel less guilty while she protested against him and forced her jaw open to stuff the rag in a gag. Then lastly, he put the dark pillowcase over her head before turning the car in the right direction and taking off again.

It wasn't long before he came across a wall with a gate on the road. It was built mostly out of stray construction supplies of wood and scrap metal, standing at about two and a half stories. He could see a few guards milling about the top with weapons. A series of short and long honks from his car signaled them as he approached that everything was okay and the gate opened for the Camaro to pass. He ignored the guards crowding around the entrance to see who was arriving, blowing past them and continuing on into town.

It took a little longer than he wanted to get back to the boarding house, it was last in the afternoon by then. He had to take several back roads, because he wanted to avoid downtown as much as possible and his car rather drew attention. Pulling into the circular driveway of the boarding house, he spotted a familiar black SUV parked there was well, but no other sign of life. He let out another honk of his horn to get the attention of whoever was inside.

"Ric!" Damon shouted after he parked his car behind the SUV as he got out, walking around the other side. Sure enough, he spotted his friend, looking slightly disheveled from lack of sleep as he stepped outside the front door. He wore faded jeans and a shirt that Damon would have to remind himself to taunt him about looking like a lumberjack.

"What are you doing here?" Damon asked, shoving his hands in his pockets and stepping in front of Alaric, trying to block his view as much as possible without making it obvious.

"Research… where have you been?" Alaric answered, trying to deflect from himself.

Damon raised an eyebrow at the pointed look from Alaric, knowing most research was normally done with the witches or Meredith. "Around… Shady Stefan, here?"

"No… he went with Elena on a supply run."

"Good," Damon answered while his eyes darted around to the windows of the boarding house, looking for signs of life. "So you're here alone?"

"Yes," Alaric answered slowly and suspiciously.

"Even better," Damon smirked, letting out a mental sigh of relief.

Alaric took the chance to peer around his shoulder and notice the form in the passenger seat. "Damon," His voice lowered seriously, "Who is that?"

"Who's who," Damon replied in faux innocence, making a show of looking over his shoulder at the Camaro, "Oh, that… is not my personal blood bag." He finished with a sickly sweet expression.

"Damnit, now what did you do?" Alaric grumbled and brushed by his shoulders, advancing on the passenger door.

"Oh relax, I didn't kidnap one of Mystic Falls' fine outstanding citizen," Damon stopped Alaric from opening the door with a firm hand over the window frame. Alaric visibly relaxed his shoulders and his expression shifted to a look of confusion, tearing his eyes away from the bagged girl and to Damon.

"She's from Georgia," Damon added with a grin.

The annoyance and seriousness came back to Alaric so quickly it was almost comical. He glared at Damon that would've stopped most people, but he received it so many times it didn't bother him anymore.

"But no seriously," Damon continued on in a softer tone. "I think I really stepped into this time." Alaric knew that was the closest he would ever get to Damon Salvatore saying 'I need help' and nodded.

"Let's get her inside before anyone sees us out here," Alaric said thoughtfully after a moment.

"Great," Damon replied in an irritatingly upbeat tone, "You grab her feet."

Alaric shook his head while Damon opened the door and leaned inside the car. He could hear the tape being ripped and the young woman giving a muffled cry of protest, he wasn't sure if it hurt her or if she was just angry. Damon pulled her out by her shoulders and Alaric picked up the slack by grabbing her ankles, barely avoiding getting kicked in the face as she fought against them.

"She's a squirmy one!" Damon commented, clearly amused by this whole scene.

Alaric rolled his eyes , thinking bitterly to himself. _History teacher by day, vampire hunter by night, and accessory to kidnapping on the weekends…_

Of course, this was only another felony to add to the growing list that came with being friends with Damon. They brought the girl inside the house and Damon dropped her rather unceremoniously on the couch closest to the fireplace. She was at least upright and Alaric let go off her too. She stopped squirming as she realized she was sitting on something soft and they could only hear her panting breath. She stilled, trying to hear what she could from the new surroundings.

Meanwhile, Damon wasted no time in seeing himself to a drink behind her. Alaric hesitated between the two with his hands on his hips.

"I passed out this time," Damon announced, cutting the awkward silence.

"Passed out?" Alaric repeated.

"Well, died technically," Damon corrected with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "I probably would've been stuck without her… even if she almost crashed my car."

He took a long gulp of some cheap whiskey. The good stuff disappeared a short while after the outbreak. He watched Alaric process the bit of information, both ignoring Maggie on the couch.

"That shouldn't happen… Maybe you should talk to Bonnie?" Alaric suggested, folding his arms.

"Right, let me just drop by a visit," Damon snapped and then let out a huff before knocking back the rest of his drink. "How does that even work? I've been uninvited from the whole damn property. I can't even vandalize her mailbox."

Alaric shrugged his shoulders, not letting the starkness get to him and not feeling particularly too sympathetic to Damon anyways. "Oh, it probably has something to do with every Bennett, alive and dead making sure one of the last descendants survives," He answered while the vampire started pouring a second drink. "That, and maybe the Andover warlock," Alaric added as an afterthought.

"Andover warlock?" Damon narrowed his eyes, glancing over his shoulder.

"Andover, yes. Did you know back during the Salem Witch trials, many women were burned in what's present day Andover and Ipswich? Perhaps even more than there were in Salem, at least according to general history," Alaric started to explain with a shrug.

"Skip the history lesson and get to the point, Rick," Damon snapped.

"My point is, while you took off without telling anyone, Bonnie got in contact with more witches and they're in Mystic Falls now," Alaric frowned.

"Great, more witchy juju," Damon groaned to himself, wondering when Mystic Falls had become the designated supernatural international.

A moment of silence passed between them.

"Enough stalling, Damon," Alaric threw a glance towards Maggie, "Who is she?"

Damon sighed and put his glass down, walking around to the other side of the couch. Giving Alaric one more glance over his shoulder, he nodded and then pulled off the pillowcase. Damon stepped away to see his friend's reaction. His eyebrows shot up, almost disappearing into his hairline and he took half a step back.

Maggie opened her eyes and they settled into a sharp glare. It was almost unnerving how still and tense she was with those green eyes, like a snake poised and ready to strike. They flickered for a moment around the room before settling on Alaric.

"Is that – "Alaric fumbled to find the right words.

"Nope," Damon popped the 'p' as he cut him off. "Alaric, meet Maggie."

It took a moment for the older man to recover from his shock, but even then it didn't really seem like it was quite sinking in. "Is she like Elena then?"

"Yeah," Damon nodded seriously, pausing to take a sip of his drink. "Different bloodline though, which means a whole different set of rules."

"Oh shit," Alaric muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"My thoughts exactly," Damon answered honestly, for once not being sarcastic and his eyes flickered with worry. Glancing over at Alaric, he felt the back of his throat burn instantly, despite how much he tried to drown the craving with alcohol. It had been a long time since he last had a drink, so he took the opportunity to disappear into the basement for a blood bag while Alaric watched the girl. It wasn't until he had the blood bag in his hand that an odd thought came across his mind. The bloodlust had reared its head while he was at the prison with those survivors and again while he stood in the living room with Alaric and Maggie, but not once during the drive. He was acutely aware of her heartbeat, but not in that sort of way.

He shook his head and shrugged it off before sucking down the blood bag, chalking it up to just a long couple of days before heading back into the living room. While he was gone, Alaric had removed the gag from Maggie's mouth and crouched to look her in the eye, apparently trying to get her talk. She hadn't said anything but fix her searing glare on the history teacher instead.

"How are you feeling?" Alaric was asking her as Damon approached, causing the vampire to roll his eyes at Alaric's everlasting paternal nature.

Maggie's expression only changed slightly to a raised eyebrow. "For being kidnapped in the middle of the night and stolen across several states, I'm _lovely_," She spoke with her Southern drawl that made lovely really their uniquely polite way of saying 'Go to hell!'

Alaric sighed sheepishly, realizing how ridiculous his question was. Damon snorted at Maggie's response and smirked, he appreciated the glimpse of fierceness he was seeing in this woman.

"Alright, enough of the good cop, bad cop, Ric. It's almost painful to watch," Damon cut into the conversation, earning a harsh glare from his friend. "There's a council meeting today, right?"

Alaric stood up fully again and nodded, his demeanor changing at the remainder of the impending meeting.

"Is Klaus going to be there?" Damon asked and it was no mystery why.

Alaric shook his head, "No, him and a couple of his hybrids are in Ontario, looking for more wolves. It'll probably be a couple more days before we see him again." At first he hesitated, his eyes flickering to Maggie at dropping all these supernatural terms, but Damon hadn't made any indication not to at this point.

Damon wasn't particularly surprised at that news, but relieved they had a little more borrowed time. There were two things that Klaus was fiercely protective of since the outbreak, the werewolves and his doppelganger. He needed a little time to figure out what this new one before confronting that problem.

"Well in that case, let's get going," Damon said in a fake cheery tone, moving towards Maggie and crouching in front of her. He looked her in the eyes a moment while his hands came to rest on her knees. For the look he was receiving, he could tell she was seriously considering throwing her arms around his neck and trying to strangle him with the cuffs. Ignoring her expression, he smirked at her, "Don't do anything stupid, like trying to run away. I _will _catch you."

Alaric watched on in confusion was Damon proceeded to rip the tape from her knees and ankles, then he realized what he was doing. "Aren't we going to leave her here?" He asked Damon while Maggie stretched her legs stiffly.

Damon looked at him with pretend shock. "And lock her up in the basement?" He walked over and clapped his friend on the back lightheartedly, "Where's your Southern hospitality, Ric? She's coming with us."

* * *

_Author's Note: So what do you think? If you leave a review, I'll PM you a hint about the next chapter!_

_If you have questions about things like why they have blood bags, I promise it will be explained in later chapters.  
_


	6. Chapter 6

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Six_

Alaric watched on in confusion was Damon proceeded to rip the tape from her knees and ankles, then he realized what he was doing. "Aren't we going to leave her here?" He asked Damon while Maggie stretched her legs stiffly.

Damon looked at him with pretend shock. "And lock her up in the basement?" He walked over and clapped his friend on the back lighthearted, "Where's your Southern hospitality, Ric? She's coming with us."

* * *

Before giving Alaric a chance to argue with him, Damon grabbed Maggie roughly by the arm and pulled her to stand. At first, she tried to yank her arm away from him, but his fingers just tightened painfully and she had to suppress a wince. There was a good chance that would leave a bruise later. He walked her out of the boarding house with Alaric flanking them on the other side.

"You're driving," Damon called to his friend as they stepped outside. Alaric nodded, still clearly not happy with the situation but got into the driver's seat anyway. Damon opened the backseat door and shoved Maggie roughly inside. Instead of taking the passenger seat, he pushed her across the bench and sat in the back with her, clearly to make sure she didn't try anything reckless.

Maggie ended up sitting behind Alaric as the SUV pulled out of the driveway. Damon sat next to her and kept his eyes trained on her the entire time. He made no effort to hide his stare and the dark glint in his eyes, almost challenging her to do something and at the same time promising she would regret it. At first, she thought about ways to get out of the vehicle, paying half a mind to where the SUV was going.

She looked down at the cuffs on her wrists, which were tender and sore from earlier. There were already a few purple bruises starting to show. "I wouldn't do that," Damon warned in a singsong voice, as if reading her thoughts. Shooting him a glare, she turned her attention purposely out the window. She could see they were weaved through a town and not a walker was in sight. It was really odd seeing neighborhoods, which had no power and almost no vehicles in sight. Most of the houses were dark and unmoving.

That changed as soon as they hit the downtown area. From her window, she could see people moving about what seemed to be the central quad or park of the downtown area. There were buildings, most of them dark, but people moving in and out of them. They pulled up to a specific one that appeared to be a diner at one point, saying "Mystic Grill". Several cars were parked haphazardly in front of it and the SUV came to a stop with them.

Damon dragged her out of the car and she barely got a chance to look around outside more before she was shoved through the doors of the Grill, Alaric hot on their heels. Inside, the lights were off and the air was a little stuffy with the Virginia spring heat. The booths and tables were mostly untouched except for about twenty people standing in small groups talking. Instantly, Maggie felt out of place. These people were fairly clean cut and dressed in casual clothes, as if they were just gathering around for a Sunday brunch. She even noticed two of them had police uniforms on. There was also a man a few years younger than her behind the bar.

But then there was Maggie, being dragged in on handcuffs like a criminal. She was disheveled with many layers of dirt and sweat, clearly not as well fed as the others. She seemed like a wild animal in comparison to the Council. She clenched her jaw and glared back at the few curious looks they got, she wasn't particularly personally furious at them but the entire situation. Damon paid no heed to them and proceeded to drag her to the bar, plopping her down forcefully on one of the stools.

"Lil' Gilbert," He acknowledged with a smirk at the young man, who also noticed their arrival and came to stand in front of them from behind the bar.

"Damon," Jeremy nodded at him with an edge in his voice.

"This is Maggie," Damon smirked, giving her arm a squeeze and causing a hiss between her teeth. "You're going to watch her and make sure she doesn't do anything _stupid_."

Jeremy looked as if he was going to protest, but Damon cut him off. "Also, make sure she gets something to eat… and tea, you know with that herbal goodness. She looks half starved." Damon gave Jeremy a pointed look and understanding passed between them, but Maggie had no idea what it meant. She just furrowed her brows at him as the young man gave a defeated sigh and disappeared into the back of the restaurant.

"Right or left?" Damon drew her attention back, looking down at her with a smirk.

"Excuse me?" She managed a hoarse whisper.

"Right or left," He repeated and Maggie just furrowed her brows in confusion.

He dropped the smirk from his face, leaning closer to whisper threateningly to her. "Which leg do you want broken when you try to make a run for it? Because either way you won't even make it to the door." Maggie stilled as she stared into his blue eyes, they were cold and could cut like a glacier. Something in his voice chilled her and she knew that his threat was very real, how it was possible or why she didn't know, but doubted she wanted to test it. Numbly, she just nodded and he let go of her arm.

"Don't move from that stool," He finished before stepping away from Maggie and towards the Council. He had Alaric to thank for keeping the members distant from the couple.

Sheriff Forbes was the first one to catch Damon, approaching him with a weary smile and glancing back at the young woman at the bar. "Well, that solves the mystery of who nicked my handcuffs last week," She greeted him. She looked very much the same, never leaving the police uniform even during the worst of the outbreak, but the stress showed in some new worry lines around her eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that, she's _really_ into the roleplaying," Damon smirked while shoving his hands into his pockets. A glance out of the corner of his eye caught Alaric talking with Meredith Fell and Carol Lockwood.

"Who is she?" Liz asked, ignoring the lewd comment.

"Just a survivor I found in Georgia," He said with a half shrug.

Liz said nothing as she sized up the young woman.

"Don't worry, I'll give her the Mystic Falls crash course when we're playing dirty school teacher later," Damon added, wiggling his eyebrows a bit and earning an eye roll from Liz. The two dropped the subject as the meeting commenced.

Meanwhile, at the bar, Maggie sat in silence and had a moment to herself while Jeremy was in the back getting food. She took a deep breath, her eyes wandering about her and the moment felt surreal. She had gone from clearing walker bodies out of prison cells and now sitting in a small town pub and bar. She frowned as she looked at the people, not being able to hear the words being exchanged. This was the largest crowd of people she had been with since the outbreak. They barely looked like the outbreak had affected them at all, except maybe inconvenienced them from modern life.

Her attention was brought back by a bowl being set in front of her. Jeremy had returned with a bowl of some hot oatmeal and a tall glass of tea, steam rising from the top. "It's not much, but we still had some of today's lunch serving left," Jeremy explained sheepishly.

Maggie gave him a long look for the first time. She relaxed a bit at his soft hearted nature, but not completely trusting of it either. It was bizarre for her. He was quite cute, but a bit young for her. His body language was anything but threatening, unlike Damon so far. She didn't say anything to him and her eyes dropped down to the food. Her mouth began to water at the smell of it, but she stubbornly didn't even lift her hands.

Sensing the tension, Jeremy sighed softly. "It's not poisoned, I promise," He said jokingly, but it fell flat. She still didn't move and for a moment he considered just letting her punish herself, but he knew that Damon would be pissed. "Alright, I'll prove it," He shook his head and picked up the spoon from the oatmeal. He made a show of taking a bite of the food and then a long gulp of the tea. Putting the glass down, Jeremy raised his eyebrows at her as if to say "See?"

Maggie relaxed her shoulders and let out a short, shallow laugh. "I'm sorry, it's not you…" Her voice trailed off, not really sure why she was justifying her suspicions.

"It's Damon, I know," Jeremy gave her an apologetic smile while she took up the spoon. "That's just the way he is…"

"So kidnapping is a hobby of his?" Maggie challenged between bites, her stomach grumbling as she fought the urge to just pick up the bowl.

Jeremy laughed shortly and glanced over her shoulder, his eyes being met by blue ones from the across the room that were undoubtedly listening to their conversation. "Yeah, it's not the first time he's done that," He said vaguely and choose to leave Maggie to eat her food.

Maggie mulled over his words and everything that had been going on while she ate, which was a bit slow and awkward having her hands cuffed together. She watched while Jeremy moved about, cleaning up from what looked like some sort of food service that he must have been referencing earlier. Every now and then she looked over her shoulder, always catching the eye of Damon. No matter how engrossed he seemed in the meeting, there was always at least a ghost of a smirk on his features.

Finally she decided she wanted some answers to the oddness of this place and she figured she had a better shot with the young man. "Hey, uhh, Gilbert," She called quietly to get his attention. Looking back up at her, he flashed a small smile and stood back in front of her.

"It's Jeremy Gilbert," He corrected her politely.

"Right, Jeremy," Maggie shifted in her seat to sit more upright and lean closer to him. "You seem like a nice, normal guy with a level head on his shoulders…"

Jeremy had to suppress of a full on bout of laughter. _Normal, she had no idea what she was talking about…_ He bit the inside of his mouth to keep from doing so, instead just smirking and nodding his head. "Okay, go on…"

"Okay, so Damon and.. Alaric have been talking this nonsense about witches, warlocks, wolves and such… They're just crazy, right?" Maggie felt ridiculous for even saying it, but she couldn't be the only sane person in this place. It was like a bad nightmare that was dragging on without end.

Jeremy smiled and had to take a deep breath from reacting too much. Several emotions passed through him as he stared at Maggie. It was humbling to see someone who had no idea what was supernatural about the world. For once, he was the one informing someone about it, instead of being the one that the secrets were kept from. He cleared his throat, taking a moment to decide how he wanted to break it to her.

"Let's put it this way…" Jeremy began diplomatically. "It's possible for the dead to rise and the world as we know it to be consumed by flesh eating corpses…"

"I'm well aware," Maggie snapped at him, her eyes narrowing sharply. "I've been living in that hell for the past year."

Jeremy nodded sympathetically, taken back slightly by the fierceness in her voice, but carried on with his point anyway. "Right, so you don't think it's a_ little_ possible there might be other supernatural creatures?"

"No," She answered quickly, pulling her head back as if the idea itself tasted odd.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh. The corner of his mouth tugged into a smirk. "Come on, Maggie…" He tried to coax her.

She stubbornly just glared back at him, finding the whole situation ridiculous he was trying to convince her there was any truth to all of this.

Sensing she wasn't going to relent, Jeremy changed tactic a little. "Damon hasn't done anything that seems unnatural?"

Maggie furrowed her brows as she considered his words. Had Damon done anything that didn't seem possible? Several instances came to mind, first being how he was able to kidnap her in the first place. No matter how she replayed it in her mind, she couldn't understand how he got from the exercise field, up the guard tower, and attacked her without anyone noticing. Then if that wasn't peculiar enough, she had no explanation for how they survived the herd of walkers back on the highway. She had no understanding of his behavior at the county line either.

Huffing in frustration, she snapped in a disbelieving tone and refusing to directly answer his question, "So what? You're going to tell me you're a vampire next?"

"No, but my sister is," Jeremy answered with a casual shrug, struggling to keep a serious face.

Maggie froze in disbelief, staring at him in stunned silence. Then before she could help herself, a bubble of laughter erupted from her lips. She couldn't contain it anymore, because what else was she supposed to do when she couldn't cry, scream, or run? Jeremy shifted uncomfortably and scratched the back of his head.

"Right! Now, I know you're lying," She shook her head when she was finally able to calm herself down enough. Jeremy chuckled and watched her quietly as Maggie reached for the tea for the first time.

She raised the glass to her lips and took a gulp. No sooner had the liquid touched the inside of her mouth and the back of her throat did she spit it out roughly on the floor. The glass slipped from her fingers and dropped with a heavy thud, spilling the contents. She doubled over and retched, coughing and sputtering, her hands grasping onto the bar to keep herself from falling out of the stool.

"What's wrong?" She heard a masculine voice say next to her, but she wasn't focused enough to place it.

Gasping for air, she barely managed to croak out, "It burns!"

* * *

_Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, if anyone is reading this, please review and let me know what you think!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Seven_

"What's wrong?" She heard a masculine voice say next to her, but she wasn't focused enough to place it.

Gasping for air, she barely managed to croak out, "It burns!"

* * *

Maggie felt a hand on her arm and someone trying to help her to a stand. Finally looking up, she realized it was Damon who had been speaking to her. She didn't hear him approach or understand how he got across the room so quickly. He wasn't looking back at her though.

"Put it away, Van Helsing," He snarled at Jeremy. She turned her head and found herself staring down the shaft of an arrow with the tip pointed between her eyes. As soon as she dropped the glass, the young man had reached for the crossbow under the bar counter, not hesitating to click off the safety. The warmth and friendly nature was replaced by an expressionless, cold exterior.

"You brought a rogue vampire to a Council meeting?" Jeremy hissed at him, ignoring the order and his finger hovered over the trigger. Maggie's eyes widened, but she didn't move. What was this madness?

Damon didn't respond to the scathing words, instead batting the crossbow out of Jeremy's hand. In a blur of movement, the weapon was sent crashing to the floor. He then positioned himself between Jeremy and Maggie, facing the young woman and giving her his full attention. "Have you had vervain before?" He asked.

Maggie's mind struggled to keep up with what has happening and being said. Her mind pieced together the only thing that made even the most remote amount of sense. She shook her head. "I'm only allergic to Penicillin," Her throat felt like sandpaper.

Damon let out a frustrated growl, but before he could question her more, he saw Maggie's eyes start to roll to the back of her head. All of the sudden, she slumped forward, her head falling against his shoulder. "Maggie?" He asked in alarm, bearing the brunt of her weight. It was then that he noticed the dart protruding from her shoulder blade.

Following the path of the dart, his eyes found the entire Council watching the whole exchange from the other side of the room. Several of the members had guns drawn, including the other police officer with a rifle at their shoulder, explaining the vervain dart. Alaric stood awkwardly between the two parties, a stake in his hand in a halfhearted gesture with confusion written all over his face. The rest of the members regarded the two with a mixture of hatred and alarm. Even Carol Lockwood wasn't flashing any false white smiles.

Sheriff Forbes took one step forward, drawing everyone's attention. "I trust you'll take care of this, Damon," She announced to him, but importantly to everyone. Their friendship was obvious to anyone and it was because of that why Maggie only had a vervain dart in her right now. However, that courtesy could only extend so far.

"Of course," He muttered numbly before gathering Maggie up in his arms bridal style.

* * *

Slowly her eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry at first. Her head pounded, as if she could feel every heartbeat to her temples. Her throat was sore and it felt like there was cotton on her tongue. If she hadn't known better, she would've guessed a night of whiskey had knocked her on her back. With a groan, her eyes adjusted slowly to her surroundings and realized she was staring up at a stone ceiling. There was little light in the room, coming from a door with a single barred window. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was in some kind of basement cellar. What alarmed her more was the fact she had no recollection of how or why she was here, or where this place was.

Sitting up slowly, she felt her muscles protest and the ach in her joints. It had been a long couple of days and it would be so easy to just lie back down, but months of on the run from walkers had taught her she had to push through. The only items in the cell were a cot, no blankets or pillows, and a couple of water bottles next to it. The only reassuring thing about this situation was the lack of handcuffs on her wrists, only bruises reminding her where they had been. Without a thought, she snatched the first bottle up eagerly, only hesitating when remembering the incident at the Grill. Frowning and inspecting the seal closely, she found it hadn't been opened before and deemed it safe enough. Two bottles were empty before she moved on to assessing the rest of the room.

It was stark and the door was heavy, clearly strong enough to hold more force than she could ever summon. Frowning, Maggie paced about and looked around for any potential weapon. Finally, she was able to come up with a makeshift one, wrapping the ends around her hands before she settled herself against the wall of the door. She placed herself so she would be out of sight at a casual glance and hoped that would be enough to get a jump on whoever came through the door. Slowly, she sagged down to a crouch as time dragged on and on, not having any idea just how much was passing.

For the first time since the guard tower, she was left completely alone to her thoughts.

And how overwhelming it was.

Her heart ached to think of the group, everyone that she had been torn away from. First, she thought of her sister and her father, Beth was alone to help her father who had only just lost his leg. She thought of Rick, how their fearless leader was falling apart at the seams with two children, baby Judith and Carl growing up too fast in this cold world. There was Glenn, the only good that had come in this past year and how badly she just wanted to feel and hold him again. Hell, she would even hug Daryl at this point.

While her thoughts wandered away from Mystic Falls, her face remained stoic and staring blankly at the opposite wall. She couldn't let herself cry, but she had to force her thoughts away from the people they've lost in the group or she wasn't sure if she could come back from that dark place.

Eventually, she forced her thoughts to come back to Mystic Falls and evaluate all the events that happened. She replied the conversations, the people she met, and the actions that had led up to her being locked in this cellar. While she hadn't seen a single walker since arriving here, this town was proving that the group motto was proving very true. Fight the dead, fear the living.

But where did supernatural fit into that motto?

Vampires, witches, warlocks, wolves, hybrids… she wasn't sure where or what she wanted to believe. But on a basic level, she had to acknowledge there was something not natural occurring in this town. First and foremost example was Damon, he was doing things that couldn't be explained or chalked up to her mind playing tricks on her. The second thing was how unnerving that Alaric and Jeremy seemed to be excepting of this concepts as if discussing the latest football scores. The last thing was the Council and Jeremy's reaction to her. Whatever she had done to make them believe she was a threat, she was more alarmed by how quickly they responded. People simply don't respond to something like that if they truly believe it to be only a myth.

She wasn't sure if minutes or hours had gone by before her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps outside the cell door. Straightening up right away, she clenched her fists with her weapon ready. Her eyes watched the door as a figure cut into the light of the room.

A simple "Huh" was heard before the loud groan of the lock releasing. The door opened and a figure began to cross the threshold. The dark hair and jacket told her exactly who it was. Not wasting a moment, Maggie raised her arms and lunged at Damon.

Before she could comprehend what happened, she grunted as she was pinned against the wall. She grunted as her chest heaved against the cold stone and felt her cheek smashed against it was well. Her arms were twisted behind her roughly, her shoulders protesting sharply. She could feel Damon behind her, using the side of his body to pin her against the wall. The makeshift weapon was yanked roughly out of her hands.

A scoff sounded behind her followed by a short bark of a laugh.

"Shoelaces, really?" Damon held up the laces from Maggie's boots in one hand, keeping her still with the other despite how much she fought against him. "What were you going to do with those?"

"Strangle you," She hissed venomously, her nostrils flaring in anger.

Maggie couldn't see the momentarily impressed look that flashed across Damon's face from her expression before it slipped into a condescending smirk. "That might have worked…" He started, but then leaned into her ear to whisper slowly, his hot breath falling against her skin, and finished, "_If I was human_."

He could hear the way her heart rate picked up at that those words. Also the way she inhaled sharply and feel the way her diaphragm quivered against the cold stone. While he stood there with his body pinned against hers, his lips close to her ear, he knew just a tilt of the head down to her neck was the only distance between them. He marveled in how during all of this, the bloodlust was at bay and not begging him to bite into her pulse point.

Maggie shivered for several reasons. One of them was how easily her plan had been thwarted. The second for the words she just heard. The last was the shear proximity of Damon and the rush of the moment.

"What_ are _you?" She asked, her voice considerably smaller at this point.

Damon leaned back from Maggie, her body reactions were not lost on him. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I owe you some explanations," He said simply. The next instant his grip was gone, Maggie nearly fell backwards from how much she had been fighting against him. Her feet shuffled to catch her balance and Damon was now standing outside the cell on the first few steps that led out of the basement.

"Fix your shoes and come upstairs," He ordered and Maggie looked down, realizing the shoelaces were back in her hand again. His hands were in his pockets and he turned his body as if to head up the stairs.

She blinked in confusion and her brows furrowed while staring down at her hand.

"Or, I can tie you up with them and carry you over my shoulder," He suggested impatiently.

Maggie shot him a glare before kneeling to re-laced her boots. Once she had done so, she started to follow him out of the basement. She noticed a few peculiar details on the way out, like the ice chest that was hooked up to a generator for one. Also the fact all the basement lights were working, not lamps or candles, which led to one conclusion. This house had power while the ones she saw earlier did not. Once she reached the upstairs, she realized that she had been held in the basement of the same boardinghouse she was in earlier.

"Where are we going?" She asked as Damon led her out of the house, for once not being tied up or led out like a criminal. It was then she noticed that it was early morning. She must have been passed out straight through the night.

"Downtown, to show you all that there is Mystic Falls," He answered sarcastically heading to his car.

For a moment outside, she considered trying to make a break for it since she wasn't being restrained in any way. However, part of her knew that Damon would catch her before she made it down the driveway. But also, the shear curiosity of possible explanations got the better of her and she found herself climbing into the passenger seat instead.

* * *

_Author's Note: Short chapter, but as IrishBeauty98 demanded so, I needed to update in a hurry! Haha, anyway, I hope you enjoyed and another will be coming soon._

_Please review!_

_I'll give you a hint for the next chapter, there'll be an Original. Any guesses on who?_


	8. Chapter 8

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Eight_

"Downtown, to show you all that there is Mystic Falls," He answered sarcastically heading to his car.

For a moment outside, she considered trying to make a break for it since she wasn't being restrained in any way. However, part of her knew that Damon would catch her before she made it down the driveway. But also, the shear curiosity of possible explanations got the better of her and she found herself climbing into the passenger seat instead.

* * *

True to his word, Damon drove them back downtown to the town square she had seen earlier. He pulled up by the Grill, but parked across from it, closer to the square. She didn't pay him much attention because she was distracted by the flurry of early morning activity. People were going in and out of the Grill, carrying small bags and she could smell something baking, causing her stomach to rumble. There were several school buses parked along the street and she watched as adults, mostly men boarded the buses, giving hugs and kisses to loved ones before they did.

Slowly, Maggie got out of the car, ignoring Damon while she watched children hug their parents before running off towards the center of the town square. There were more children gathering around with a few adults watching the group. She frowned, feeling completely out of place in this society.

"Come, let's sit and talk," Damon spoke, causing Maggie to jump slightly when she realized he was suddenly standing right next to her. Numbly, she nodded her head and followed him into the square, past a couple of trees and they found a picnic table.

Maggie climbed onto the table, sitting on the top with her feet against the bench. Damon quietly sat next to her and then held out the brown paper bag to her. She looked at it, realizing it was similar to the ones other people were carrying out of the Grill.

"Here, best breakfast in town," He smirked.

Hesitantly, she took the bag and opened it up to find some bread, jam, and a water bottle. "What is going on?" She asked, nodded towards the people while her fingers tore the bread into bite size pieces.

"It's the start of the work day here," Damon explained, leaning back and placing his hands behind him to prop himself up. "The buses take the workers out to mostly construction projects like the wall and the river. The young children get dropped off here, as a group they walk to the old middle school, now daycare. The high school isn't too far from here and they try to keep that going as best as we can."

Maggie nodded along while eating, trying not to give away how good it was to have fresh bread and jam again. "And the Grill?"

"That's where most Council and town planning meetings are, but it also serves food twice a day. They ration out the supplies, but every family is encouraged to maintain their own garden," Damon offered, his eyes never moving from Maggie.

Feeling his stare, she didn't trust herself to turn and look at him. Instead, her eyes remained on the buildings. "How do you have power?"

"Several methods, generators, batteries… some solar panels," He pointed out the ones at the top of the Grill as he spoke. "But most recently, we finished a few water turbines down at the river. It's limited power though, only some households and the downtown part have it, where we moved most of the offices and try to consolidate everything to one grid. We're still figuring things out." He skirted around some of the details while he spoke, like how it was only the Founding family homes that had power right now.

Washing the food down with the water, Maggie frowned and considered his explanations in silence for a moment. Her eyes wandered to the children, mostly ages of 4 to 6 gathered around in a circle, playing some sort of hand game. It seemed too surreal for her to see children who appeared to be innocent of the horrors outside of this town.

"How is this possible?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Damon shrugged, shifting to lean his elbows against his knees, similar to Maggie's position. "It wasn't always like this. The outbreak hit us just like every other town, we lost half the town before we were able to stop the walkers. Then we had to take security measures like building a wall, which isn't complete in some areas. Even then it was still a while before agreements could be made and some sort of truce be called…" Damon looked away from Maggie while speaking, his eyes darkened a bit while thinking about everything that had brought Mystic Falls to this point. Before he could get too distracted, he gestured halfheartedly with one hand around them, "And now we're just trying to rebuild."

"What sort of truce had to be made?" Maggie asked pointedly.

Damon smirked at how quickly she picked up on that. He leaned closer to her, invading her personal space a bit and he heard her inhale sharply, but she didn't back down. "Between the supernatural and humans," He answered.

Maggie then leaned away from him and shook her head. Of course, she thought to herself and that was a subject she just wasn't quite ready to tackle yet. She opted to change the subject.

"You can make this place sound as pleasant as you want, but I'm not going to stay here," She spoke firmly.

"Who said you had a choice?" Damon challenged with a raised eyebrow.

Maggie glared at him harshly. "Then I will find a way to get away from you and I won't stop fighting you until I get back to Georgia," Her determination came in the form of a promising whisper.

Damon bristled with annoyance. "And just what does that decrepit prison have to offer that Mystic Falls can't?"

"My family!" She nearly shouted at him, the livid look in her eyes and her clenched fists made it seem like she was about to hit him. It wasn't just about Hershel and Beth though, it was about all of them. The entire group had become her family in the past year.

Damon had no response for her. He swallowed thickly and stared back at her, neither of them willing to back down.

Maggie finally broke the stare when she stood up and put a few yards between them. Her steps were heavy and her shoulders tense, she wanted nothing more than to release the frustration and anger that had been building at this whole situation. Damon didn't say anything to her, instead slowly moving to a stand but keeping his distance from her. She kept her back to him.

Damon grinded his teeth together and ran a hand through his hand, trying to think of a way around this impasse. A year ago, he probably would've left her by now or lashed out, forced her to stay or snapped a neck. Looking at Maggie, it floored him how little she was like Rose. Rose would've run away, she wasn't nearly this fierce or stubborn. But Maggie was still her doppelganger and he had to do right by that.

"If I got your family here safely, would you stop fighting me then?" He asked quietly.

Maggie's head whipped around in surprise. She looked at him up and down, trying to find any sign of being insincere. She didn't see anything that suggested so, but she still shook her head. "No, I will _never_ stop fighting." She watched his eyes flicker and nostrils flare in frustration before adding, "But I will consider staying if they're here safely."

Damon had to bite back a curse before conceding impatiently. "Fine! Done, I'll make arrangements to get them," He snapped.

Maggie relaxed slowly, folding her arms and turning back to stand before Damon. He watched the worry in her eyes as she seemed to consider his words. It wasn't much of a promise from her, but he realized it was the closest he was going to get from her at this point. Not wanting to get too distracted thinking about Georgia, Maggie asked about the other problem that had been nagging her. "What happened at the Council meeting?"

A glimpse of emotion passed through Damon's face that Maggie didn't recognize, but she thought there was a hint of relief there.

"Vervain is an herb that was in your drink," He started to explain, deciding it was best to treat the truth like a band aid. "Humans can wear it or ingest it to help protect them. It's also one of the Council's long time classic ways of identifying vampires because of the reaction that you had."

He could see the disbelief on her face mixed with her legitimately trying to grasp what he was saying. Her brows furrowed, "I'm not sure I understand…"

"Your reaction, that burning feeling and the vervain dart weakening you to the point that you passed out is the same way that a vampire would react to vervain," He put it bluntly.

"But I'm not a vampire," She found it ridiculous she was even having to say the word.

"I know that, Alaric knows that too… but the Council doesn't, they think you're a vampire because humans don't react like that," He repeated himself.

"But I _am_ human!" She found her voice starting to rise helplessly, taking a step closer to him.

"No, you're not," He spat back at her.

She jerked her head back as if she had been slapped. "Excuse me?"

"You don't just look similar to Rose, you're the spitting identical image of her," Damon barreled on, the levee breaking on his frustration. "Because you're a doppelganger, Maggie! A supernatural phenomenon passed down through your bloodline because of a curse placed on your ancestor."

Maggie started shaking her head and throwing her hands up in the air, reaching her limit. "That's enough, I don't have to listen to this spewing pile of bullshit anymore!" She yelled, turning her back on him and starting to stomp away.

"Oh, go ahead! Don't believe me, clearly I enjoy just making this all up," He bit back sarcastically, following after her, but giving her some space. "But you better get used to the idea, because whether you like or not you're not only in the middle of the supernatural now, you _are_ a part of it."

Maggie answered with him a slew of curses over her shoulder as she started to pass the trees back towards the parking lot. Their shouting caused a couple of people to stop and stare at the scene they were making. Before she made it back to the Camaro, she stepped around a tree and straight into someone else.

She bounced roughly off his chest, causing her to take a few steps back in surprise. Any apologies died in her throat as soon as she looked the stranger in the eyes. He had brown eyes so dark they were almost black and equally dark messy hair, which the chestnut tones were highlighted by the sunlight. He wore a dark button up shirt and a pair of casual jeans, his hands tucked lightly in his pockets as he regarded her with a smirk and a slight tilt of his head.

"Well aren't you quite the firecracker, darling" He spoke to her in an accented voice unbefitting of Virginia.

All thoughts about her argument with Damon and her anger dissipated the instant she apprehensively watched him take a step closer to her. She held her ground, refusing to back down, but not moving closer to him either. Her stomach lurched nervously at the purely predatory look in his eyes, which seemed even more menacing given how handsome he was.

"Was that doppelganger I heard?" He continued on without waiting for an answer. "You see, that I find _fascinating_," He emphasized the word darkly, "because here I thought it was only the Petrova doppelgangers that the Salvatores had an obsession with."

Before he could close the distance between them, Damon blurred in the middle with his back to Maggie, holding one hand out behind him as if to hold Maggie away.

"Stay away from her, Kol," He snarled.

The Original appeared unbothered by the threat, instead smiling at Damon in a condescending manner, finally tearing his eyes from Maggie. "I consider that a challenge, mate," He promised. Before Damon could retort, he cut him off, "But lighten up, I was actually on my way out of town before I heard your lovers spat." His eyes flickered back to Maggie and she could feel goose bumps rise on her arms.

"We could always catch up with a game of ball when I get back," Kol looked back to Damon.

Damon clenched his jaw, fighting the instinct to grabbing him by the throat and shove a tree branch into him. Last time he did something like that though had ended with him having a broken spine. "I'd rather put my hand in a blender," He answered him dryly.

"That could be arranged," Kol said cheekily before taking a few steps away from the two. He casted one more lingering look at Maggie before promising, "I'll see you again, sweetheart."

In a blink, he disappeared from sight completely. Maggie looked all around them and didn't see any sign he had been there. Damon let out a ragged breath of relief as soon as they were left alone.

"Who was that?" Maggie broke the silence and then realizing her hands were shaking a bit. Damon had an intimidating presence when he wanted, but that was nothing compared to what she felt with Kol.

"Kol Mikaelson, an Original dick," Damon replied tersely. The true meaning of Damon's word lost on her, but she knew that wouldn't be the last time she saw him. The concerning factor was that Damon seemed aware and worried about that possibility, maybe even a little scared if she didn't know better.

* * *

_Author's Note: Bam! So I've been holding off on this surprise until now, but yes, Kol will be an important figure in this story._

_Please review and let me know what you think!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Nine_

"Who was that?" Maggie broke the silence and then realizing her hands were shaking a bit. Damon had an intimidating presence when he wanted, but that was nothing compared to what she felt with Kol.

"Kol Mikaelson, an Original dick," Damon replied tersely. The true meaning of Damon's word lost on her, but she knew that wouldn't be the last time she saw him. The concerning factor was that Damon seemed aware and worried about that possibility, maybe even a little scared if she didn't know better.

* * *

"What did he do to you?" Maggie asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Damon shifted on his feet, as if he would've preferred to be literally anywhere else than discussing Kol with her, but he stayed anyway. "He beat me up with a baseball bat and broke my spine while I was up in Denver picking up little Gilbert at the start of the outbreak," He admitted grumbly.

Maggie narrowed her eyes on him suspiciously with her hands on her hips. "Really, you seem fine now…"

Damon grinned at her, but it was forced. "Self-healing. One of my _many _abilities."

Maggie rolled her eyes, ignoring the double meaning. "Lovely. What did you do to him?"

"Why do you immediately assume that I…" His voice trailed when Maggie folded her arms and started glaring at him. Damon sighed and gave a half shrug, "So I may have snapped his neck and thrown him over a balcony at his own party. Big deal."

Maggie's eyebrows rose at how casually he said the statement, the whole situation still surreal for her. She got the feeling there was more to that story, but let it go for the moment. "So, that means he's like you?"

"A vampire, yep," He popped the 'p', amusement in his eyes at her. "But he's an Original, meaning very old, powerful and very nasty vampire. One of the firsts."

Maggie shook her head. That was the first time that Damon just flat out said what he was.

Damon dropped any teasing, seeing he wasn't getting through to her. He took a step forward, invading her personal space and forcing Maggie to look up at him. "This is what you asked for," He reminded her. "You wanted to know what I am, well here I am telling you!"

"I know!" Maggie snapped back at him, already feeling the anger from earlier starting to surface again. "Call me a realist, but how can you tell me all these things and expect me to just take your word for it?"

"What more do you need to see? You've seen how fast I can move and how strong I am. Walkers don't look twice at me because I'm already dead! Do I have to tap a vein just to prove it to you?" Damon growled, tapping two fingers against the jugular vein on his throat as he finished.

Maggie's lip curled in disgust at his suggestion. "And how would that make you any different than a walker?" She hissed back at him, knowing she was being simply stubborn at this point. She stepped away from him, needing to get away from the intensity that radiated off of him. "Fine! If you're a vampire, how are you in the sun then?"

Damon held up his hand, wiggling his fingers a bit. "Magic daylight ring that keeps me from becoming a KFC special." He needed the distance from her just as much.

Maggie's eyes zeroed in on the ring and she squared up her shoulders, a different idea coming to her then. Jutting her chin out a bit, she challenged him, "Prove it. Show me and I'll believe you."

"What?" Damon jerked his head back incredulously.

"Take your ring off," She nodded towards it and took a firm step forward to him.

Damon regarded her coldly, looking for any crack in her determination, but didn't see any. "You have a bit of a sadistic streak to you, don't you?" He tried to deflect from himself.

Maggie crossed her arms stubbornly instead of answering him, glaring at him fiercely.

A guttural animalistic sound erupted from Damon's throat as he stepped away from her, under the shade of one of the trees. He ran both hands through his hair, lingering at the back of his head and tugging at the roots before turning back to Maggie. "Fine, alright!" He started to roll back at the sleeve of his right arm, moving up to the elbow while keeping his eyes on her. "But if I do this, it's the once and only time… and you stop doubting me when I'm trying to tell you the truth about this place."

Maggie considered his demand briefly before nodding, "Deal."

Making sure he was fully in the shade of the tree, he gave her one more glare before sliding the ring off his finger and holding out in his left hand flat. Letting out a deep breath, he moved to the edge of the shade, holding up his right hand. Bracing himself, he then plunged it out directly into the sun up to his elbow. Immediately, his skin turned red and a hiss of pain escaped from his teeth. Maggie's eyes widened at the sight and one hand rose to her mouth as the blisters started to form in white bubbles all along his hand up the length of his forearm. Words failed to come to her lips as she watched his arm begin to shake and even some smoke while she literally heard the skin sizzling and the blisters starting to pop.

"Damon! Stop!" A feminine voice shouted and it wasn't Maggie.

Damon yanked his arm back into the shade, roughly shoving the ring back on his finger in a blur. Maggie didn't see or hear the young blonde woman that was now standing a few feet away from her. Her baby blues were wide with horror as she watched Damon visibly shudder from the lingering pain. The smoke stopped rising from his arm, but Maggie could still smell the scent of burnt flesh in the air. Speechlessly, she watched as the skin slowly started to recover, raw and angry from the damage.

"Proving a point, Barbie," Damon snarled. "What are you doing?"

Caroline fidgeted uncomfortably, looking back and forth between the two, not entirely sure what it was that she had just interrupted. "I was looking for you…"

"Clearly, what for?" He snapped impatiently while flexing his newly healed fingers, the new skin was always so itchy at first.

"Tyler and I are going to head to the coast for a while, we're leaving today," She said meaningfully, which Damon knew really translated to they wanted to get out of town before Klaus got back.

"Got it," He nodded, also knowing the message wasn't really for him either. "I'll tell Elena and Saint Stefan when they get back."

Caroline shot him a dirty look at the Stefan insult, but otherwise seemed satisfied with his answer. She then turned her attention to Maggie curiously, looking her up and down before wrinkling her nose. "Shower, much? Who are you?"

Caroline's floral sundress and wedges contrasted brightly against Maggie's dirt and blood stained jeans and heavy boots. Maggie scoffed and looked as if she was about to say something before Damon beat her to the punch. "Don't you have a dog to potty train before you leave?" He sneered.

The blonde huffed and held up a hand to Damon, "Ugh, go stake yourself." With a dramatic turn, she blurred out of sight.

Maggie blinked, still staring at where Caroline had just been. "She's _lovely_," She said dryly, "Another friend of yours?"

Damon shrugged nonchalantly, "Bitter ex-girlfriend."

Maggie nodded faintly and they fell into an uncomfortable silence. Wrapping her arms around herself, she took a step closer to Damon and looked at his arm again. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but I could use a drink…" He said quietly and then smirked, "But she's right, you do need a shower. Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

The car ride back to the boardinghouse was mostly silent, which Maggie appreciated given everything she had learned. After Damon's display, she seriously starting to reflect upon everything that had been said and consider what it would mean for her if everything was true.

Getting out of the car, Maggie followed Damon inside the house and instead of leading her into the basement, he led her upstairs. It was the first time she had been in this part of the house and she looked around curiously, noting the numerous amount of bedrooms before he led her into one with a large king bed with heavy wooden posts. The rest of the room was sparingly decorated with a couple of paintings and a private bathroom with a wide archway, but no door. She figured it must be his bedroom.

"I'll see if Elena has clothes here you can borrow," Damon said once he showed her the bathroom. "Go easy on the hot water," He smirked and watched her eyes light up at the sight of the shower and the realization they had running water.

"Oh, don't do anything stupid, I will hear you and I will catch you," He taunted over his shoulder as he walked out of the bathroom. She waited to hear the door close before she took to exploring the bathroom, marveling at the elegance and how foreign it seemed to her after the past year. Pulling the dark shower curtain aside, she turned on the water and gasped in delight at the lukewarm water running between her fingers. She stripped out of her clothes quickly and grabbed some soaps before hopping into the shower.

Maggie pulled the dark curtain around her, not entirely thrilled at the lack of door in the bathroom, but she wasn't going to pass up a shower because of it. She took her time to wash and scrub the layers of sweat and grim that accumulated on her skin in the past few weeks. She lathered and rinsed shampoo through several times, glad she had short hair or it would've taken a lot longer.

The bathroom mirror was heavily fogged up by the time she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She pulled a towel from the rack on the wall and wrapped it around herself. Approaching the bathroom counter, she froze in her steps as her eyes spotted a second pile of clothes. They were folded neatly on the counter with a pair of black knee-high boots sitting on the floor next to it. She bristled at the realization Damon must have come in while she was showering and she didn't even hear him.

Regardless of that, she checked out the clothes, pulling on the pair of jeans and tucking them into the black boots, which had a bit of a heel to it. The rest was a dark green tank top, which matched her eyes, and a brown cardigan with a wide black belt that she used to cinched the fabric in around her waist. She didn't bother doing anything else with her hair besides towel dry it and brush it out. By the time she did this, the fog cleared up on the mirror and she gasped at her reflection.

It was the first time she resembled anything like herself since they left the farmhouse, but her features were sharpened by the harshness of the past year. Her cheeks were not as round as they used to be and her eyes spoke the greatest for her experience. At the same time, the clothes were the biggest change. They were simple in design, but the nicest thing she in a long time. She reminded herself that she would have to ask Damon who Elena is and thank her for them.

Feeling refreshed, the reality of the situation came back to her. Looking around the bathroom, she looked for any sort of weapon before Damon would come looking for her. Not seeing much and not wanting to step out of the bathroom until she was ready, she settled for the towel rack rod, which took a stubborn yank and jimmy to get loose. Brandishing the cast iron rod in her hand, she stepped out into the bedroom slowly, on alert by the eerie silence of the house.

Not seeing Damon in the room, she slowly walked towards the door, keeping her footsteps as light as she could in the boots. Raising the rod in one hand, she turned the doorknob slowly and pulled the door open. Seeing no one, she took a step out into the hallway.

Then her back slammed against the wall and hit the back of her head as well. Groaning a bit, she felt her wrist grabbed roughly while she blinked away the pain from the hit, but unable to move as another hand held her by her throat. Her eyes were met by the icy stare of Damon.

"What part of vampire haven't you understood?" He sneered at her.

"What part of I'll never stop fighting haven't you understood?" She mocked him bitterly.

Damon growled and roughly yanked the towel rod out of her hand, it dropping to the floor with a clatter. Then in a burst of vampire speed, he grabbed her roughly around the waist, throwing her over his shoulder. He sped through the house and into the basement, roughly shoving her into the cell and slamming the door before she recovered from a bought of dizziness from the sudden movements.

"Where are you going?" She shot at him when she heard the heavy lock engage, bringing her face up to the barred window.

"Believe it or not, I have other things to do than deal with your temper tantrums all day," Damon didn't wait for her response before turning his back on her and going for the basement cooler. He pulled out a blood bag, fighting the urge to lash out, especially when he heard her kick the door defiantly. Shaking his head, he popped the cap of the bag off and down it in a matter of seconds before leaving the basement, ignoring her as he passed.

His thoughts about everything infuriating that was Maggie was interrupted by the opening of the front door. He came into the main hallway to find a travel bag being dropped on the floor in the foyer.

"Stefan," Damon drew his attention.

"Damon," He acknowledged, looking up at the elder Salvatore carefully.

"Back so soon?" Damon masked his thoughts behind a smirk.

"It's good to see you too," Stefan said dryly, shrugging off a jacket in the process. "We got lucky and hit a gas pump tank in Richmond."

Damon nodded, not particularly caring how well the supply run went anyways and he had to bite back the natural instinct to ask how Elena is. At Damon's lack of response, Stefan narrowed his eyes slightly at him.

"What's going on, Damon?" He asked pointedly, taking a step closer to Damon.

Damon feigned innocence with a mocked confused look, "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that."

"Who were you talking to in the basement?" Stefan asked more firmly, getting straight to business.

"I need you to find Klaus," Damon countered.

Stefan cocked his head slightly, noting he wasn't answering his question, but not expecting that response. "What makes you think I know where Klaus is?" He said carefully.

Damon rolled his eyes impatiently, "Should I list the shady things you've done with him chronologically or by significance?"

Stefan smiled tightly, but it was more of a controlled aggravated smile than amusement. "What do you want with him?"

Damon grinned, knowing he had Stefan's full curiosity now. "Remember Rose?" He waited for Stefan to nod before continuing, "I have her doppelganger in the basement."

Stefan did nothing to mask his surprise at that revelation. Damon watched with a faintly amused expression while his brother processed that information and he could almost literally see the gears turning in his head. His expression shifted slowly from surprise to confusion and then finally arriving at understanding.

"So what, you're going to try to get Elena off the hook by offering up her instead?" Stefan attempted to grasp at what was going through Damon's mind, but all these years taught him he never could truly be sure.

Damon half shrugged arrogantly, answering him, "The thought may have crossed my mind."

Stefan furrowed his brows, studying his brother closely, as if looking for something else. After a long moment of silence, he spoke slowly and cautiously, "But it's not that simple…"

The arrogance fell from Damon's face as he matched Stefan's seriousness. Stefan closed the distance between and pointed an accusing finger at him. "I know you, Damon, you're never this transparent. There's more to it than that. You're up to something."

"What are you planning?" He questioned finally.

Damon's signature smirk came back to his face and he challenged the youngest Salvatore, "Why, do you want in, brother?"

* * *

_Author's Note: Here we go, things are going to get interesting as more characters getting involved! I want to send a huge thank you to everyone for the reviews to the last chapter, that was the biggest response I've gotten on this story so far._

_I especially want to thank Nethra, Ygritte the Huntress, LiveHappy247, I look forward to hearing more feedback from you in the future!_

_Please review!_


	10. Chapter 10

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Ten_

"What are you planning?" He questioned finally.

Damon's signature smirk came back to his face and he challenged by the youngest Salvatore, "Why, do you want in, brother?"

* * *

Maggie frowned at the brick work of the wall. She was so familiar with it by this point she probably could have drawn a picture with each imperfection permanently etched in her memory. From what she could gather, about a day and a half had gone by since her last argument with Damon and almost the entire time was spent in the basement. She actually hadn't seen Damon at all and the best way she figured the time was passing by was because Alaric was the one routinely bringing her food throughout the day. At first, he didn't say much to her, but the apologetic look in his eyes said it all, even when she had chosen to ignore him or pretend to sleep.

She was furious.

Never before had she thought herself to be able to amass so much anger, but the longer she was left to her thoughts, the more it stewed and festered. Her mind raced through everything, being kidnapped and everything she had learned from Damon. Everything from the way he yelled at her down to his condescending smirks ignited a fire in her. Some of the time she spent pacing back and forth in the cell, like a caged animal just to release some of the tension, but it was never enough.

Part way through the first day she was able to rein her expressions into a stoic glare, masking the growing storm underneath. The conversation that bothered her the most wasn't one she had with Damon. No matter how much her mind strayed, it eventually wandered back to the confrontation with Kol. She couldn't shake that comment about Salvatores' obsession with doppelgangers. She wasn't sure what bothered her more, the actual words or the way he spoke and looked at her.

She spent most of the time resting. She would never admit to it around anyone, but it was the quietest two days she had in a long time. There were no walkers to run from, bodies to be moved and burned, or constant hunger pains to keep her up at night.

Early into the second day, Alaric came around with more food. She sat on the cot with her legs tucked up and her arms wrapped around them. She opened her eyes as the cell door opened and he placed a bowl by the entrance with some coffee, as had become their apparent routine. The smell of the coffee immediately made her mouth start to water, but she didn't let it show as she started at him coldly. As much as she tried to hate the man, it was difficult with his warm nature and she realized he hadn't done much to her since she arrived anyway.

"Hey," Alaric greeted softly, even though most times she ignored him.

Instead of making a quick exit, he stood awkwardly in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. Maggie tried to mask her mild curiosity as she watched him. It would be a good chance to try to make a move and get out, but for all she knew Damon could be right upstairs.

"Listen, I know it doesn't seem like it…" Alaric started and she could see he doubted his decision to say anything. "But Damon, in his own twisted, misguided way is trying to protect you."

Maggie frowned in response, not quite sure how she was supposed to take that. What bothered her more wasn't the fact she was being held against her will here, but why Damon felt obligated at all to protect her.

Feeling sufficiently uncomfortable, Alaric put his hand on the doorframe and started to turn away before Maggie finally broke the silence. "This is actually an improvement over the last place I stayed in," She mused aloud, glancing around her.

Alaric looked back up at her, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. "Seriously?"

Maggie took a deep, controlled breath before nodding slowly. Her tone remained cold and flat as she explained, "Before I shared a prison cell which still had the former inmate splattered against the wall and we had to move the body out and burn it before I could sleep there. The smell was absolutely nauseating. You never get used to it, no matter how much you're around it. You just learn to deal with it a bit better than the previous time."

Alaric did nothing to hide his slack jaw, thoroughly disturbed that someone as young as Maggie had experienced something like that. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he was able to formulate words, "Wow…" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess it's easy to forget just how bad things are out there here."

"I will never forget," She said simply and firmly.

Alaric took it as his cue to go, leaving Maggie alone to her thoughts for the rest of the day.

It was later that night when her isolation was finally broken by the appearance of Damon at the window. The disengaging of the door lock startled Maggie from her rest, causing her to turn over on the cot and sit upright as he opened the door and stepped inside. Damon had his black leather jacket on and his hair was a bit ruffled up, making Maggie guess he had recently been outside. He cast the door wide open, lingering by the threshold.

"Let's go, Sleeping Beauty," He said, keeping his tone light, but the way he didn't really look at her made her think there was something else going on.

Frowning but curious, she leaned forward to adjust her boots before standing up and hesitantly walking towards the door. Her eyes watched him sharply, as if waiting for the catch, but he just sighed impatiently and allowed her to pass first. Just as she was brushing past him, Damon let out a groan and winced, his hand immediately going to his stomach.

With a harsh glare at him, Maggie watched as he pulled out a fork from his abdomen. It was the same fork she had stowed earlier in her boot and slipped up into the sleeve of her cardigan when she stood up. Throwing the fork to the ground, his eyes flashed dangerously at her, "Missed my heart… Where did you get that anyway?"

Maggie half shrugged. "Snitched it off of Alaric yesterday," She said simply. In truth, she hadn't been aiming to his heart, but felt he deserved it anyway. "I'm surprised I actually got you though," She said honestly.

"Yeah, well I've been a little distracted lately," He snapped, taking a breath to calm himself before continuing. "There's a man upstairs that can help get your family."

Maggie's eyes widened and immediately she moved to go up the stairs to see whoever this person was. She was stopped on the second step by Damon's hand on her arm.

"Wait, Klaus… he's an Original vampire-werewolf hybrid," Damon stopped when he saw the confused look from Maggie, "Long story for another day." He shook his head and his expression shifted seriously, "Point is, he's really dangerous… Please, just let me and my brother handle this so don't do or say anything stupid?"

Maggie was taken back at the genuine concern in his expression. Instead of snapping at his assertion she would do something reckless, she just nodded her head simply.

Meanwhile, while Damon had been downstairs, Stefan stood in the living room before the fire placing, watching the flames flicker back and forth. He didn't have to look up to see the arrival of the Original. He could already feel his presence.

"I hope there's a good reason for me hurrying back to Mystic Falls," Klaus greeted a cordial smile with a menacing undertone to his words.

"It's about doppelgangers," Stefan got straight to the point.

"Ah, yes," Klaus tucked his hands behind his back casually as he entered the room. "How is your search for a cure going?"

Stefan gave him a tight grin to mask how much he wanted to wipe the smirk off the hybrid's face. He knew that Klaus was already aware he hadn't been making much progress at all. Before, he could say more, they were interrupted by the footsteps of Damon coming up from the basement, followed by Maggie. The smallest tensing of Klaus' shoulders was the only evident sign of his displeasure at seeing Damon, but his eyes fixated on Maggie instead.

"Rosemarie…" He greeted, noting the way Damon stood a half a step in front of Maggie. "Last I heard you had a run in with a werewolf…"

Maggie opened her mouth to correct him, but Stefan cut in first. "Oh, she did and Damon staked her," Stefan put it bluntly. Maggie looked to Damon in time to see a slightly pained look in his eyes before he buried it with indifference.

Klaus looked away from Maggie and back to Stefan, his eyes boring into him. The tension in the room unsettled Maggie, but she stayed rooted to her spot. She looked him up and down, slightly surprised the fair-haired, blue-eyed man was the one that Damon insisted was dangerous. She had to admit there was something purely sinister in the calculated way he spoke.

"So this isn't about the Petrova doppelgangers," Klaus concluded.

Stefan nodded slowly.

"And I don't suppose you're going to hand her over as a gesture of goodwill then?" Klaus smiled.

Stefan chuckled shortly, "No, but I think we can come to an arrangement in everyone's interests."

Klaus showed his surprise in the slight tilt of his head. "Go on, let's hear it then…"

As they spoke, Damon and Maggie remained mostly ignored in the room. Maggie bristled and had to restrain herself from cutting in, not liking the direction this was going and how they were objectifying her.

"Everyone here knows that doppelgangers from a sacrifice in a curse… Which seeing as you didn't recognize her, I'm willing to bet you don't know what that curse is," Stefan was the one smirking as he pegged Klaus.

"What are you offering?" Klaus asked, starting to get impatient.

"We work together," Stefan said simply and Maggie could see on Damon's face that he wanted to do anything but that, however he remained silent. "You help us find out about this curse and we'll make sure she's safe and human."

Klaus stared at him heavily while the rest of the room was silent, save for the cracking of the wood in the fireplace. "Is that all?" He asked finally.

"Actually, there's one more thing," Damon took the chance to cut in.

Klaus purposefully looked to Damon, sneering slightly, "And what is that?"

"Seeing as she already tried to kill me four, debatably five times. It'd be good to offer her a little incentive to cooperate too," Damon said with a casual smirk. Maggie opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by a slight head shake from Stefan and warning in his eyes.

"There's seven survivors in Georgia," Stefan joined in. "They're her family."

"And seeing as you're the one with eager hybrid henchmen, it would be _so much_ easier for you to rescue them," Damon with a sarcastic smile.

Klaus clenched his jaw and it was obvious that he wasn't too pleased with the idea of someone else dictating a task for his hybrids. He was the one who created them, so he was the one to tell them what to do and that decision was not up to anyone else. Despite that line of thought, he said slowly and darkly as he stared down the elder Salvatore, "I see… We all understand the importance of family."

Shifting off of Damon, Klaus moved across the room towards Maggie. "I do believe the Salvatores have forgotten their manners and we have not been properly introduced," He said politely, holding his hand out to her.

Glancing out of the corner at Damon, she hesitated at first before seeing him give her an affirmative nod. She placed her hand in his. "Niklaus Mikaelson," He lifted her hand and paused to brush his lips over her knuckles, "You may call me Klaus."

Maggie had to suppress a shudder at the contact, quickly dropping her hand and speaking tersely, "Maggie Greene."

Then her mind clicked in recognition at his last name, she furrowed her brows and asked before she thought better of it, "Mikaleson… Are you related to Kol?"

Amusement flashed through Klaus' eyes while behind him Stefan visibly startled, looking to Damon questionably. Damon's lips moved as he muttered a curse so soft under his breath the others couldn't hear it.

"So you've met my brother," Klaus said in more of a statement than a question.

He tilted his head as if he was admiring a painting in a different light he hadn't seen before. "And yet, here you are alive… That _is _interesting."

Maggie said nothing in response, swallowing thickly and already regretting saying anything.

"Where can I find these survivors?" Klaus asked, looking solely at Maggie as if the Salvatores were no longer in the room.

Maggie faltered, her gut instinct screaming at her to never give away the position of her group. A quick glance at Damon, who was having some sort of silent exchange with his brother, reminded her that he already knew where the prison was anyway.

Damning herself at the same time, she answered, "West Georgia Correctional Facility."

"A prison," Klaus gave an amused smile before speaking sincerely and giving his agreement, "I will reunite you with your family soon, sweetheart."

Stepping back from Maggie, he looked to Stefan, "Now, are we done here?"

Recovering from his thoughts, Stefan gave him a curt nod and in a blink the hybrid was gone. Maggie looked around, still finding it unnerving how quickly these supernatural creatures could move. She folded her arms, letting her mind process that Klaus had promised to get her family. Damon let out a low whistle, relaxing his shoulders and clearly relieved to be rid of the Original.

Stefan however did not relax, he gave Damon a murderous look. Maggie took a step away from Damon as he approached his older brother. "He agreed to that rather easily," Stefan stated suspiciously while watching Damon move across the room to pull out a cheap bottle of whiskey he slipped from a supply run earlier.

Damon half shrugged after taking a deep gulp, "Who cares, it wasn't about making a deal anyway…"

"That wasn't what you led me to believe earlier…" Stefan snapped, but then he realized what he really meant and looked at Maggie. She gave Damon a scathing look, but there was equal curiosity there too. "You wanted him to see Maggie… why?"

"Because I'm hoping Klaus will do what Klaus does best and go running to Original brother number two," Damon answered, pouring some of the whiskey into a glass.

He enjoyed watching the figurative light bulb go off above Stefan's head.

"Elijah," Stefan muttered, "He knew Rose better than any of us…"

"Bingo," Damon smirked, "So if anyone will know anything about the curse it'll probably be him…"

Stefan gave an aggravated head shake. "If does, he's not going to tell you."

Damon nodded, knowing several murder attempts, some more successful than others, hadn't exactly endeared him to the Original. "He won't talk to me, but he might talk to Maggie," He gestured with his glass towards her.

Maggie shifted uncomfortably on her feet, she didn't know who this Elijah person was, but if he's anything like the other two brothers she met so far she wasn't sure she wanted to meet him. Her suspicions were confirmed by the building rage she could see in Stefan, it was at a simmer soon to boil with the way he anxious rubbed his hand against his chin.

"And _Kol_? When were you going to mention that?" Stefan's voice starting to rise accusingly.

Damon didn't look bothered by his behavior, rolling his eyes, "Must've slipped my mind."

"What did you do, Damon?" Stefan got up his face and Maggie wondered if she was about to see them literally go at each other's throats, unaware Stefan's reaction to Kol stemmed from the fact that Elena had been in Damon's company in Denver.

"I provoked him, I'll deal with it," Damon snarled defensively, not particularly feeling like he had to justify himself for wanting to keep Maggie away from Kol.

Stefan scoffed and turned away from Damon, running his hands through his hair before lashing out and punching a wall. Maggie jumped at the impact and the house shuddered, some of the wood splintering under Stefan's fist. Damon didn't flinch, calling after him, "Hey, the house has feelings too."

"No!" Stefan shouted back at him. "This is so typical Damon, you haven't changed at all. You don't care about anything or anyone that your personal agenda can affect."

Damon looked taken back by the outburst, putting his glass down slowly.

"We had enough to deal with already with just Klaus and Rebekah… but now all of them will be here. _All _of the Originals, Damon! Elijah, Klaus, Kol and Rebekah," Stefan's voice dropped from yelling, but carried just as much fury in it.

"Whatever happens… and it _will _happen, it'll be entirely on you," Stefan vowed before storming out of the house, slamming the front door forcefully behind him.

* * *

_Author's Note: And the Originals are coming to town!_

_Who are you excited to see the most?_

_Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter! Maggie will be giving Damon a piece of her mind in the next one._

_Thank you to Nethra and thesummersky for your reviews last chapter!  
_


	11. Chapter 11

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Eleven_

"We had enough to deal with already with just Klaus and Rebekah… but now all of them will be here. _All _of the Originals, Damon! Elijah, Klaus, Kol and Rebekah," Stefan's voice dropped from yelling, but carried just as much fury in it.

"Whatever happens… and it _will _happen, it'll be entirely on you," Stefan vowed before storming out of the house, slamming the front door forcefully behind him.

* * *

Damon glared after the door, knowing that Stefan didn't even bother taking a vehicle and took off into the night. Having never been one to chance his brother down whenever he threw a fit, Damon looked away towards Maggie.

"What, you too?" Damon sighed, masking whether or not Stefan's reaction bothered him. Maggie's fists were clenched and her eyes were a poisonous green from fury. Damon turned and started to leave the room, muttering irately, "I've had enough self-righteous moral lectures for one evening so put it in the suggestion box."

"Shut up, Damon!" Maggie blocked his path with one hand on her hip and pointing at him with the other. "Just shut up, and let me speak."

Damon stopped, slightly stunned and opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and pressed his lips into a thin line instead.

"I don't know half of what just happened there or know what is going on between your brother or anyone else here, but let me make one thing very, crystal clear," She hissed, leaning closer to him and pressing her finger against his chest. "I am not some _possession_ to be had or bargained with at your will. What happens to my life is not your decision to make, it's mine alone."

Maggie carried on, thankful that Damon restraining from cutting in and she could see it in his eyes it was difficult for him. "I don't understand all this supernatural business, you can help me understand… But you cannot take those choices away from me, Damon. They are mine to make and I'm not some cheap bartering chip."

Her last few words pushed Damon's restraint to the limit and he cut in, "_Bartering chip_? Maggie, everything I just did was to protect you!"

Maggie stepped back from him, letting out an aggravated groan and throwing her hands in the air. "That's exactly it, Damon! I'm not Rose or whoever I remind you of. I don't want you to protect me. I don't know why you feel you need to protect me at all. You had no right to bring me here."

Damon scoffed, not wanting to believe what he was hearing. "Versus what? Leaving you out there to be prison Lean Cuisine? You'd probably be dead by now."

"Maybe I would," Maggie acknowledged darkly, feeling her hands shaking and her eyes starting to sting a little. "But it would have been my choice and you took that away from me."

Damon halted, stunned to see her starting to tear up. His anger began to deflate as he realized in all the shouting, angry words, and violence between them, he had yet to actually make her cry.

"And the worst part is being taken away from the _only _people I have left in this world. They are the only thing that matters to me anymore and they could be dead already. So to answer your question, yes, you should have just left me out there," Maggie's anger gave way to tears and her last words were a choked whisper. Unable to handle being around him any longer, she turned away and left him alone in the room to go to the only corner she could cry. She went into the basement, barely paying attention to where she was going before curling up on the cot, tucking her legs in and burying her head in her arms.

She wanted to scream and yell at him some more, maybe hit him again. She wanted to shout at him and really make him understand the pain he was putting her through. But all the turmoil of the past few days had reached its boiling point in that moment. She could only keep it together for so long before her strong façade would break and she didn't want him to see her so weak and vulnerable. So she sat in that basement cell, letting the hot tears roll down her cheeks as the quiet sobs shake her and the levee broke.

Damon remained rooted to where he stood for a long time, having just watched Maggie's retreating form and her words echo through his mind. He heard each heavy step down the stairs, the creak of the cot as she sat down in it, and now the sounds that cut him into the most, which where her sobs. He looked around him at the historical boardinghouse, which its silence chilled him and reminded him just how utterly alone he was.

With hollow steps, he moved to stand in front of the fireplace, placing his hands on the mantle and leaning forward. He closed his eyes as he felt the heat of the flames on his face, which did not compare to the intensity he felt around Maggie from the moment he met her. His thoughts drifted far away from him. He wondered at what point he had once again failed when trying to do the right thing.

* * *

Roughly an hour had passed before her sobs had quieted. Her sniffles still echoed off the cell walls and tears were still shed. The worst of the tears had passed, but they did nothing to comfort her in this situation. The more she thought about the possibility of her father, her little sister, and Glenn being dead brought on more tears.

The light into the room was interrupted by a shadow. Maggie looked up, her eyes red and cheeks stained, even after she tried wiping some of them away with her soaked sleeve. "Please, just leave me alone," She groaned in a pleading voice, lacking the strength to fight him.

"No, I have something I need to say and I'm only going to say it once," He answered hoarsely, his voice lacking any sarcasm or bite. Damon stepped into the room slowly, thrown by how fragile Maggie looked in that moment. She didn't even bother glaring at him, instead just watching him with an emotionally exhausted expression. He sat down carefully on the cot next to Maggie, making sure he didn't touch her as she leaned away from him.

Leaning forward on his elbows, he sighed, "Typical Damon, as my brother likes to call it, is true." He started to gain her attention in spite of herself, especially since she could almost swear there was a similar tired pain in his eyes.

"I'm stubborn and selfish," He stated, looking blankly at the wall opposite from them. If Maggie was in better spirits, she would've snorted and agreed with him, but she simply sniffed and tried to dry her face more.

"I get out of control and lash out at the worst times," He continued, swallowing his pride and remembering similar words another doppelganger had told him.

"I'm not the good guy. I hurt people and I have a lot of enemies," He turned his head to look at Maggie and she saw a shadow of remorse on his face.

"But my brother was wrong about one thing," He murmured determinedly and Maggie found she couldn't look away from his eyes even if she wanted to, hanging onto each word. "I don't show I care, but there are a few I do care about… When I found you, I had a choice to make. I could have let you go, never knowing what would happen and there being a good chance you would die out there."

"I was selfish. I had already let Rose go and I couldn't let you go too," He admitted with a grimace. "I brought you here because I rather have you here and safe. I could live with myself knowing you're alive, even if it meant you hating me because of it."

Maggie held her breath as he spoke with such conviction. It floored her to see this side of him, a side she had never considered being there. Before it was just so easy to see him as an aggressive captor, but now was the first time she saw he was a part, maybe even just as much, human as she was. His words weren't an apology, but she recognized it was an insight to him that he didn't necessarily owe to her.

"You _are_ infuriating," She said quietly after thinking. She couldn't honestly say for sure that she didn't hate him.

"I know," He replied somberly, studying her face closely.

"Honestly, I've never contemplated so many different ways to physically harm someone," She said, straining to lighten her tone as her way of showing appreciation for his confession.

He offered a humorless smirk, half shrugging, "I bring out homicidal tendencies in everyone."

She gave a small chuckle, which came out roughly from her sore throat. The corners of his mouth tugged upwards a little as he watched her shoulders begin to relax, the exhaustion evident throughout her frame. Being so close to her, he had to fight the urge to reach out and touch her, even if just a hand on the shoulder, but he didn't want to push it.

"You'll see your family again," He promised, "Klaus sticks to his word."

"Thank you," Maggie meant more than just the reassurance about her family, but realizing what it took for him to come downstairs and admit those things to her.

He nodded and tore his gaze away from her, needing to put some distance between them before he pushed too much. He stood up and gave her one last look before slipping out of the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Maggie woke up late the next morning. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep when she finally laid down for the night. For a while, she remained awake contemplating the night and what that meant, if it changed anything. She suspected the strain of the previous night was the reason why she overslept. Edging to an upright position, she frowned curiously at the sight of the basement cell door being ajar. She hadn't heard anyone come in or out during the night. Curiously, she peered out of the doorway, not seeing anyone in the basement and it was silent save for the hum of the generator powering the cooler.

Nervously, she ascended the stairs, one step at a time and doing her best not to create any noise. Coming up to the first floor, she still didn't see or hear any sign of anyone so she moved through the rooms, trying to remember the layout. Coming into the kitchen, she noted the smell of coffee in the air. Her eyes caught on a knife rack sitting on the counter. Pulling a long cutting knife out, she clutched it closely and moved on. The living room was empty and the fire long since burnt out.

She hesitated in the main hallway. There was the staircase going up to the bedrooms, which she figured if Damon was still here that's where he would be. Instead, she looked longing to the front door and the possible freedom it promised. Before she could take another step, her back was slammed against the wall and her hands pinned above her head, one still clutching the knife.

She gasped and her eyes opened to be met by icy eyes, their noses inches apart from each other. She froze, his body pinning her to the wall. Damon smirked, "That makes six times now."

"Five," She corrected stubbornly in a breathless whisper. It was clear they were settling back into the same intensity as before, but Damon seemed more amused than irritated this time. Damon raised a curious eyebrow.

"I'm not suicidal, I wasn't trying to kill us in the car," Maggie declared.

"So you're really just a bad driver," He retorted cheekily.

She opened her mouth to respond, but a throat clearing startled her. Both of them looked to the front door to see Jeremy Gilbert standing there with a duffle bag in hand, dressed in jeans and the blue Mystic Grill shirt. "Am I interrupting something?" He asked, looking curiously at the two and not particularly regretful.

Maggie's cheeks flushed as she realized the assertion that could be made from the position they were in. Damon didn't seem bothered though, he just grinned and delicately plucked the knife from her fingers with ease, letting it drop to the floor with a twang as the tip buried into the wood.

"Would you leave if you were?" Damon asked, not taking his eyes off Maggie and enjoying the mortified expression.

"No," Jeremy answered, closing the door behind him and approaching the two.

"What do you want?" Damon's teasing turned terse as he let Maggie's hands go, stepping away and watching Jeremy drop the bag in the foyer.

"Stefan told us what happened last night," Jeremy stated and Maggie heard something that sounded like another Saint Stefan insult under Damon's breath. "The bag is some clothes and a few things from Elena."

Maggie's eyes widened at the gesture, surprised since Jeremy tried to shoot her the last time she saw him. "Also, I wanted to see you," Jeremy looked pointedly at Maggie.

Before she could respond, Damon jumped in with an arrogant tone, "I hope you're not looking for supernatural girlfriend number four, Gilbert." Damon leaned towards Maggie with a hand covering his mouth, as if to whisper but he continued at a normal level, "Spoiler alert; the last one was a witch and dumped him for seeing the vampire ghosts of the first two."

Maggie gave Damon an incredulous look, torn between deciding if that was true or if he was just being ridiculous.

"Thanks, dick," Jeremy hissed at Damon before looking back at Maggie. "I've got morning clean up at the Grill and meeting with Alaric and Meredith later. I was wondering if you wanted someone to talk to other than an egotistical vampire," He offered gently, shooting another glare at Damon at the end.

Damon considered protesting about her being alone with Jeremy, but caught the part about Ric and Meredith.

"I'd appreciate that actually," Maggie answered gratefully, "Thanks for asking _me_." She gave Damon a hard look as if to say '_and not you_.'

Damon bit his tongue, knowing he had to concede at that point. Maggie accepted the bag appreciatively and disappeared upstairs shortly after to take a shower. Damon remained not far away while Jeremy waited for her downstairs. She showered quickly and put on fresh clothes, sticking to the boots since she was starting to grow fond of them. This time she didn't bother coming up with another murder attempt for Damon since she was just eager to get out of the house.

They left in a small grey hybrid car, which had black stenciled spray on the side that said '_MFVI 0034_.' When Jeremy saw Maggie's curious look, he explained that the town planners controlled the amount of vehicles being used to help ration fuel supplies and only some people, like Damon and Alaric, choose to ignore those rules. They drove downtown in silence and Maggie was grateful it wasn't as tense as when she was around Damon, appreciating the calm and gentle demeanor of Jeremy.

Arriving at the Grill, it was mostly empty but the smell of breakfast lingered in the air. There was another boy about Jeremy's age with fair hair and blue eyes, like the stereotypical All-American guy. She heard Jeremy call him Matt as they acknowledged each other and he said he was on his way out. Matt gave her a long lingering look that she couldn't quite decipher, but he didn't say anything since he seemed to be in a hurry and left shortly after.

It was just the two of them and Jeremy insisted she sit at the bar counter while he got her some of whatever was leftover and took care of the cleaning. He apologized profusely for thinking she was a vampire. Afterwards Alaric had stopped at the Gilbert house and explained what happened. Despite herself, Maggie found herself warming up to Jeremy. In some ways, he reminded her of Shawn, her step-brother, but she had to push those memories away.

Eventually, she started asking him questions and Jeremy patiently answered all of them. He told her about some of the town history, starting with the Founding families and the ongoing issues with vampires. He didn't get into the tomb and Katherine though, mostly sticking to factual information. She didn't push for personal stories anyway. He told her about the Lockwoods and that there are werewolves, not getting into the hybrids though. He was patient and understanding as she struggled with the idea of witches and the Bennett connection. Unlike with Damon, she didn't end up shouting and stomping off. The calmness was a nice relief and change of pace.

In turn, she found herself opening up about her experience since getting here. She just mostly explained what happened, leaving out the confrontation with Damon last night entirely and skipping over a few other details. Jeremy actually ended up laughing and smile at hearing her assaults on Damon.

"A fork? That's awesome," Jeremy laughed while Maggie couldn't help chuckling a bit herself, thinking about how ridiculous it seems now.

"I don't know what it is, but he just quite literally drives me insane," Maggie admitted, shaking her head and drank some water, her food long since finished.

Jeremy nodded while smiling, wiping down the counter a final time. "He does that to everyone… I bet it drives him insane that he can't compel you."

"Compel?" Maggie scrunched her brow in confusion.

"Yeah, mind compulsion… it's a really freaky vampire thing where they can control someone's action or mess with their memories," Jeremy explained, trying not to let his resentment from his experience show. "But if you have vervain, it doesn't work… which is why I had it in your drink that day, but you responded the way a vampire does and only an Original can compel them. From the sound of things, if Damon could compel you, he would've by now."

Maggie nodded, from what she understood it seemed to make sense. She was about to ask him about the Original part, being the third time she heard that term and not knowing what it was still.

Before she did though, Jeremy's expression changed drastically as he looked at something behind her. "Maggie, duck!" He said, his hands diving under the bar counter.

Instinct of being around Daryl the past year curtailed any hesitation as Maggie bent down, her head dropping below counter level. She felt a rush of motion above her, a twang of what she guessed to be the crossbow she had seen Jeremy with earlier followed by a sickly crunch. Counting to three in her head, she slowly sat back up and saw a horrified, pained expression on Jeremy. The crossbow slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground with a crash.

"Jeremy?" She questioned and her eyes widened when she noticed the feathered end of an arrow protruding from his chest. He looked at her without really seeing her and gave a blood filled cough before falling down to the ground.

Unsure of what just happened, she turned around and found a familiar dark-haired man standing at the front door. He smirked at his handy work, hearing the heartbeat of the young teen flutter and fail. It had been too easy for him to catch the arrow and throw it straight back in the direction it came from. He stepped forward, approaching Maggie slowly, almost like a panther's prowl, tucking his hands casually into his jacket.

"Kol," Maggie realized in a quiet whisper.

A wicked grin came across his features, "Hello, sweetheart. You are a very difficult woman to find alone…"

* * *

_Author's Note: Oooh yeah, some Damon/Maggie bonding and here's Kol. I personally like this chapter since it's the beginning of a turning point in Damon and Maggie's relationship. It's one step, but there are still many things to come and obstacles that will arise._

_Now to address some last chapter's reviews, which I totally love so keep them coming!_

_Wileby: Stick around and keep reading, we'll see what Kol is up to. ;)_

_LiveHappy: I definitely have some walker slaying and sexual tension in the future! Some of that tension is starting to show, but it's gotta be a slow burn at first in my opinion (since she needs to get over being kidnapped first) to stay true to their personalities. _

_Thesummersky: Oooh! Elijah is my favorite Original too. I'm glad you liked the fighting. Damon and Stefan will always butt heads and I can see Maggie bickering with Damon a lot too._

_Nethra: Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying TWD, perfect timing to catch up during the winter break. I found it interesting how the same actress looks much younger in TWD than TVD, but maybe that's just me._


	12. Chapter 12

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Twelve_

"Kol," Maggie realized in a quiet whisper.

A wicked grin came across his features, "Hello, sweetheart. You are a very difficult woman to find alone…"

* * *

Maggie stood up from her seat as Kol came towards the bar. For a moment, she considered making a run for the back to see if there was another exit. But she banished that idea quickly, who was she kidding? He was a vampire and would catch her before she could make it ten feet.

Instead of going directly to her, Kol took his time and paused to lean over the bar with a casual elbow against the counter, glancing down at Jeremy briefly. The teen had stopped moving the blood from his mouth trailing down his cheek. "Oh, he'll bounce back soon enough," Kol announced in a chirper tone, causing Maggie's stomach to clench at the idea of Jeremy becoming a walker. "At least, his aim is better than his swing," Kol smirked.

Maggie step away from Kol, towards the door, knowing if she could just get out there then someone would likely see them. Just as she turned her head, she let out a startled gasp, bumping into Kol. She still wasn't used to how quickly vampires could move. He watched her with dark unreadable eyes as she stepped back away from him, her lower back pressed against the bar counter edge.

"It is rather irritating how the Salvatores try to claim doppelgangers like adolescent pups," Kol murmured, his attention now focused solely on Maggie. He could hear her heart pounding, but she kept her expression steeled and cold.

"I've never understood the fascination with the Petrova ones and I quite frankly don't care who it is you descend from," Kol stopped less than a foot away from her. He could see Maggie trying to lean away from him, using her hands to hold her up against the counter but defiantly keeping her chin up and staring him back directly in the eyes.

For a moment, she considered staying silent and hoping he would go away or do whatever it was he wanted to do and be done with it. Call it stubborn, but she didn't want to appear weak so instead she tilted her head slightly and replied, "That makes you the first and only."

Kol's eyes gleamed, delighted she was actually bold enough to speak directly to him this time, instead of hiding behind Damon. Her words were more honest than she intended. She was already starting to get tired of being confused for Rose.

"What's your name, darling?" His voice came out like a quiet purr.

"Maggie," She answered and watched nervously as one of his hands plucked her hand from the counter. She tried to tug it out of his grasp, but it wouldn't budge. He raised her hand to his lips in the same manner that Klaus done, but he didn't let it drop.

Her jaw clenched as she felt his lips brush against her knuckles, his eyes staying locked on hers. "Kol, but you already knew that and what I am," His mouth lingered near her hand and she felt his hot breath on her skin with each word. Tauntingly slow, he turned her hand over, tilting it back in his and exposing her wrist.

"Even after a thousand years, there is still one thing that calls to me above all else," He turned his gaze down to her wrist. With his other hand, his fingers traced lightly over the blue veins, running delicately down the length of them with a dark sense of admiration on his expression. She felt the goosebumps on her arms rise at the touch.

"The desire burns like a flame, destroying everything in its path and the want for anything else. It blinds you and consumes your every sense," Kol's voice dripped like velvet as he closed his eyes and caressed her skin with the tip of his nose, inhaling deeply. Maggie's struggles ceased as she shivered from the morbid intimacy of the moment.

"When I'm this close, I can feel the blood pumping through each vein. My throat begs for this nectar stronger than a thirsty man's plea for an oasis," He smiles darkly as his fingertips retrace the veins on her arm, settling a few inches down from her wrist. For the first time, she can see the elongated fangs in his mouth and her heartbeat picked up faster, as if it was pounding her throat instead of her chest. For all the talk about vampires, this was the first time she was starting to see the animalistic nature of one. For a moment, she thought she saw veins moving under his eyes, but she wasn't sure if it was just her mind playing tricks. The real possibility of being bit was starting to hit her.

He opened his eyes, locking with hers once more and if it was possible, they seemed blacker than she had ever seen them before. "Then there's the heartbeat. A song of pure temptation, like a beautiful serenade," His lips brushed faintly against her pulse point and two fingers started to tap lightly against her skin, flawlessly matching the same rhythm of her heart rate. "You can tell so much about someone from it, like how yours is fluttering and straining on the precarious edge between life and death."

He looked away from her pale stricken face and down to the wrist he had been worshipping. "When it's this close, the fire burns and it literally pains me to restrain myself," He whispered, thinking of the searing bloodlust brought to his nerves. He opened his mouth, his fangs touching the skin and Maggie took a ragged deep breath, trying to brace herself. The tapping of his fingers stopped.

Kol didn't sink his teeth down though, he lingered for a long moment before pulling them away. "And yet, with you I don't feel any of that," He nearly growled, his expression shifting into hard scrutiny and frustration. "If anything, my body is telling me not to bite you…" He voiced as if the very thought seemed impossible, but he knew better to trust his gut instincts.

"I intend to find out why," He vowed, looking up at her again. There was relief in her eyes, but her heart rate still pounded away ferociously. She said nothing as they stared at each other in silence, him listening to her heart and aware of how close they were. One small movement would be all it would take to pull her flush against him and he caressed her arm with a tenderness that he didn't let anyone live to remember usually. He was aware of how her knees shook and the knuckles of her other hand were white from gripping the counter, but yet she still stood.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?" Kol asked incredulously when he finally understood what had been missing from her demeanor this entire time.

Maggie blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat thickly when she realized he was waiting for an answer. She hoped her voice didn't come out as shaky as she felt, "There are worst deaths to be had."

Her mind flickered to the many memories of the people she used to know and the walkers they had become. Especially the ones who were torn apart at the limps and gutted. She thought of the nauseating mess walkers made during a frenzy on someone, ripping and tearing at the flesh, shoving it into their mouths and smearing the blood around before reaching for some more. If she had to die, she would prefer it to be at the hands of an ancient vampire savoring each drop of her blood, like the one that stood before her.

"You aren't afraid of death," Kol murmured in more of a statement than a question as he studied her. His grip on her arm loosened, his fingers slipping away and her arm fell to her side heavily. He stepped back from her and the intimacy of the moment disappeared. Maggie suddenly felt like she could breathe again without being overwhelmed by Kol as his arrogant smirk came back.

"Hold onto that conviction, Maggie. There are only two outcomes for you in Mystic Falls and they both involve death," He said chillingly. Knowing his time was limited, he back away from her and swiftly exited the Grill before anything could stop him.

Finally alone, she clutched her hand over her chest as she sank numbly down into a seat on the barstool. The adrenaline caught up to her as she sucked in deep breathes.

Shortly after Kol left, the doors of the Grill opened and laughter carried through the air. Two people stepped through, a petite brunette in green scrubs and Alaric, each of them carrying heavy cardboard boxes. They stopped short at the sight of Maggie sitting alone and looking thoroughly spooked.

"Maggie? What's going on?" Alaric frowned in confusion.

His voice startled her from her thoughts, looking up at Alaric it took her a processing moment to really see that he was there. The familiar face stirred her as she shot up from her seat. "Oh god, Jeremy!" She gasped, not answering his question and instead darting around the end of the bar. Alaric and Meredith quickly dropped their boxes on a nearby table at her alarm, rushing forward.

Maggie came around to behind the bar and halted at the sight of Jeremy lying limp on the floor on his side. She covered her gasp with a mouth over her hand. Despite not knowing the boy long, she felt her chest tighten and heave. She barely paid any attention as Meredith rushed forward and kneeled down at his side.

Alaric was besides her trying to get her attention. "What happened? What did do you do?" His accusing tone and gripping of her shoulders didn't pull her eyes from Jeremy.

"I don't know," Her voice choked, having not actually seen how this happened to Jeremy. Alaric made a noise next to her and she stared at Meredith leaning over Jeremy's body. "It was Kol," She amended.

"Ric! He has his ring," Dr. Fell called over her shoulder.

He nodded and cut off Maggie's field of vision by stepping in front of her, a determined expression on his face. "Are you sure it was Kol?"

Maggie nodded numbly, trying to see around him. A visible sigh of relief passed through Alaric's shoulders and she didn't understand why. He turned away from her and joined Meredith's side. Wrapping her arms around herself tightly, she watched on as she talked him through assisting her with breaking the tip of the arrow off before pulling it out.

She distanced herself from them when they gathered his body up and lifted it up onto the bar counter, laying him out on his backside. Alaric double checked to see the Gilbert family ring on his hand while Meredith smoothed out some of his hair, gazing at him anxiously.

"He should come around in a few hours," Alaric tried to reassure Meredith and she smiled weakly.

Maggie was disturbed by how calm they appeared to be about this. They were undeniably upset about finding Jeremy this way, but to her it seemed they openly acknowledged he could wake up at any moment as a walker and they treated it as if he was just napping.

* * *

Two agonizing hours passed by the Grill. Jeremy lay on the counter undisturbed and Maggie pulled away from Alaric and Meredith. She emotionally and physically put distance between her and them. At first, they seemed to try to comfort her, but their words fell flat on her ears. They tried to ask her what happened and she gave them vague answers. She just told them the basics of what happened, skirting over exactly what Kol said and did to her. Alaric got frustrated with the lack of information, but eventually they gave up when they realized they wouldn't get anything out of her.

They moved onto the boxes they had originally brought in. Soon papers were spread out on some of the tables and they were shifting through them. Some of them were diaries and journals of some sort. Maggie honestly didn't pay much attention to them. She couldn't bring herself to care. Her eyes lingered mostly on Jeremy, just waiting for that moment when he would reawaken as a monster. It bothered her how neither of them discussed what they would do when that happened too.

She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her arms as if to push away the exposed feeling she felt from Kol. Her mind flashed through each one of his touches and the way he cherished every word, reveling in the affect he had on her in the process.

A gasp cut through her thoughts.

She looked up to see Jeremy clutching his chest and jolting upright. Alaric and Meredith dropped the papers they had in their hands, going to his side.

"Welcome back, buddy," Alaric greeted with a relief smile as Jeremy sat up, dropping his legs over the edge. He rubbed at his chest and groaned.

"Damn, bastard knew the chest is the worst," Jeremy grumbled weakly and remained seated on the counter, not ready to stand up yet.

Maggie approached Jeremy on Alaric's other side, staring at him dumbstruck. Seeing her, Jeremy gave her a weak smile, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" She repeated in disbelief, wondering how he could possibly be worried about her. "I saw you die, how is this possible?!"

Jeremy smiled and held up his right hand. "Lucky family ring," He tried to lighten up the somber mood, but it failed with her so he explained. "It protects me from death by supernatural forces."

Maggie said nothing and her head shook slightly as she looked him up and down. Already some of the color was coming back to his face and he was very much alive. The only sign that he had died at all was his stiff movements and the bloodstain on his shirt.

"Did Kol hurt you?" He asked her.

She thought for a moment and sighed heavily. In all that happened, he hadn't actually done anything to physically harm her. "No, just ominous death threats," She gave a strained smile, trying not to show how much it bothered her.

Jeremy didn't buy it and he softened his tone. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I'm fine, I swear, and you're safe now." Before she could stop him, he reached out and pulled her into a hug. At first she was stunned by the contact and the hand gently rubbing her back. Slowly, she gave in and wrapped her arms around him, giving a bitter laugh.

"You are all insane," She muttered, wondering how it was that he was the one that got killed and he was comforting her…

* * *

_Author's Note: Merry Christmas everyone! _

_And of course Jeremy didn't die! That would be horrible._

_Thanks for the reviews everyone! They really motivate me to get to writing for the next chapters._

_Thesummersky: Thank you so much, that is such a huge compliment to me. I'm glad I can convey even half the amount of emotion I feel when writing. I won't say much about what happens when Maggie and Elena meet, but I wouldn't expect a warm reception. ;) Happy holidays to you too!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: Some of the events from TVD parallel but do not directly match the show in my fanfic because of the TWD events. There's no specific episode this story picks up from because it doesn't make sense for things to proceed identically during a zombie apocalypse but at the same time relationships, events, and such would not completely stagnant because of one. I hope that makes sense!_

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Thirteen_

Jeremy didn't buy it and he softened his tone. "Hey, it's going to be okay. I'm fine, I swear, and you're safe now." Before she could stop him, he reached out and pulled her into a hug. At first she was stunned by the contact and the hand gently rubbing her back. Slowly, she gave in and wrapped her arms around him, giving a bitter laugh.

"You are all insane," She muttered, wondering how it was that he was the one that got killed and he was comforting her.

* * *

It took a while before Maggie was calm enough to let go of Jeremy and convinced that he was really going to be okay. Afterwards, she realized in that moment he was starting to warm his way into her heart the same way that Shawn and Beth were. That realization scared her though, because for so long it had been about the group and before Rick came carrying his boy to their farmhouse, it had only been the Greene's, Otis and Patricia. Her father had always been against taking in outsiders, with the exception of Carl being shot.

In light of what happened, Alaric and Meredith opted to save the research for another day. Maggie overheard them discussing some of it, but her thoughts were too far away to really process what they were talking about. She kept watching Jeremy in silence, thrown by the sight of him grabbing a mop and some water to clean up his own blood stain behind the bar. The sight of the blood made her mind flash to the image of Kol and his fangs, hovering over her wrist and inches away from drinking hers.

Maggie numbly agreed to go back to the boardinghouse with Jeremy and Alaric. She barely noticed the car ride, thinking about how her life had been completely turned inside out inside a short week. It was starting to seem like an ongoing nightmare that she knew no matter how hard she tried to wake up or pinch herself, she just had to carry on.

Alaric and Jeremy stayed at the boardinghouse with her for a while since Damon wasn't there. They mostly left her to sort out her own thoughts when they saw how far away she was. At one point, she spent a lengthy time out on the balcony overlooking the property, staring off blankly into the woods. Jeremy brought her coffee and some food at one point, but it was only a hollow feeling of comfort. Sometimes he would sit outside with her, partly in silence and other times trying to talk to her, but she just gave noncommittal answers and nods, not really listening.

Damon came back late in the day. She could tell when she heard his voice raising at Alaric when being explained what happened at the Grill. She didn't stir from her seat, fine with letting the three figure it out on their own. Also, she didn't particularly feel like sharing Kol's words when they had already been running through her mind most of the day. His last words ate away at her mind the most. Part of her wanted to believe there was something else in his eyes in the way he told her to hold onto her conviction, but she wasn't sure if she was just fooling herself.

Whatever anger Damon had when he heard about the incident, he didn't let it show when he finally emerged on the balcony and took in the sight of Maggie sitting on one of the lounge chairs, hugging her knees. He suggested getting out of the house and he had to repeat himself before she heard him, mumbling an agreement. All the other attempts at getting her to talk were mostly ignored.

That was how she found herself sitting on the top of a picnic table in the town square as the last hour of daylight began to slip away. It was the same table that Damon had brought her to the first time he showed her Mystic Falls. She had her arms wrapped around herself tightly while Damon had disappeared a moment before coming back with a handle of some cheap whiskey in his hand. Her eyes were on the few people were moving about the town square and lighting up torches along the edges for the evening. It was odd to see life that still carried on after it got dark since they weren't afraid of attracting walkers by the light here.

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on making too many normal friends here…" Damon acknowledged with a smirk when he saw her gaze, coming to a seat next to her on the table with the bottle. Maggie gave him a half interested confused look and he explained, "The Council thinks you're a vampire… And while everyone knows we help keep them safe, they usually try to stay away from us."

Maggie thought about it a moment before shrugging, "That's fine. I don't particularly care what they think." She already had enough on her plate to deal with as far as she was concern. Also, she would never admit it to anyone here, but she could feel herself slowly starting to resent the normal people here. They've been living in this Stepford-like bubble of a town while the rest of the world was going to hell, not truly facing the horrors of what was out there. It wasn't fair they could carry on and rebuild while her group was dying.

Damon scrutinized her face closely and grew anxious. The whole day she had been quiet and withdrawn, even more than usual, which was considering something given their volatile relationship. He couldn't claim that he knew her well enough to read all of her emotions and it was frustrating him now. Maggie wasn't an open book and a bleeding heart like Elena. Rose had been endlessly patient and always willing to give her opinion.

"Listen, I know after everything that's happened, this probably isn't what you want to hear right now…" Damon changed the subject, thinking of his words carefully when Maggie turned her head to look at him fully, but with a dull look in her eyes. "Klaus will probably be back with your family soon and I hope you'll consider staying at the boardinghouse," He paused to amend with a smirk, "In one of the guestrooms… At least until we get your family settled into a house."

Damon waited in silence while Maggie considered his offer. He expected a sharp remark and a flat out rejection, even maybe a tirade about after the way he treated her she would never willing stay with him. None of those emotions came to surface on her face though, instead she just nodded in a hollow tone, "I'll think about it."

She looked away from him, her mind hadn't been anywhere near her family. She was still wondering what two outcomes Kol had been referring to. Her thoughts were interrupted by Damon placing a hand on her cheek and turning her head back towards him.

"Where are you, Maggie?" Damon whispered softly, his eyes deep into hers and trying to find something else there. She held her breath as she felt his thumb stroke gently over her cheek, slightly cool to the touch, but that did nothing to stifle the rising blush. "Come back to me," He continued, leaning closer to her and she realized she had seen that look in his eyes before, when he promised to protect her.

This time she had a better understanding of what it meant and she had to pull her head away from his hand, leaning back. Damon frowned slightly at the reaction, but let his hand drop and let the moment pass by opening the bottle of whiskey instead. He took a deep gulp before setting it down on the bench between their feet.

"You haven't made any attempts on my life in the past twelve hours, that isn't like you," Damon pointed out.

That caused something to stir in Maggie and she whipped her head around, glaring at him harshly. "I saw Jeremy die… then defy everything I've never known my entire life and come back from the dead, you insensitive prick," She spat out. "I've had other things to deal with than you."

Damon's eyebrows rose slightly, but he just gave a knowing smile and didn't appear to be offended in the least. "There's my fighter," He murmured, picking up the bottle for another sip.

Maggie gave him a half irritated and half incredulous look. He swallowed and gave her a side smirk, before holding the bottle out to her. "I thought I had lost you for a moment there."

She scoffed that he had gotten a rise out of her on purpose. Looking at the bottle, she considered it a second before figuring to hell with it. If there was ever a day that warranted drinking problems away, she bet even her father would understand. She grabbed the bottle and raised it to her lips, "I believe you owe me some stories, Salvatore."

She didn't want to get into what had been bothering her. Damon was relieved to at least get her talking again and took that as a small victory. The whiskey burned down the back of her throat as she listened to him start to explain more of the history to Mystic Falls. He started back in 1864 with the Founding families and the Council's prejudice against vampires. He stayed away from his family and Katherine, leaving it simply that was the time period that him and his brother were turned. Damon skirted around personal details. He explained a few things more about vampires, such as the healing ability to their blood and dying with it in your system starts the transition.

Maggie occasionally interrupted him to ask questions. As they drank and passed the bottle back and forth, she found herself beginning to loosen up and she wasn't as quick to yell at him when he said something irritating or ridiculous. He explained in more detail about the Bennett line and how they had come to Mystic Falls with a vampire. Maggie wasn't too thrilled about the idea of witches, especially when she found out some of the stereotypes weren't too far from the truth, such as the candles, spellbooks, and creepy rituals.

They shifted onto people watching, as the town square was still busy even after the sun settling into the horizon. Across the way, he could see them setting up a bonfire not too far from the courthouse. Once it was clear that Maggie had a pretty good buzz on, he played a different game with people watching. He would point out a person from the town and gave their supernatural history as concisely as possible, because to an outsider it sounded completely ridiculous. Through this, it was the first time he saw Maggie smiling freely and realized she was a bit of a giggly drunk.

Damon leaned with one hand behind her, close to her ear as he pointed people out. "Oh, this is a personal favorite," He announced after finishing the last drop from the bottle. Maggie raised an eyebrow at him curiously, not noticing the way his breath fell against her cheek or doing a good job hiding it. "See, the woman over there… the one that belongs in a Crest commercial," He pointed out the group of women coming out of the police station.

Maggie followed his direction, sure enough spotting the one he was talking about speaking with Sheriff Forbes and another deputy. "How does she still keep them so white?" Maggie gaped.

Damon snickered, partly at her comment and how much different Maggie was with a few less inhibitions. "That's Carol Lockwood, the mayor. Her husband was mayor first, but he got mistakenly cooked when the Council took out a bunch of vampires. Turns out, he had a dormant werewolf gene."

Maggie stared at him a moment before hiding a giggle behind her mouth. "They were so worried about vampires, they didn't know they had a werewolf for a mayor?"

Damon smirked and nodded. "Oh it gets better too. His son, Tyler, activated the curse and started dating Barbie." He enjoyed the shocked look on her face before adding, "Oh and then he got turned into a hybrid by Klaus."

Maggie looked away, unable to help laughing and shaking her head a bit. It took her a while before she settled down, enjoying the silence between them as she watched Carol bid the officers goodnight. Damon didn't take his eyes off Maggie.

After a while, she turned back to him with a suddenly curious expression. "What's the story with you and Stefan?" She asked bluntly.

Damon sighed and pulled away to sit upright properly. He gave a half shrug, "Just 150 years of sibling rivalry."

He glanced at Maggie to see she wasn't convinced by his answer and her green eyes bore into his. He considered just leaving it at that, because at the end of the day he didn't really owe her any of those explanations. On the other hand, the chances were that she would eventually find out and who knows how and what she would hear. Hesitantly, he rubbed his chin as he thought about how Stefan had told Elena lies and where that got him and he had told Elena half-truths and he fared no better. Looking at Maggie, he figured there was only way to find out what telling the actual truth would do for once.

"Like every story, it started with a girl," Damon gave a humorless chuckle. "Katherine. My brother and I competed for her affections. Stefan didn't know she was a vampire, but I did and I still loved her anyway. Long story short, she was rounded up and trapped in a tomb with a bunch of vampires while we were turned."

Maggie said nothing as he spoke, instead just listening adamantly and if it wasn't for the smell of whiskey, he wouldn't have guessed she had been drinking based on her serious expression.

He continued on in a nonchalant manner. "Fast forward, I came back to Mystic Falls, hell-bent on getting Katherine out of the tomb and destroying the Founding families that put her there. That's when Stefan and I met Elena, who turns out to be Katherine's doppelganger. Anyway, we opened the tomb and I found out she had never been in there in the first place."

Maggie's jaw dropped and said the first thought that came to mind, "Ouch, what a bitch…"

Damon grinned at her frankness, but kept going because he wasn't sure if he would continue if he let her interrupt. "It's fine, 'cause then I fell for my brother's girl," He admitted bitterly. "So I accepted I hadn't found Katherine in all that time because she didn't want to be found and stayed for Elena. She made it clear it would always be Stefan though," His voice trailed as he thought back on those memories, especially certain ones that took place in Elena's bedroom and had not ended how he wanted them to.

"What happened?" Maggie filled the silence.

Damon leaned forward, his elbows against his knees and looked down at his hands. "She died the night the outbreak hit Mystic Falls. It was during a school dance, I wasn't there, but my brother was. She got bit, so Stefan healed her and tried to get everyone out of there. But there was a car accident and when she woke up, she was in transition," He voiced while remembering what it felt like when he had gotten the news on the phone from Caroline that night.

Maggie watched him closely, stunned by the story itself and how fragile he appeared while telling it. She thought of reaching out to him, but didn't want to shatter or interrupt whatever this moment was. "Does she have feelings for you?" She asked gently, at least now knowing being in transition meant Elena wasn't completely dead.

His short nod surprised her and he took a deep breath before explaining. "Yeah, there was something there before the accident and there was a while after her transition she came to me. I probably could've had her," He said remembering how Stefan never really came back from his summer with Klaus and his relationship with Elena to this day hadn't been repaired.

"So why didn't you?" Maggie pushed.

Damon pressed his lips together tightly as he stared at his hands, his fingers rolling over the family ring and the blue stone in it. "I asked myself that a lot… At first, I thought I was just fed up and tired of taking a step closer to her while she took three steps back to Stefan. But then somewhere along the line, I realized I just had _enough_," There was something emotionally exhaustive in the way he said the last word. "More importantly, I knew if she chose me, then I would lose my brother again."

Reaching his limit, Damon stood up from the table and took a few steps away, as if he needed to get fresh air from her. He tiredly rubbed the back of his neck and then turned to look back at her with an alarming thought. Maggie remained sitting on the tabletop, leaning forward on her elbows and watching him with a guarded expression while she processed his confession. On the surface, she never would've guessed he knew such heartache, but to know about it was crushing.

He regarded this woman before him, who may look like Rose, but it was the subtle differences that made her uniquely Maggie. Her cheeks were sharper and rosy from the alcohol. Her hair was cut in more of a rounded cut and not carefully styled. Her build was stronger and wiry from surviving. But she had the same eyes as Rose and somehow in a short amount of time she got him to open up about things he didn't ever talk about, just as Rose had done. She was so unlike Rose though. Maggie was cold and shut off, she didn't express her emotions and she had walls around her that won't be easy to tear down. For all the time they spent together, he still knew very little about her. She didn't need to speak when she could understand more from silence. She wasn't gentle and she didn't share the same compassion for humanity after everything she's been through that Rose pushed him to feel.

He was snapped from his thoughts when he saw her jaw stretch in a yawn that she was trying to stifle. "Looks like it's time for someone to go to bed," He teased, stepping forward to her. Maggie let out a protesting groan that quickly turned into a yelp when he grabbed her by the waist, lightly throwing her over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" Maggie nearly squealed when the next thing she realized she was staring at his back side. Her hands gripped onto the back of his jacket, trying to fight the feeling that she was going to fall face first.

Damon chuckled, unbothered by her squirming and started walking back towards his car. "What does it look like?"

Seeing the ground moving, Maggie kicked her legs until they were stopped by his other arm wrapping around her knees. "Damon Salvatore! Put me down right now!" She shouted and Damon ignored a few odd looks they got as he approached his car.

"So_ bossy_, even when you're drunk," Damon commented teasingly.

Maggie gasped as he put her down next to the passenger side of the Camaro. "I am not drunk!" She said stubbornly and leaned back against the car when Damon took a step forward towards her, leaving very little distance between the two of them.

He raised an arrogant eyebrow, humoring her. "No? When the last time you drank?" As he spoke, she saw his eyes drop from her eyes to what she guessed was her lips. She froze when she realized just how close he was and he tilted his head, coming closer. She felt her cheeks grow redder when she noticed all it would take is to turn her head slightly upwards to press her lips to his. It was no secret how attractive he is, making it all the more tempting. But the fact the thought even crossed her mind kept her paralyzed.

A lock clicked to her left and Damon stepped back to open the passenger door completely. He watched her with amusement as she closed her eyes and let out a ragged exhale. She mentally chastised herself when she recognized he was leaning around her to open the door, but didn't doubt he was doing it like that to torment her. Feeling half as tall, she admitted quietly, "Okay, maybe it's been a while…"

She ducked into the car and cut off his amused chuckle with the closing of the door behind her. He said nothing as he went around to the other side and slide into the driver's seat. The entire ride back to the boardinghouse, she refused to look at him and kept her gaze out of her window.

Damon let her to her thoughts. His satisfied smirk didn't leave his face the whole ride. Most times, he would've pushed for something more in that moment, especially when she was less guarded. This non-kiss was more triumphant though because he could see that pull in her eyes that he felt towards her and that was enough for him. _For now_.

By the time he pulled up to the driveway, he looked over to see Maggie had fallen asleep.

* * *

_Author's Note: Not much action in this chapter, sorry! But some important Damon/Maggie development. Consider this chapter the quiet before the storm because I'll give you a hint, Klaus and the Atlanta group are making their return in the next chapter!_

_Nethra and thesummersky: I'm glad you enjoyed the scene with Kol! That was actually one of my favorite parts to write so far because of how fun it was to make him so creepy._

_And I can totally see Maggie and Jeremy forming an adorable sibling relationship. The research will come up later. All my finer details are mentioned for a reason. ;)_

_I can understand how frustrating it is waiting for Maggie to catch-up on everything going on in Mystic Falls, but it helps convey her understanding of everything and why her perception of some characters (hinthintElijahElena) will be and how her role shapes her reception of them._

_Anyway, as always, please review and happy holidays everyone!_


	14. Chapter 14

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Fourteen_

Damon let her to her thoughts. His satisfied smirk didn't leave his face the whole ride. Most times, he would've pushed for something more in that moment, especially when she was less guarded. This non-kiss was more triumphant though because he could see that pull in her eyes that he felt towards her and that was enough for him. _For now_.

By the time he pulled up to the driveway, he looked over to see Maggie had fallen asleep.

* * *

Carefully, her eyes fluttered open and a groan passed through her chapped lips. She rolled over and buried her face deeper into her pillow, to hide from the piercing morning sun. Pulling the comforter over her head, she tried to shut out any of the remaining light. Then she stopped and inhaled deeply, recognizing the scent of fresh linen and where she was laying was much softer than the cellar cot.

Throwing back the blanket, Maggie sat upright and then winced, bringing her hand to her forehead. Squinting, she realized she was lying in a queen size bed with the same clothes from last night sans her shoes. She tried to piece together where she was, ignoring the cotton mouth and feeling like her brain was a shriveled raisin. The room was sparse with a few paintings on the walls, an empty desk, and a dresser, which she spotted a familiar looking duffel bag on top of it. Three closed doors branched off from the bedroom. Based on the wood details in the trim and walls, she was willing to bet it was one of the boardinghouse guestrooms.

Slowly crawling out of bed, Maggie opened the first door and found a closet. The second door held more promise in the form of the bathroom. She took one look in the mirror and mumbled, "Yikes" at her pale complexion, bedhead, and slightly bloodshot eyes to compliment her tired expression. She took her time to wash her face and freshen up, fixing her hair but ultimately recognizing a lost cause. After changing into a tank top and a pair of sweat pants, she emerged from the bedroom, lacking a weapon this time just because she couldn't give enough of a damn this morning.

She found Damon in the kitchen, which was spotless save for a few empty wine bottles by the sink. He was helping himself to a pot of coffee and a blood bag sat next to it on the counter. Hearing her come into the room, he smirked over his shoulder at her appearance. "Morning sunshine," He teased while pulling down a couple of coffee mugs.

Maggie walked around the island and glared at him, looking him up and down. He was already dressed in jeans with a charcoal grey t-shirt, looking as if he hadn't consumed most of a handle of whiskey the night before. "How are you alive right now?" She groaned while approaching him.

Damon cocked his head slightly while pouring the first cup, "Do you really _want_ me to answer that or should I –" His words were cut into by a loud groan as he felt something plunge into his back between his shoulder blades. His hands white knuckled the counter edge while he hissed at her, "Really?"

"You know you deserved that," She said, referring to last night as she edged around him to get to the coffee.

Damon tried to reach behind his back, but his movement was limited by the feel of metal scraping against his spine. It left enough room for Maggie to reach and fill her own cup of coffee while he grumbled, "Seriously! I try being nice and you _literally _stab me in the back."

He looked over his shoulder stiffly and caught the reflection of the weapon on the stainless steel refrigerator door. "With a corkscrew!" He snarled, regretting not having cleaned up properly from the drinks he had after tucking Maggie in last night.

Maggie gave a half shrug, leaning back against the counter as she watched him. "Let's not pretend nice is either of ours style," She retorted.

Damon flashed her a dangerous glare, while fidgeting with trying to get the offensive item out. A small part of Maggie was actually proud of herself for managing to get it up to the wooden handle and catch him off guard. "It won't heal until it's pulled out," He snapped at her when he saw her staring.

She just gave an "Uh huh" behind her coffee cup as she took a sip, wrapping her fingers around the warmth.

"Would you mind then?" He grew more aggravated when she made no movement towards him.

Maggie just smirked and shook her head casually, "Nope, I'm good. I'm rather enjoying this actually."

Damon groaned as his shoulders hunched. As much as he tried to be tough, it really was quite painful. "I knew you were a sadistic bitch," He muttered, turning his back from her and looking around for a way to help himself.

Maggie rolled her eyes before setting her coffee down on the counter. "Oh fine, quit your whining and hold still," She said, approaching him. He clenched his jaw, but complied. She grabbed the corkscrew by the handle before giving it a rough yank. When it came free, Damon let an audible sigh of relief as she tossed it aside into the sink.

She backed off and hopped up to sit on the island as she watched him roll his shoulders and stretch as if just working out a sore muscle. Shaking his head, he moved back to his coffee cup and filled half of it with blood. Silence remained between them, which Maggie was grateful because of the headache she still had. Damon knocked back a large gulp before turning to look at her.

"Before you went psycho housewife on me, I had been considering bringing you with me today if you promised not to try to kill me along the way," He leaned back against the counter directly across from her and she could see a hint of amusement under his irritated expression.

Maggie grinned like a mischievous child, "I would never agree to that, but I have a counter offer."

Damon set his cup aside and gave her a curious eyebrow to continue.

"How about…" She mused over her words, knowing there wasn't much of he would agree to her being left alone, but she could use a day to herself. "I promise I'll stay out of trouble and I won't even leave the house… in exchange for no babysitter and food," Her eyes lit up as she then added on, "Oh! And I can use your bathtub."

At her afterthought, Damon's eyes widened slightly and his lips broke into a smirk at the thought of his usual activities in said bathtub. Maggie saw the look in his eyes and quickly amended in a sheepish tone, "Not in that sort of way!"

Unable to resist, Damon stepped forward and placed his hands on either side of Maggie, leaning close to her face. "And what way is that?" He murmured flirtatiously.

Maggie placed a hand against his chest to push him back while also fighting a blush. "Any way that involves you," She replied stubbornly.

Damon grinned and made no move to hide the way his gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips. He then surprised her by muttering with a half shrug, "Fine, deal."

* * *

After agreeing to their deal, Damon had pulled away and carried on as if nothing happened. Leaving Maggie blushing in the kitchen and wondering what was happening to her. Somehow in the last twenty-four hours she went from seeing someone come back from the dead to drinking and flirting with a vampire. True to his word, Damon left her alone in the boardinghouse shortly after, citing something about having a hearing with Judgey Bennett. While he didn't show it, Damon wasn't particularly thrilled about the idea leaving her and trusting her not to do something stupid, but he knew that this was coming if she was going to feel anything other than a prisoner here.

She appreciated the day to herself, enjoying a long bath and taking a chance to explore the house more thoroughly than before. It was early afternoon when she found herself at the piano in the living room. A half-empty wine bottle and glass sat on top of it with the newly cleaned corkscrew next to it. Her fingers plucked delicately at the keys, going through a few chords and mistakes before a song or two that she learned as a little girl.

At the conclusion of her last song, a voice startled her. "That was beautiful," Stefan complimented from the archway of the living room. She looked over to see him with a backpack slung over his shoulders and wearing a hoodie. It was then she realized how young he actually looked, closer to Beth's age than her own.

"Thank you," She replied simply, not feeling the urge to explain it was her mother that taught her before she passed.

Stefan nodded and asked in a concerned tone, "How are you doing, Maggie?"

She snorted, less at his concern and more at how ridiculous that question could be at times. "I'm fine, living the Salvatore hostage dream," She said sarcastically, grabbing her glass of wine and lifting it in the air in a mock toast. "But at least, I found Damon's stash."

Stefan chuckled silent and turned to leave her to it, but was stopped by her voice. "Hey Stefan…," She started in a gentler, serious tone.

"Yes?" He encouraged when he saw her hesitation.

"I'm not going to pretend I understand what's going on between you and Damon, but I wanted to thank you for helping with Klaus. I know you didn't have to do that," She said genuinely.

Stefan looked slightly taken back by the gesture, but recovered quickly and gave her a small smile. "If it means you keeping Damon out of trouble, then its well worth it," He replied. By keeping Damon out of trouble, he was really thinking keeping Damon away from Elena, but his expression didn't give those thoughts away.

Maggie gave him an odd look but opted to keep the mood light. "You must have a very loose definition of trouble," She commented, having never been the image of good behavior herself. She turned away from him and back to the piano. Stefan stared after her thoughtfully for a moment, but took that as the end of their conversation and disappeared at the start of a new song.

* * *

The sun had fallen in the sky and Maggie managed to get a fire going in the living room. She curled up on the sofa with a book she found in the library. Seeing all the titles brought back memories of Dale and Andrea, but she pushed those thoughts away when she got lost in the pages. It wasn't long after she began to worry about Damon did both of the Salvatore brothers came bursting through the front door.

"Maggie?" Damon's voice called out.

"In here," She answered lightly, knowing they would hear her. As she was closing the book and setting it on the table, both of the brothers came into view and she noticed the urgency in Damon's tone. "What's wrong?" She frowned.

"Klaus is back and he's heading here," Damon answered and Maggie stood up hurriedly.

"Does he have my family?" She questioned anxiously.

Stefan nodded, "I believe so. I spotted them at the gate and let the Sheriff know he was coming too." Maggie let out a soft sigh of relief, but remained reserved at seeing the tension in the brothers. Before she could ask them anything else, they both looked back towards the front door, hearing something that she was unable to.

"He's already here," Damon muttered and a blaring impatient car horn sounded afterwards.

Maggie followed them to door and they stepped outside into the night to find the driveway partially illuminated by the light from the house. In it was parked a large white cub delivery truck and a black SUV, it was impossible to tell how many people were in them because of the darkness. Standing between them with his hands tucked casually behind his back was Klaus.

His gaze was cold as he watched the youngest Salvatore emerge first from the doorway and then Damon before Maggie finally. He thought it rather amusing to see the Salvatore brothers flanking the sides of a woman that was not a Petrova.

"Well this is quite the spectacle," Klaus broke the silence, earning a confused look from Stefan and a glare from Damon. "I wonder what Elena would think of this." Maggie shifted uncomfortably, glancing at the man on either side of her.

"She has nothing to do with this, Klaus," Stefan answered, unable to keep the slightly defensive tone out of his voice.

"That you are right," Klaus muttered darkly and turned his attention to Maggie. "As a man of my word, I went to Georgia looking for your family." Maggie was unable to contain the hopeful expression at his confirmation.

"And I thought to myself along the way, what a shame it would be if they were all dead before I even got there," Klaus continued with a Cheshire grin, enjoying the startled and half-frightened reaction from Maggie, ignoring the death glare from Damon and Stefan maintaining a stoic expression.

"So you can imagine my surprise when I got to the prison and found eleven survivors instead," The grin dropped from his expression when he saw Maggie try to take a step forward, being stopped by a hand on her forearm from Damon.

Damon and Stefan looked to Maggie questioningly to see her expression twisted with confusion.

"The one with the sword. Michonne was her name, no?" Klaus mused with mock consideration. Maggie gave no sign of recognition at the name because she honestly had no idea who he was talking about. "I had to make an example of her, to show the others the true value of cooperation."

"Then there was the two convicts, they didn't survive the return trip," Klaus gave no hint of remorse as he watched Maggie's face begin to lose its color. "What can I say? Newborn hybrids can be a bit unruly at times."

Maggie's stomach twisted as the chilling thought settled in. When she had given the headcount for her group, she didn't include Axel and Oscar because she never considered they would ever be a part of it. She didn't know by not including them, she had signed their death warrant though.

"Where is my family?" Maggie found her voice and it was colder than she expected.

"Delivered as promised, sweetheart," Klaus replied and she wanted to rip the term of endearment from his throat. Instead, she watched as the two strange vehicles stirred to life. Three hybrids piled out of the SUV while the cab doors of the cube truck opened for two more. They came around to the back of the truck, opening up the back as two more hybrids stood in the trailer. Damon took a step closer and in front of Maggie as the Salvatores soon realized just how badly outnumbered they were.

Instead of approaching any of them, they went to the truck. One by one, they pulled out a captive person. All of them had their hands tied behind their backs and a black bag over their heads. Each person had a hybrid and they forced them to kneel in a line behind Klaus. One hybrid emerged carrying a car seat that seemed to contain a sleeping baby, setting it down carefully before helping another one unloaded the last captive, which was a man tied into a wheelchair and clearly missing part of his leg.

Maggie had a mixed reaction of uncertainty and relief. In the night, it was hard to make out who some of the people were without seeing their faces, but she knew some of them was Hershel, Rick's baby, Carl and Beth because of their height and build. That left four adults kneeling on the ground. The others she couldn't be completely sure who was who, their ratty, stained clothing and starved appearances being a shock after being away from it for a while.

Maggie went to step forward, shaking anxiously to be reunited with the group. "Hold it there," Klaus growled, dropping any cordial tone in his voice. "Another step forward from any of you and my hybrids will snap all of their necks."

Her eyes flickered to the hybrids that stood respectively behind each captive, chilled by their demeanor and not wanting to find out how deadly serious Klaus was. Damon clenched his fists, not liking the direction this exchange was suddenly going. He glanced quickly at Stefan, who seemed unnervingly calm for all of this and he would have to remember to strangle him later for it.

"Now, our agreement was for seven survivors and as you can see here, we have one too many," Klaus fixated his cold stare back on Maggie before giving a sinister smile. "But I'm in a generous mood, Maggie dear. I will let you choose which survivor is _expendable_."

Maggie's eyes widened as she let out a numb, "What?" At first, she thought she hadn't heard him correctly before it sunk in. A sickening sense of dread filled her as it became apparent he would enjoy watching her select which person to be executed.

"Let's get on with it, shall we," He started with a cheery tone, not waiting for an answer before approaching the first adult. "Now, who doesn't belong…?" Klaus pulled off the black bag, revealing a man with messy brown hair and harsh blue eyes. His scruff appearance and lack of sleeves was a dead giveaway to Maggie.

"No, that's Daryl," Maggie called in a voice that was more confident than she felt. She had never been so relieved to see the redneck before, but unnerved by how vulnerable he looked on his knees and without his crossbow.

"Very well," Klaus said tersely, dropping the bag and moving onto the next one.

As soon as the bag was gone, Maggie tried to take a step forward, all of the sudden not giving a damn about the hybrids or anyone else around her. But she was stopped by an arm around her waist, holding her to her spot and completely unmoving. She paid no attention to Damon standing behind her while she looked at the young Asian man with swollen black eye. She cried out to him, "Glenn!"

Klaus delighted in her pained expression and choked sob. "Ahh, so this must be the boyfriend, which only leaves two more."

Coming to the third person, Klaus pulled off the bag to reveal an older woman with a short chopped haircut and mouse-like features. Maggie's struggle against Damon's hold ceased into a stunned silence, her face holding a mix of shock and awe, tears forming in her eyes. Klaus watched her reaction with an interested calculated stare.

"Carol?" Maggie's voice came out as a weak whisper, completely unsure of it herself and surprised. Damon hated the way he could feel Maggie coming undone in his arms and the pleasure Klaus was getting from flaunting her family in front of her like this. His eyes passed over each of them and he was willing to bet they had been compelled to remain silent and cooperative.

Klaus stepped around to stand directly behind Carol as he realized this one was getting the strongest reaction. He grabbed the woman roughly by her hair and pulled her head back, she winced but not a noise passed her lips. Her eyes pleading as she struggled to keep them locked on Maggie. Her neck was exposed to him and he could see the veins that were begging to be ripped into.

Glancing up at Maggie, he saw something in her expression that stopped him from leaning closer to Carol. Understanding hit him like a light going on when he realized she was going to shock, as if she had seen a ghost. "You know this one… but you weren't expecting her to be alive," He concluded.

The arm Maggie had been struggling against, she was now clutching in a death grip for support. How could this be possible? She hadn't seen Carol since the incident with the backup generators at the prison. They saw T-Dog get bit, but they never found Carol. She even had an empty grave dug for her along with T-Dog and Lori.

Klaus was thrown for a moment. He wanted to kill someone that meant something to Maggie, but he couldn't do that if she had already mourned for this woman. A smirk came to him as he realized another way to make her suffer instead. "She's already dead to you… but let's give her a second chance," He determined and reached with his free hand to his mouth, biting into his wrist.

Maggie gasped at the crude action and watched in horror as he then pressed his wrist against Carol's mouth, smothering it and forcing her to drink his blood. Her mind race as the scene unfolded in front of her and then it caught up on what he was doing. "No, don't do this to her!" Maggie shouted and began struggling against Damon with renewed vigor.

It was in vain though because she didn't stand a chance against the vampire. As much as he was distraught at the effect this was having on Maggie, he was more concerned about the hybrids that looked as if they were a hair trigger away from creating a massacre.

"Oh, you did this to her yourself, darling," Klaus taunted as he leaned over Carol, letting her drink a few more gulps of his blood before pulling his wrist away. He then placed his hand under her chin.

With one swift motion and a sickening crack, Carol Peletier's neck was snapped.

* * *

_Author's Note: Is Klaus evil or what? Let me know what you think! _

_Oh and a hint for the next chapter, as some of you have been long awaiting, Elena will make an appearance!_

_I apologize if someone doesn't know who these non-TVD characters, I'm just assuming everyone knows the TWD characters._

_LiveHappy: Aww, I'm glad you like the one-liners! I tend to have the same sarcastic humor in person so it's easy and fun to write. I hope this chapter had a good blend of development and action for you. _

_Nethra: I totally agree, I don't like Stefan/Elena. I like post-Klaus Stefan though. I used to like Damon/Elena, but I can't stand her with the sire bond (which I think was a lame plot twist) so I eliminated it completely from possibility in this story by Stefan siring her. _


	15. Chapter 15

_Important Author's Note: I will __**not **__be including much dialogue from interactions between TWD/TVD characters that doesn't involve Maggie, even though there's so many directions and interesting subplots that will develop, because I want this to be a Maggie-centric story. At some point in the future, I may do one-shots, but it's undecided at this point._

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Fifteen_

"Oh, you did this to her yourself, darling," Klaus taunted as he leaned over Carol, letting her drink a few more gulps of his blood before pulling his wrist away. He then placed his hand under her chin.

With one swift motion and a sickening crack, Carol Peletier's neck was snapped.

* * *

Maggie's scream cut into the air as Carol's body slumped and fell to the ground. Chaos broke out in the driveway as four pair of headlights pulled in, screeching to a stop. Several police officers poured out of the vehicles. Klaus was saying something to them, but she didn't catch what it was. The arm around Maggie's waist disappeared and she stumbled the first few steps before taking off towards Carol.

The compulsion on the Atlanta group broke as the hybrids backed off, going back to the white truck and the SUV. There was shouting from all sides of her. Some of them were voices she was familiar with, but couldn't understand the words. She dropped down to her knees next to Carol's body, her face turned away from her unnaturally. Somewhere off to her right she could hear Daryl swearing and fighting against the restraint of a police officer.

Carefully, she picked up Carol's head and cradled it in her lap. Maggie didn't know at what point the tears started to flow freely down her cheeks as a sob ripped through her body. Her hands shook as she delicately touched Carol's cheek, there was still blood on her lips, but she lacked any sign of life. "I'm so sorry, I'm sorry," She whimpered, repeating her words over and over.

She could hear someone calling her name. It could have been Damon or it could have been Glenn. She wasn't sure. She didn't see Glenn and Daryl being hauled off into one of the vehicles while other officers were with Carl and Beth. Hershel struggled blindly in his chair, unable to go anywhere and no idea what was going on.

Someone grabbed onto her arm and tried to pull her away from Carol, but Maggie instead jerked her elbow back forcefully and it connected with their face in a loud crack. "No!" She screeched at them, refusing to take her eyes off Carol.

Then she felt something plunge into her shoulder. Looking over to it, she barely caught the sight of a syringe before she felt her limps grow heavy. She struggled to keep her eyes open and her movements suddenly became lethargic before the darkness consumed her completely.

* * *

Early in the morning, she tugged her jacket around her as she approached the front door of the boardinghouse. For a moment, she raised a pale hand to knock on the wood, but then decided to just open it anyway. She wasn't sure if she was more annoyed or concern by the wake up she had received this morning. For all the people she was used to showing up at her house, she was surprised to see Liz Forbes this morning and even more stunned to find out what had transpired last night. It didn't shock her as much to hear that Stefan and Damon had done something behind her back, but she wasn't thrilled to only just being finding from the Sheriff of all people.

"Damon?" Elena called out into the house as she stepped inside, closing the door behind her. The house felt oppressively silent to her. She walked down the hallway, intending to head to the staircase, figuring that Damon was probably in his room. Before she made it there, she glanced into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks.

There was a woman sleeping on the couch in front of the empty fireplace. Her hands were tucked under her head and a blanket pulled over her. Taking a step closer, Elena gasped when she saw Rose's face. This time it wasn't unnaturally pale and slick with sweat with a crazed look in her eyes from hallucinations. This time her eyes were closed and she appeared to be completely relaxed, but even then her features were still a little harder than she remembered.

Damon came up from the steps in the basement, thinking he had heard someone come into the house and call for him. He found Elena in the living room, standing by the end of the couch where Maggie's feet laid. There was a wide-eyed stunned expression as she stared at the sleeping woman. Casually tucking his hands in the back of his pockets, he hid the trials of the past couple of hours from his eyes as he approached Elena.

She heard him coming and all the steam she had to yell at him for excluding her evaporated as soon as she realized this must be Maggie. "Now I know how it felt when you thought I was Katherine," She murmured quietly. For all the times Elena saw Katherine, she always thought of her face being identical to hers and it belonged to her. It was the one that she grew up with. But now, having known Rose and seeing her doppelganger was hitting her full force.

Damon gave a half-hearted smile at the memory of first meeting Elena. He didn't feel the need to point out that was different because he had been in love with Katherine. Looking at Elena, he found himself staring and taking in every little detail. It had been a while since he had last seen her and it was no secret that Stefan was trying to keep her away from him. He thought about making a snarky comment about her avoiding him or what took her so long, but none of that passed his lips.

"I found her on the road too," He commented gently while he watched Elena get lost in her thoughts.

She smirked slowly and turned to look at him. The memory of that night still seemed fresh to her, maybe because she had only recalled it as a vampire and everything was heightened now. "And were you her mysterious stranger with all the answers?"

"Nah, she had better stranger danger senses and pulled a gun on me," He said casually as he took a step closer to Elena, closing the distance between them. Elena raised an eyebrow in surprise, but couldn't keep down the smile and wishing she had been there to see that.

"It did make me think of you," He admitted softly and he raised his hand to her cheek. Her brown eyes widened slightly and he could see the conflict building in them. Regardless of that, he stroked her cheek gently with his thumb and he felt her lean slightly into his hand. "And how you asked me what I wanted."

"Me to find everything I'm looking for," Elena finished for him, repeating his words. She smiled softly and placed her hand over his to hold it against her cheek.

Damon didn't return her smile though. He swallowed slowly and took a slow controlled breath while he watched the concern enter her eyes. He dropped his hand slowly from her cheek. "Did you find what you're looking for?" He had to ask, even though he knew there was no answer that didn't involve hurting someone.

Elena stopped for a long moment, opening her mouth to speak but no sound came from her lips. He could see her giving his question serious consideration. Part of him knew that it was wrong she even had to hesitate about it.

"I don't know," Her answer came out as a weak whisper.

Her answer didn't surprise him. It was as he expected because he had seen that indecision from her so many times before. This time he was past seeing it as an opportunity. He nodded slowly and shifted his feet to square his shoulders to her more, as if to prepare himself. "There's one more thing that I want," He lifted his hands to frame her face delicately as he had done on many occasions before, giving into the urge to touch her. Instinctively, her fingers wrapped carefully around his wrists.

He knew the selfish thing to do would only take saying one word. The look in her eyes told him that one word likely lead to a kiss as well. But the inches between their faces felt like growing miles as he stared at her face and couldn't bring himself to utter that one word.

_You._

Instead, he had to do right by her and his brother. "To let you go," He whispered.

Elena gasped and tried to shake her head in his hands. "Don't, Damon, you don't need –" Her protest was cut off by a finger on her lips.

"No, Elena, let me finish," He said while his eyes flickered fiercely before relaxing when she reluctantly fell silent.

"I meant it when I said I will always choose you. I will always be there to protect you," He continued, pulling the finger away from her lips to stroke her hair lightly. "And I love you," He smiled bitterly for a moment before his expression gave way to a pained one.

"But I can't keep doing this. I _need_ to let you go," His voice finished as a plea and Elena wasn't sure if he was trying to convince him more than herself at that point.

Elena took a shaky deep breath, struggling with what to say or what to do. A part of her mind couldn't help but think of the phone conversation she had with her mother about Matt that night. She wasn't ready to move on from Matt then and now she wasn't ready to set Damon free either.

"Damon?" Another voice cut into the room before Elena could give any sort of answer. In an instance, Damon's hands were gone from her face and she mourned the absence. Elena looked over at Maggie sitting upright on the couch with her hands behind her, giving them a hard expressionless gaze. She felt her stomach sink a bit when she realized she hadn't been aware at what point Maggie woke up and how much she heard of their conversation.

Damon looked just as surprised, apparently having forgotten that Maggie was there for a moment. All he managed was a soft, "Hey…"

An awkward heavy silence fell on them as Maggie looked back and forth between Damon and Elena. Elena tried to recover quickly with a pleasant smile and taking a step forward to Maggie, "Hi, you must be Maggie. I'm Elena."

Maggie turned to her with an unblinking stare. Honestly, her mind was in overdrive and her introduction didn't have much effect on her. She had woken up disorientated and she figured out this must be Elena anyway based on the intimate, and rather awkward for her, conversation she just witnessed. At the moment, she couldn't be concerned at all with Elena's love life. Her family was her first priority.

"It's nice to finally meet you," Elena said trying to be friendly, but shifting a bit uncomfortably under Maggie's stare.

Maggie looked her up and down briefly before answering in a flat tone, "I'm sure it is." Dismissing her quickly, Maggie's gaze moved to Damon to see a slight smirk and ignoring Elena's taken back expression. "Did you vervain me?" Maggie asked sharply, trying to make sense of last night.

"Actually that was Liz…" Damon paused to think a moment, "After you broke an officer's nose."

"Oh," Maggie frowned, not particularly thrilled to hear that the police had knocked her out again, but it did explain one of the last things she remembered. Maggie ignored the confused look from Elena between the two of them and remained focused on Damon. "Where is everyone?" She pulled the blanket off of her.

"Safe and sound. They were taken to the police station," Damon answered.

Maggie nodded stiffly, glad to know they were at least out of Klaus' grasp, but that didn't cure the burning desire to take off running from the house and straight to them. There was just one more person that kept her rooted to the ground and she had to know if her fears were true.

"And Carol?" She asked weakly.

Damon tried to reassure her gently, "She's here… She woke up a little while ago and I've been talking to her."

Maggie's eyes widened and she felt her throat tighten. "So does that mean she's a…" Her voice trailed, not willing herself to think of the image of Carol's body sprawled out on the driveway and coming back from her neck being snapped.

"Not yet, she's in transition," Damon finished for her and then he looked to Elena to see her perplexed startled expression. "Which is the other reason why I wanted you here…"

"Klaus turned someone?" Elena asked uncertainly. Sheriff Forbes hadn't mentioned anything to her about anyone dying last night, she just told her that Damon requested her help at the boardinghouse.

Damon nodded, "She's downstairs and I'm not exactly the best motivational afterlife coach."

"No kidding…" Elena's eyes flickered between Maggie and Damon. "How about I'll go downstairs and give you two a minute." Elena was partly eager just to get away from the awkward tension.

Elena tucked some of her hair behind her ear and caught an appreciative look from Damon before turning away from them and heading towards the basement. Damon's words were still processing in Maggie's mind after Elena left and she raised a hand to her mouth. Before she could stop it, she felt her heart starting to race again with the realization of everything that happened.

"Oh god, this is my fault," Maggie muttered and she could feel her eyes begin to water again.

Damon frowned and moved to sit next to her on the couch. "You can't be serious," He scoffed, wondering how she could possibly blame herself. He had already dealt with Stefan during the night, who told him she shouldn't have been surprised that this happened and it was Damon's fault for provoking Klaus in the first place.

"I should've known… if I had just said eight, not seven, he wouldn't have done that to her," Maggie tried to hide her tears by wiping them away from her eyes.

Damon said nothing because he wasn't sure if there was anything he could have said to reassure her. They could play all the what if's scenarios and they would never really know what could have happened. He couldn't have predicted Klaus was going to do this. At most, he thought Klaus would take his anger out on him or Stefan and he could deal with that because they always had.

"I thought she was dead… I should've known," Maggie's voice broke down as she buried her face into her hands.

Damon raised his hands to pull her hands away from her face, which took a bit of a stubborn pull. "No, there's no way you could've known," He spoke softly to her, thinking back to how he hadn't even recognized Carol since he never saw her at the prison.

Then he went against his normal sarcastic, uncaring nature and pulled Maggie into his arms. At first she was stiff in his arms while her mind caught up with what he was doing. When she felt him pull her against his body, she couldn't bring herself to try to be strong anymore and her fingers knotted into his shirt as she clung to him. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and let the tears fall. Damon wasn't going to lie to himself, it wasn't the first time that he had thought about holding Maggie in his embrace. However, he wasn't expecting it to be when she felt so vulnerable and Elena being close by. Thinking about to his conversation with Elena, he wasn't sure where to go from here or what direction he was going. But he knew in some way, comforting Maggie was a step in whatever this new direction is.

"We all thought she was dead… we made a grave," Maggie whispered to no one in particular against his neck. "We never found her body... I thought she was gone."

"But she's still here and she's going to need you more than ever before," Damon said against the top of her hair. He took a deep breath, thinking of something that had been going through his mind since last night. At some point between when he was holding her back and carrying her body back into the house, he knew he had to be there when she woke to keep her from breaking. "And I'll be here as long as you need me," He admitted softly.

* * *

_Author's Note: A bit of a bittersweet chapter I think. It's a little short, but I didn't want to chop it off at an awkward point. Thoughts about Elena and Damon's conversation?_

_Hint for next chapter, Carol's transition and Maggie/Glenn reunion. _

_To answer from reviews:_

_Nethra: I'm glad you enjoyed some evil Klaus, there's more to come! The whole situation with Carol was a really fun surprise to write since the timing of when Maggie was kidnapped in TWD was between them losing Carol and T-Dog and Daryl finding Carol later, so she's really a character that no one was expecting to see alive again._

_I agree with the sire bond plot bit. Some parts of the show I don't think matched up with that theory. If Elena had to do everything that Damon wanted, why didn't she drink from that blonde girl on the university trip when he was literally coaching her through it? Didn't make sense. _

_Bitcheesqaured: I love your nick! Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you like the story so far. After all that Carol's been through, if there's a character that would make one interesting vampire it would be her._

_LiveHappy: Thank you for the compliments, I really appreciate them! __ And you're right, the Salvatores still do love her and that will play a very big role in what happens._

_As always, please review and let me know what you think! The next chapter will come soon!_


	16. Chapter 16

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Sixteen_

"But she's still here and she's going to need you more than ever before," Damon said against the top of her hair. He took a deep breath, thinking of something that had been going through his mind since last night. At some point between when he was holding her back and carrying her body back into the house, he knew he had to be there when she woke to keep her from breaking. "And I'll be here as long as you need me," He admitted softly.

Maggie clung to Damon and he listened to her sobs patiently. He didn't know how much time had passed, he was just focused on each heart wrenching sound. Comforting women and being an emotional rock wasn't his forte. He did decide he hated seeing the sight of her being this upset. Eventually the sobs quieted down into sniffles and he was able to hear her heartbeat. He listened to the way it quivered and shook, as did she when he would run one hand gently up and down her back, attempting to be reassuring.

* * *

The sobs and sniffles quieted down after a while and he didn't care about the soaked spot on his shoulder, next to his neck. For a long time, they sat in mutual silence and he wanted to know what was going through her mind, but she remained silent. If he focused really hard, he could hear Elena talking downstairs, but he was too fixated with Maggie at the moment.

Finally coming around, Maggie pulled away from Damon. She realized how messed up sideways everything had gotten that she was seeking comfort from the person who was the reason why she was in this mess in the first place. But when she pulled back to look him in the eyes, she couldn't bring herself to be truly angry with the blue ones that stared back at her. Especially when he reached up with one hand to gently brush away the stains of her last tears on her cheeks.

Damon tilted his head slightly to the side as he then brushed his knuckles delicately from her cheek bone, back along into her hair, gently pulling the hair away from her face as he ran his fingers through it. Maggie sat entranced as he did, his touch leaving a blush in its wake and she could feel that pull towards him starting to return.

"Let's go see Carol," Maggie broke the moment and put some distance between them, dropping her hands. She needed to see her family and deal with them first before she dealt with Damon.

Damon nodded and allowed for Maggie to compose herself before following her out of the living room and downstairs.

Maggie went descended the stairs to find the basement cell door open and Elena inside with Carol. She froze at the doorway at seeing the sight of Carol sitting on the cot she had been occupying the past few days. She seemed so fragile and exhausted, but Maggie was just relieved to see her upright and awake. She was more surprised to see not just apprehension on her features, but a small smile as Elena crouched in front of her, holding her hands reassuringly.

Whatever Elena had been saying that caused Carol to warm up to her so quickly ceased as soon as Damon and Maggie entered the room. Elena dropped her hands and backed off as Maggie came forward, quickly wrapping Carol up in her arms. The older woman gave a relieved cry at the familiar face, embracing Maggie closely to her.

"Oh Carol, I'm so sorry, I didn't know…" Maggie wasn't sure what she was apologizing more for, not knowing that Carol was alive or the fact that Klaus killed her.

"Shhh, I know baby," Carol murmured, part of her maternal instinct surfacing to comfort the young woman. She couldn't say that was okay, because based on what Elena and Damon had been explaining to it, nothing was okay about this and nothing would be the same again.

Elena stood up, giving the two women room as she came to Damon's side. It was no secret that Maggie had been upset and crying, she could hear the sobs thanks to her vampire hearing the whole time she was talking to Carol. What she found curious though was the slightly frazzled look Damon had. If she didn't know him as well as she did, she wouldn't have noticed it was there. The second thing that caught her attention was the smell of tears and the wet spot on his shirt. She frowned slightly, trying to think if there was ever a time she had seen him emotionally comfort someone other than her.

Stifling her concern, she looked back to see Maggie moving to sit next to Carol as they spoke in hushed tones.

"Have they told you what's happening?" Maggie asked hesitantly, her eyes couldn't help but look to Carol's neck. Other than a little bruising, it didn't even look as if she had been killed. It was alarming for Maggie to see her alive and holding her hand after watching her body drop lifelessly on the pavement last night.

Carol nodded stiffly, her eyes glancing towards Damon and Elena. The first had been there when she woke up, very blunt and to the point, only adding to her fear and confusion. The second was much gentler and kinder. It struck her how young she was and she felt a heart pain as a mother when she explained how she had died during the outbreak and woke up alone inside the twisted wreck of a vehicle in the same state she was in with walkers trying to claw their way in.

"How are you feeling?" Maggie pushed.

"Well, I'm dead," Carol answered bluntly with a forced smile and a shrug, partly trying to lighten the mood, but it only caused Maggie to wince. "I'm tired and sore, but mostly just thirsty… thirstier than I've ever felt before."

Damon and Elena exchanged a look, both knowing that same feeling of bloodlust. Admittedly, Damon had been really anxious at first when Maggie hugged Carol. His first instinct was to pull her away after all the times he knew of newborn vampires accidentally biting loved ones in the same manner. However, his theory with Maggie's odd scent proved correct when it didn't even seem to bother Carol.

"How much longer does she have to make a choice?" Maggie looked to Damon for an answer.

"Probably sunset," He replied.

Maggie's eyes widened slightly, having not known before there really wasn't much time during the transition phase. Seeing Maggie struggling, Elena decided to step in and took a seat on the other side of Carol.

"And it's your choice to make," Elena said gently, thinking of all the people she knew that didn't necessarily have that choice. "No matter what you decide to do, you don't have to do it alone."

"Remember my friend I was telling you about? Caroline… She woke up alone in a hospital and had no idea what happened to her. She didn't have anyone to coach her through it and she was so scared," Elena explained, remembering how alone she felt too when she woke up. Maggie fell silent, having never heard Caroline's story and apparently already missed part of it. She was also struck by how genuine Elena seemed and it floored her because Carol was a stranger to her. "But you should see her now. She's so strong and confident. She helped me through my transition and her control is amazing."

Elena reached out and squeezed Carol's hand reassuringly. Maggie pulled hers into her lap and slowly started to understand why Damon had brought her here for this. "If this is what you choose, we can help you through this too… All of us. Stefan, Caroline, Damon and me. You don't have to hurt anyone or become a monster. It won't rule you when you have it under control and we can teach you," Elena offered her a warm smile.

While Maggie may not have liked what she witnessed earlier, she appreciated that Elena was better with compassionate words than her. She could see why now Damon wanted her to reach out to Carol in a way that he struggled with.

"And we're a family, we'll support you either way," Maggie added to Elena's words, referring to the Atlanta group.

In an instance, she knew she said something wrong when the grimace passed through Carol's face and it took her a moment to realize why.

The choice for Carol wasn't just between death and vampire life, but also between two families. Carol had already lost her husband, though Maggie doubted he was really missed much at all. But importantly, she had also lost Sophia and this was her chance to be reunited with her little girl. On the other hand, there was her Atlanta family. The family that had been there without question through the darkest horrors and she would be choosing eternity with them, forsaking any chance to see her little girl.

"Have you seen them?" Carol asked her, opting to change the subject.

Maggie shook her head, "Not yet."

"How about you go see them?" Elena then suggested, seeing how anxious Maggie was and torn between staying with Carol. "I can stay for a while and Damon can bring you to the station." Elena glanced to him and he just nodded with his hands in his pockets.

"Are you sure?" Maggie asked, glancing between Elena and Carol hesitantly.

The older woman offered her a weak smile, knowing how badly Maggie wanted to see her family. "Go ahead, I'll be fine here," Carol whispered and giving Elena an appreciative look.

* * *

The drive to the station was a silent one. Maggie was lost in her thoughts about the prospect of Carol being a vampire and the anxiety of seeing her family again. The previous night played in her mind like a sick horror movie set on repeat. Seeing everyone left that she loved lined up on her knees as if being presented to a firing squad was an image she was sure that would haunt her for a long time.

Damon appreciated the silence and remained uncharacteristically quiet himself. He wasn't really the one to brood, but his mind was just as distracted thinking about his conversation with Elena. Even then, he found his mind would wander back to Maggie though, whether it was holding her back the night before or holding her close this morning.

They came back to the town square and it was then she learned the police station was connected to the large clock tower. She gave it a half-interested glance before following Damon up the stairs and inside the building. He nodded to a few officers and exchanged a few brief words, Maggie just opted to stay quiet and follow him as he weaved through a few hallways and down some stairs.

Sheriff Forbes was standing in front of one of the cells when Damon and Maggie came into the hallway. She looked up apprehensively at Maggie, but gave a curt nod of acknowledgement to Damon. Maggie picked up the pace of her steps when she realized there were several people in the temporary holding cell.

"Glenn!" Maggie shouted as a pair of hands reached out through the bars to catch her. She smiled broadly as she reached through the bars to return the restrained hug, placing her hands on his shoulders and getting a good look at him. He was sporting a pretty heavy black eye and a swollen lip, but despite that he gave a large smile of relief.

Coming to stand around the two was Hershel, shifting awkwardly with a newly acquired pair of crutches, and Beth on the other side. Maggie reached out to touch each of them in between asking if each of them were okay. Standing a few feet back from them was Daryl, who despite his normally stand offish natural appeared to be relieved to see her as well.

Damon watched the reunion with mixed feelings. It was clear that Maggie was on the edge of crying again, but this time they were good tears. She also didn't look back once in his direction from the moment she saw Glenn and her family. A selfish part of him wanted her to and he knew he had no right to feel that way after he put her through. After a while he couldn't stand to intrude on the intimate moment any longer, so he murmured a few words of excusal to Liz and quietly slipped away.

Maggie didn't hear Damon leave and had no intention of leaving any time soon herself. After getting over the initial shock and joy of seeing them again, she asked where the rest of the group was. Hershel told her that the baby went to the hospital to get checked up and observed for its health. Rick and Carl went with baby Judith and have been there since.

She asked them about what happened after she was taken. She found out that it had been a mess. They had to clear out the exercise field again since walkers had gotten in somehow. It didn't take her much to guess why and that gave her something she would have to talk to Damon about later. Rick had broken his hand in an accident during the process. Then Michonne had showed up at the prison. Maggie didn't know anything about the woman, but apparently she had witnessed the whole incident outside the convenience store.

As they talked, Maggie eventually found herself settling down on the floor next to the bars and listening to their stories. Her hand remained reached through the bars, clutching to Glenn's like a life line. Glenn explained about how he and Daryl went out on several scouting trips to find any sign of her. Maggie felt her gut clench because she knew by that point she was already in Virginia. Then they talked about how Klaus showed up with his hybrids, but she had a difficult time trying to understand it as they pieced it together. What they could agree on was that they came into the prison and Michonne had her heart ripped out in front of everyone when she tried to attack Klaus herself.

From there Maggie assumed they had been compelled because none of them could properly describe how they got into the delivery truck or how long they were in it. The frustration was clear on all of their faces how they could all simply not remember being kidnapped. Maggie was sympathetic and couldn't help but be chilled at witnessing just how powerful compulsion could be.

Glenn did most of the talking with Beth filling in some of the gaps. Daryl remained quiet through most of it and Maggie found out the truth about Merle's death had come to surface while she was gone. Apparently Daryl had even returned to the parking lot to get his body and give him a proper burial, next to the other graves in the exercise yard. The tension between him and the rest of the group went unspoken. Glenn told her about how the Sheriff and some of the officers have been trying to explain what happened last night and the supernatural things about Mystic Falls. Maggie could see that Glenn was apprehensive about it, but greatly shaken by what he saw. She knew it would take a lot of convincing for Hershel. He hadn't seen anything and it took him so long to accept the true natures of walkers, she had no idea if he could handle all of this. If anyone could adapt to all of this, it would be Beth and her youth would be working to her advantage.

Eventually the attention shifted back to her when Glenn asked her what happened to her. Maggie found herself having to skip some of the details that she would have a hard time explaining. She told them how Damon had driven her to Mystic Falls and being held at the boardinghouse. She gave vague details when saying she had help arranging them being brought here. She left out large parts, like Jeremy dying and Kol. The more she tried to explain, she realized there were things she wasn't ready to tell Glenn, especially with her sister and father nearby, because she wasn't sure how she felt about them. One of them was trying to get a hold on this volatile relationship she had with Damon. The fact she had tried to harm him several times and even though she knew how to kill a vampire, she hadn't done so. Also the fact she didn't run when she did have the opportunity after seeing Jeremy die. Then the fact she had almost kissed him twice now.

So instead, she tried to focus on being a supernatural coach and answer their questions instead. The hours ticked by as they talked, at some point Liz left and was replaced by another officer who brought them water and bread. Most of the conversation focused on the vampires and some hybrids. She couldn't tell them much about hybrids because she wasn't sure herself, but the vampire conversation peeked everyone's interest, including Daryl. The hardest news was telling them about Carol and assuring her that she wasn't actually dead yet, but there was still the possibility.

"So this… vampire blood heals injuries? Including walker bites?" Daryl furrowed his brows, clearly struggling with all these concepts, but she could see that he was trying. The idea of something being able to cure a walker bite gave them an odd sense of hope, but Maggie knew she couldn't let them latch onto that.

"Yes, bites, broken bones, you name it… But the problem is if you die before the blood passes through your system, you can become one," Maggie answered, her throat was dry from all the talking and she felt exhausted. Even though she had just been sitting there the whole time, it was emotionally draining.

"Like Carol," Glenn finished the unspoken thought somberly. Maggie nodded and they fell silent, she watched as they tried to process this information and based on their state of shock she guessed it would take a while. Heck, she still had trouble believing it herself.

"Blood is what makes the world go around these days," A voice announced from the end of the hallway. Maggie looked up and Glenn rose to his feet to see Damon strolling towards them. He had changed clothes, wearing his leather jacket with an arrogant smirk on his face. Maggie recognized this to be more of his normal self than what she saw earlier in the day.

"Walkers go crazy for it, vampire blood cures their bites, and vampires…" Damon paused to give a theatrical glance up as if calculating, "Well we've been drinking it for _centuries_."

Damon enjoyed getting a reaction out of the group. Hershel and Beth seemed to back off a bit from the bars while Daryl and Glenn remained standing front and center, both glaring harshly at him. The intimidation tactic didn't work so much on Maggie, she just gave him an annoyed look.

"Has she told you the price of residency in Mystic Falls?" Damon asked, matching Glenn's cold stare with ease. This earned a confused look from Maggie because she hadn't heard of any such thing. Damon took their silence as a no and answered his question. "It's routine blood donations."

"No fuckin' way," Daryl snarled and stepped back to the far wall of the cell, just wanting to get away from it and not wanting to listen to more.

"It's simple really. Humans keep the vampires fed and we'll help keep the walkers from feeding on you," Damon sneered in the direction of Daryl's back. He then gave a casual shrug, "It really isn't that bad for you. Everyone goes to the hospital, donates a pint, just like the Red Cross, and you're sent on your way with a juice box afterwards."

Glenn's expression twisted with disgust before he looked down at Maggie, who had regained her expression into a stoic stare. "Is this true? Have you done this?" He asked in disbelief.

Maggie opened her mouth to answer him, but she was cut off by Damon. "Of course, she has." He then gave Maggie a pointed look, "Right, Maggie?"

Maggie hesitated at the firm look in his eyes. At first she just wanted to flat out call him a liar, but she wondered what the reason behind this was. "Uhh…" She fumbled and she saw the slight clench of Damon's jaw. "Yeah, it wasn't so bad," She lied before pulling herself up to her feet quickly.

"Give us a minute," She muttered to Glenn and grabbed Damon firmly by the arm, pulling him down the hallway.

"Ow! Always so rough on me, Maggie," Damon whined loudly with a fake pout, earning an eye roll from Maggie.

She stopped out of ear shot, but still within sight of the holding cell. Damon rounded to face her with a smirk, a look over her shoulder and he could see Glenn glaring daggers at him.

"Okay, why am I covering for you?" Maggie hissed sharply and folded her arms.

"They're going to be looking to you for guidance and encouragement through this and the blood policy around here is true," Damon answered seriously.

Maggie furrowed her brows and shrugged a little, "Okay, then why haven't I heard about it sooner?"

Damon leaned a little closer to her and kept his voice low. "Because we need to figure out what your freaky doppelganger blood does to a vampire first. It doesn't even smell like normal blood."

Maggie's eyes widened slightly, "Oh I see." She was already having a tough enough time trying to explain vampires to her family. The doppelganger conversation will be one heck of a hurdle to tackle later. "You noticed that too," She muttered, thinking back to Kol's reaction to her.

Damon narrowed his eyes a little at her word choice, but carried on anyway. "Yeah, and I have enough self-preservation to not offer myself up as vampire genuine pig."

Maggie chuckled humorlessly, "So we what? Have a vampire bite me and see what happens?" She then muttered darkly, "My personal vote goes to Klaus, maybe it'll even kill him."

Damon gave a half grin, "Believe me, I _love _the enthusiasm, but there's a slight problem to killing an Original."

"What's that?" Maggie frowned.

"Killing an Original also kills every vampire sired by their bloodline," Damon then gave an aggravated sigh. "Right now we're having a little trouble tracing my bloodline and that's not something I want to find out the hard way."

Maggie rose an eyebrow, realizing just how much more complicated that could make things. Her curiosity got the best of her. "What sort of trouble?"

Damon replied, "Well, Elena is sired by Stefan… Stefan and I were sired by Katherine… and Katherine was sired by Rose."

"And Rose is dead," Maggie finished the sentence with a slight slump of her shoulders.

Damon nodded, "Right, so a couple of months ago we tried to get little Gilbert to do some ghost whispering." Maggie gave a surprised look at the confirmation of that ability apparently being true. "But we didn't get an answer and the dead don't exactly have voicemail."

Maggie frowned and looked down while she thought that over a minute. While it was another headache to add to her problems, it was at least a break from being supernatural teacher. As she thought, Damon looked over shoulder at the holding cell. Glenn was white knuckling as he silent stared at the two and even Hershel gave them an odd look. They weren't able to hear them, but Glenn didn't like how close Damon was standing to Maggie.

A thought came to her and she looked up at Damon hopefully, "Do you think Kol knows who sired your bloodline?"

Damon tilted his head slightly, answering nonchalantly, "Probably, he's an Original, but what good…" Then his mind caught up with his words when he saw the thoughtful expression on Maggie. It was the furrowed brows and slight biting of the inside of her cheek that he had seen on Elena numerous times. "No, no, _no_!"

Damon placed his hands firmly on her shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. "Absolutely not! I know what you're thinking," He hissed firmly. Maggie opened her mouth to protest, but he gave one negative head shake. "No! Listen to me, Maggie. Kol is a monster with _no_ regard for human life and he enjoys making people suffer."

"And if he finds out you're trying to manipulate him, it won't be just you he takes it out on," Damon gave a pointed look over her shoulder and at her family. Maggie followed his gaze, noticing the tense stance in Glenn and the apprehensive looks from Hershel and Beth. She gave a heavy sigh before looking back to Damon. If Kol's obsession was something she could use to her advantage, it wasn't worth risking her family for it.

"Yeah, I guess I have enough to worry about right now," She muttered quietly as Damon's hands dropped from her shoulders.

Damon frowned, relaxing a bit to see she wasn't going to fight him on that topic, but he figured that was more so because of how tired he could see she was. For a moment, he felt a little guilty for adding more pressure to her shoulders, so he decided to change the subject. "Carol finished the transition. Stefan and Elena were helping her with her second blood bag when I left."

Maggie perked up at the news and gave a loud sigh of relief. As selfish as it was, she had hoped Carol would go through with it. Part of her just didn't want to have to bury and mourn her again. "Good," She said simply.

"But that's not why I came here, I actually wanted to give you two things," Damon said softly.

Maggie watched him curiously, dropping her hands to her sides, as he reached into his pocket and held his hand out to her. She took what he offered to her to see that it was a pair of car keys that looked vaguely familiar. "Your car?" She questioned hesitantly.

Damon nodded with a small grin. "Yeah, you can borrow it for a while. You'll probably need it the next couple of days."

Her fingers closed around the cool metal as she considered his words appreciatively. The next couple of days would likely be long ones, especially if she was going to be mediator between the police station and hospital. Then there was also Carol adjusting to being a vampire.

"Also, my other offer still stands," He added as he watched her face closely, referring to staying at the boardinghouse while her family settled into a new home.

"Thank you," She said finally with a slow smile, not just for the offer and the car, but she also meant for earlier that morning.

Damon returned her smile, enjoying the fact it was him that she was smiling at this time instead of Glenn.

"What was the other thing?" She asked curiously after a moment.

His eyes flickered slightly with a mischievous glint before he simply replied, "This." He swiftly leaned closer to her, tilting his head to the side and closing the distance between them. Softly, he pressed his lips against her cheek in a lingering kiss. He stayed long enough to feel her still beneath him and the slight rise in heat of her skin against his. Pulling away carefully, he saw her eyes open with a stunned expression.

He smirked triumphantly, stepping away from her and hearing her exhale heavily before walking away.

* * *

_Author's Note: Phew, long chapter! Reunion's galore. I'm sorry if I disappointed anyone in lacking the dialogue, but that just goes back to my notice earlier. I hope Damon's "gift" made up for it!_

_How do you think Glenn will react to seeing that?_

_Now to answer reviews:_

_Nethra: I'm glad their conversation was believable! It was a fun and tough scene to write, but I enjoyed it. One thing I would consider though is examining it carefully. The conversation was one-sided and interrupted, so we'll see how much closure there actually is there. ;)_

_I'm thinking if I do one-shots it'll be later in the story when the characters are more adjusted to Mystic Falls because I have some very interesting roles planned for them. _

_LiveHappy: Thank you so much! Maggie/Glenn are cute together, but I personally don't see them lasting since they were only brought together under extreme conditions with literally no other options._

_Bitcheesquared: I totally agree! I'm not an Elena-fan at all, especially on the show. If I hear "I don't know how I feel" one more time from her it won't be pretty haha. _

_I won't give away the exact pairings, but I will give you a few hints. No pairing will be left untouched (TWD and TVD pairings), but there will be three pairings between TWD and TVD characters. (I would love to hear guesses on who!)_

_I honestly hadn't thought about bringing in Andrea until you said something, but there is an opportunity much later in the story so it could be possible._

_As always please review and happy new year!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Seventeen_

"What was the other thing?" She asked curiously after a moment.

His eyes flickered slightly with a mischievous glint before he simply replied, "This." He swiftly leaned closer to her, tilting his head to the side and closing the distance between them. Softly, he pressed his lips against her cheek in a lingering kiss. He stayed long enough to feel her still beneath him and the slight rise in heat of her skin against his. Pulling away carefully, he saw her eyes open with a stunned expression.

He smirked triumphantly, stepping away from her and hearing her exhale heavily before walking away.

* * *

Maggie watched Damon walk away slightly stunned. To say she was surprised would be an understatement. She was having a hard time with why she was surprised though. The obvious being Damon kissing her cheek, but then there was the fact she didn't shy away from it. After he left, reality came back to her and her fingers closed tightly around the car keys, white knuckles showing. Behind her she knew there were several witnesses to that display of affection.

She muttered a soft swear under her breath before bracing herself and turning around, striding back towards the holding cell. Sure enough, she could see a storm brewing silent beneath Glenn's dark eyes. Hershel's expression was softer, partly due to wispy appearance of his white hair, but his eyes were hard as well and mixed with curiosity.

"What the hell was that?" Maggie didn't miss the accusation in Glenn's tone.

"It was nothing, Glenn," Maggie sighed, knowing that wasn't the truth but it wasn't a conversation she wanted to have in front of Hershel, Beth, and Daryl. Before he could push it, she held up the car keys and continued, "He's letting me borrow his car."

She tore her eyes away from Glenn while he pressed his lips together tightly, she knew it wouldn't be the last she would hear of it. She also knew the only thing stopping Glenn from pressing further was the fact her father stood right next to him. It was no secret Glenn was a little intimidated by him. Feeling sufficiently uncomfortable, she opted to change the subject.

Looking at Hershel and Daryl, she informed them, "Carol has finished the transition."

A somber silence fell upon the group. Hershel bowed his head while Glenn looked torn between relief and uncertainty. In a way, Carol was still alive, but the group was now being left with reevaluating their definition of what it meant to be alive. It hit Daryl the hardest, he slowly sank to a seat on the floor with his head in his hands.

Before anything was said between them, another pair of footsteps echoed in the hallway. Maggie looked up to Sheriff Forbes approaching them. She couldn't help but stiffen slightly. While the woman had warm eyes, she could muster up one heck of an authoritative glare that Maggie had already been on the receiving end of before.

"Hey, Damon said you'd need someone to show you where the hospital is and I'm heading over there now," Liz got straight to the point, sparing a glance at the other survivors but mostly looking to Maggie.

Maggie hesitated at first, mostly surprised to hear the slightly friendly tone from the woman before nodding numbly. "Uh, yeah, I'd appreciate that," She answered and turned back to her group, but mostly Hershel and avoided eye contact with Glenn. She could almost hear Glenn grinding his teeth together at the mention of Damon's name.

"I'll be back later after I check on Rick and Carl," Maggie declared, giving them a halfhearted reassuring smile before following the Sheriff out of the station. Her steps were a little faster than they probably should have been.

Sheriff Forbes suggested Maggie driving Damon's car over to the hospital, it would be easy enough for her to get a ride to wherever she needed to go later. It felt odd for Maggie to be getting in the driver's seat of the Camaro, taking a moment to think about how everything began with her waking up in the passenger seat. Sheriff Forbes was relaxed in the seat, giving her directions as they went. It was then Maggie realized she really wasn't that intimidating when she wasn't trying to be.

"I'm sorry we vervained you last night. Some of the officers still think you're a vampire," Liz said sincerely.

Maggie looked from the road to her, taken back by the unexpected apology. "I'm sorry I broke your officer's nose," She countered with a slightly sheepish expression. She barely remembered doing it, but it must have been a pretty good hit.

Liz chuckled a little and offered only half seriously, "He should've known better." The officer that tried to subdue Maggie was young and still rather inexperienced.

Maggie had to fight from smiling, part of her wasn't sure if it was okay to agree with her. Instead, she asked about something that had been on her mind, "How long are you going to hold my family?"

"A few days at most. We weren't sure if they were a threat last night, but now they just have to be debriefed and given a house assignment," Liz answered patiently and the way she spoke couldn't help but make Maggie feel like she was back in high school again and trying to hide the beer cans.

"How do you do it?" Maggie blurted out, earning a slightly confused look before clarifying, "Being Sheriff here… with all of this." She could only imagine it would be hard enough to be Sheriff in a normal town, but with all the vampires and supernatural problems bordered somewhere between impressive and insanity.

Liz gave a tight grin and looked out her window thoughtfully. It was a question she asked herself a lot and always came up with the same answer. "It's not easy, but it's all I know," She gave vaguely. She grew up surrounded with these problems, it was hard to think of a different life.

She relaxed a little at the answer and commented without thinking, "You remind me of Rick."

"Rick?" Liz frowned, at first thinking of Alaric.

Maggie nodded, "Our leader, he's the one that kept us alive." She looked from the road to offer Sheriff Forbes a smile, "He was a Sheriff too."

* * *

Damon did not see Maggie that night, despite his offer, or the next day. He wondered if part of the reason was how forward he had been in front of her family. He knew that it would make her boyfriend upset, but he didn't think it was entirely unwelcomed by Maggie. He saw her a few times in passing at the police station and the hospital. He would flash a smirk and she would give him a long thoughtful look, neither smiling nor frowning. As much as he wanted to go and find out what was going through her mind, he kept his distance and recognized she needed to be with her family.

Maggie had found Rick, Carl, and Judith at the hospital with Sheriff Forbes. She didn't have to bring Rick up to pace as much as the others since there had already been two other police officers there with them since they arrived last night. Rick was having a hard time with the supernatural concepts, but he was impressed with the law enforcement and the hospital. The hospital itself was by no means fully functioning. Some wings of the building were not being used and power consolidated to certain areas. Only about half the staff remained at the hospital and Judith was one of the few newborns there.

She spent the remainder of the day with the Grimes and found herself doing a lot of talking again. It was easier for her to recite what happened with Rick because he wasn't interested in the personal nature of what was going on with Damon. Admittedly, she felt less guilty when talking with Rick and Carl. It was odd to see Carl without his father's hat, which apparently had gotten left behind in the kidnapping. Like the others, Rick and Carl couldn't properly explain what happened to them.

Maggie could tell it wouldn't be hard to convince Rick to stay in Mystic Falls, especially with the promise of medical care and relative safety. His primary concern had been his newborn daughter, which was just being kept for observation after the doctor determined she was relatively healthy, just in need of proper nutrients and care. She suspected it would be a while longer before the reality of the supernatural things really sunk in with him, especially since he hadn't witnessed Klaus' actions.

She passed the night in the hospital waiting room, curled up on a few seats with a sleeping bag with Rick and Carl nearby along with a few police officers. At one point, she caught a glimpse of Meredith Fell and Alaric in the hallways, she just nodded in acknowledgement to them. The next day she went back to the police station to see her family. To her surprise, during the night Daryl had been released from the holding cell. With some momentary confusion over descriptions of people, Glenn told her that Elena had come during the night at Carol's request. Apparently if there was anyone in the group that could help her through this process, it was Daryl. At first, Maggie didn't think he would be the best moral support, but there wasn't any doubt the two were pretty close in the group.

She didn't like the physical divide between the group at the moment with having the Grimes at the hospital, the Greene's at the police station, and then Carol and Daryl being out alone. She didn't know where they went to, Glenn informed her that Elena only said something about taking her to a place away from people for a while. In some ways, the separation in the group reminded her of how the group was before they moved everyone into the farmhouse. She just hoped it was only temporary.

Because of that concern, when Maggie was pulled aside later in the day by a Council member in charge of housing assignments, she decided for the group to be put in one large house if possible. It still bothered her how became the unofficial representative for her group. Rick had always been their fearless leader, not her.

The rest of the day she spent at the police station with them, doing a lot of talking and disappearing occasionally to get food from the Grill to bring to them. During the times, she was relieved to be left to her own thoughts and not acting as the unofficial Mystic Falls ambassador. It was also a relief to get away from the suspicious looks from Glenn. Every now and then he would subtly ask her what really happened during the week she was gone. She was starting to run out of vague answers to give him. It wasn't that she was purposely trying to deceive him or anything, but she had to sort it out for herself before she could put it into words to someone else.

The sun had fallen in the sky a few hours ago when Damon was sitting in front of the fireplace with a drink in one hand and flipping through one of the old Salvatore milling record books in the other. He heard a knock at the front door, frowning at first wondering who would be coming around at this time of day. Setting his glass down, he stood up and went to answer the door.

To his surprise, he found a rather exhausted Maggie standing in front of him. She fumbled with the keys to his car nervously in her hand. "Hi…" She greeted quietly and asked, "Is it too late to take you up on that offer?"

He just shook his head dumbly and stepped aside to let her in. He could see the weariness in her shoulders as she passed, leading the way into the living room.

"How's telling them Santa isn't real going?" Damon said lightly while he watched her plop down heavily on the couch.

Her only response was a loud grumble, causing him to smirk while he poured a second drink for her. Out of the corner of his eye behind her, he watched Maggie run an aggravated hand through her hair. He let out a low whistle and commented, "That well, huh."

Picking up the glass, he walked around the other side and held it to her. Maggie mumbled a small thanks and took it gratefully. "Yeah, about as well as I did but times six," She said before taking a deep gulp of the cheap whiskey.

Damon took a seat next to her without necessarily touching her, resting one arm lazily on the back of the couch behind her. His eyes passed her quickly, taking in the worry in her expression and her body slightly turned towards him with one leg tucked underneath. It had taken her a bit of courage to ask an officer for directions to the Salvatore boardinghouse and even more to actually show up at his door. To add to the growing feeling of guilt, she told her father and Glenn a little white lie about spending the night at the hospital, just because she didn't want to explain how she just needed to get away for a while.

He looked at her seriously and asked in a gentle tone, "How are _you_ doing?"

Maggie took a deep sigh, staring aimlessly at the glass in her fingers. "I'm exhausted… I don't like being this mediator and I'm tired of all the questions, everyone looking for answers that I don't have," She answered a little honestly more than she intended to.

"So you decided to come to the source of your problems?" Damon questioned with a raised eyebrow, a teasing hint in his voice, but he legitimately wanted to know what motivated her to show up on his doorstep tonight.

"Jerk," She muttered behind her glass and he caught the slight upturn of the corner of her mouth before she took a sip. Then she purposely put her glass down on the table in front of them and regarded him seriously, "I also wanted to tell you that I don't appreciate the stunt you pulled earlier."

"What makes you think it was a stunt?" He smirked at her, unaffected by her glare.

"Really, Damon? Because of all the times you could've kissed me, you did it in front of my father and my _boyfriend_," Maggie bit back sarcastically, part of her not wanting to consider what it would mean if his actions were sincere.

"You're upset I did it in front of Glenn and not because of the actual gesture itself. Got it," Damon gave a snarky countered and knocked back the rest of his drink.

Maggie gave him an increasingly aggravated stare, "You know that's not what I meant." How was it after such a long day, she could be back to bickering with him so easily?

"Maybe, but it was just a _little_ peck on the cheek," Damon got up from his seat and she wanted to wipe the smug look off his face as he went to pour himself a refill. "No reason for him to get all insincere about it," He came around to sit back down again. Before raising the glass to his lips, he whispered pointedly, "_Unless_ there is a reason to."

Maggie gasped slightly at his implication before shaking her head stubbornly, "No, no way." Part of her wanted to throw her glass at him for having the audacity to say something like that. Instead, she was just left clutching it a little tighter and fighting a blush under his scrutiny.

"Are you sure? And what have you told him about me?" Damon challenged, leaning a little closer to her. He doubted she had Glenn's blessing to be alone at his house right now.

Maggie leaned away, wrapping her arms around herself and turning her body to stare at the fireplace more directly. At first, she didn't answer him. He knew what it would've sounded like to Glenn if she had told him about the night she ended up drunk with him and all the other small incidents like the bargaining in his kitchen.

"It's nothing," She whispered under her breath, mimicking her words from earlier and knowing how hollow they seemed.

She cleared her throat before giving him a defeat look, "Damon, I just need one night free of questions I can't answer._ Please_."

Damon considered her plea. It wasn't lost on him that she didn't really answer him, proving just how stubborn she was like him. He had to admire that even though she appeared emotionally worn down, she still had a little fire in her eyes. "Fine, but I want to make one thing clear," He said finally and then reached up to stroke her cheek lightly with his thumb. She didn't shy away from him, but watched him apprehensively and held still. "As much as I enjoyed riling up Glenn, that's not why I did it…" His hand fell slowly from her face and he whispered, "I did it because I wanted to…"

Maggie swallowed thickly and nodded her head a little, not trusting herself to speak. She tore her eyes away from him, not liking how tense he could make her from a look and a simple touch. Small actions like that shouldn't affect her. Looking back at the table to her glass, she then spotted the books that lay sprawled out. They seemed to be some sort of a log book, but they all looked rather old and handwritten in ink.

"What were you doing before?" She pointed towards the books. She said she didn't want to answer any questions, which made him fair game as far as she was concerned.

Having forgotten they were there, Damon leaned forward and closed the books carefully. "Just grasping at straws, no luck though," He sighed, rubbing his chin slightly. Then he took the time to stand up and return the books to the proper shelf on the other side of the room.

Maggie watched him move around in silence. He could feel her stare on him, but he didn't say anything about it. He was reaching up to place the last book upon the shelf when her voice stopped him. "Tell me about Rose," Maggie requested softly.

She couldn't see the way his eyes flickered and his jaw clenched. His fingers lingered on the spine of the book a moment before he composed himself. Casting a glance over her shoulder, he said sarcastically, "Rose? Oh she was hideous."

Damon ducked in time to dodge a decorative pillow flown across the room. He looked up to catch her indignant expression with a smirk. "Missed me," He teased and he could tell Maggie was seriously considering through her glass next.

"Okay, okay!" He raised his hands in surrender when he saw Maggie pull her hand back with the glass, not particularly afraid, but it was harder to find good glassware these days. He could tell by the way she pressed her lips she was fighting between looking annoyed and trying not to laugh. She watched him step forward slowly back to the couch, "She wasn't nearly as violent as you."

Maggie's face broke into a small laugh and she raised the glass to her lips instead to finish her drink.

"Rose…" He mused and sat down when he was sure he wasn't going to get anything else thrown at him. "She… was my friend, when I didn't have very many friends." He opted to skip the detail about just how special of friends they were. "She was always trying to get me to talk about my feelings," He said the last word with a mock shudder, earning a chuckle from Maggie.

"Sounds like we're nothing alike," Maggie commented.

Damon smirked and tilted his head slightly, "Yeah not really, but she did call me insensitive too…"

Maggie smiled and wondered what it would have been like to meet her, even if it would be intimidating to meet an ancient vampire look alike.

"I didn't know her long before she was bit," Damon admitted while his gaze dropped to the fire, watching the flames without really seeing them.

"By a werewolf?" Maggie frowned, vaguely recalling Klaus' first comment to her.

Damon nodded somberly. "It's fatal for vampires. Werewolf venom is poisonous to us. I stayed with her through it," He tried not to let the memories affect his voice. "Then before the end, I took the pain away and brought her to her happiest place." His throat was too tight to make a jest about his bedroom being the happiest place for many women, but instead he was thinking about that field in England.

Maggie looked in awe at the raw emotion in his eyes she so rarely saw. She wanted to reach out to him, but she didn't want to disturb whatever memory it was that he was experiencing. Her curiosity urged her to ask quietly, "How did you do that?"

Damon turned from the fire and for a brief moment was thrown by Maggie's similarity to Rose. For a moment, he saw an expression of concerned sympathy he had received from Rose before. This time there was a slight difference to it that it made it uniquely Maggie. She was a little more guarded and didn't look at him in the same way that Rose ever did.

Before he could doubt himself, he made a promise to her, "I'll show you."

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! NYE was a bit crazy._

_So no smack down fight or anything from Glenn, I think he has the personality that needs to simmer and stew a bit before he explodes._

_Any thoughts on Damon's dream promise?_

_Review answers:_

_Nethra: Hahaha, it's only nine episodes into the season and "But it's my choice" already makes me cringe every time I hear it. It doesn't help she has a very scratchy voice when she whines. _

_Awww, that means so much to me that this is your favorite fic! I hope I can continue to live up to the expectations haha._

_LiveHappy: I'm glad you thought so too! Sweet, but a bit devious._

_Thesummersky: I hope this chapter answered your question about the police station, if not just let me know and I'll PM you a further explanation. Things are just beginning to brew in the Damon/Maggie/Glenn situation and the next few chapters will start to get interesting fast!_

_Bitcheesquared: Oh wow, that's some interesting pair ups there. Ric and Caroline? Wow that would be quite the age gap haha. _

_As always please review and let me know what you think!_


	18. Chapter 18

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter song inspiration: The Quiet Kind – In Front of You_

_Chapter Eighteen_

Damon turned from the fire and for a brief moment was thrown by Maggie's similarity to Rose. For a moment, he saw an expression of concerned sympathy he had received from Rose before. This time there was a slight difference to it that it made it uniquely Maggie. She was a little more guarded and didn't look at him in the same way that Rose ever did.

Before he could doubt himself, he made a promise to her, "I'll show you."

* * *

Maggie's eyes fluttered open at the feeling of warmth on her face. At first she had to shield her eyes from the brightness of the sun. Tall grass stretched around her, reaching up towards the clear blue sky. Realizing she was lying on the ground, especially feeling a tree root digging into her lower back, she slowly sat up, placing her hands behind her. Looking down, she also noticed she wasn't the same clothing she had been borrowing from Elena. It was actually her own, a clean pair of jeans, her favorite peach tank top, and plaid blouse over it.

Glancing around her, she saw she was sitting under a massive tree on top of a rolling hill. There were many hills around her and clusters of trees. Her throat tightened as she recognized the familiar landscape and the blooming of wild flowers in some of the fields of early spring. There were wooden fences running through one of the fields and she could see brown cattle grazing in the grass. In the distance, she could see the roof of a white farmhouse and a faded barn not too far away from it. The large white home with the wrap around porch she could recognize anywhere and draw each detail down to the splinters in the window frames from memory. She gasped and brought her hands to her mouth staring at them. The last time she had seen that barn it was engulfed in flames and the first floor of the farmhouse was barricaded and overrun.

"I have to be dreaming," She mumbled in disbelief. Parked nearby the barn was even Otis' pickup truck and her father's Suburban was up near the house, looking a lot newer. Based on the appearance of the buildings and vehicles, this was not a recent spring.

"Of course you are," A voice answered her.

Startled, Maggie turned around and found Damon leaning casually against the tree trunk behind her with his arms folded. He smirked at her bewildered expression as she scrambled to her feet. He was still wearing the same clothing from the boardinghouse, looking oddly out of place in his dark attire to the bright Georgia morning.

Blinking, the memory of her beginning to nod off in front of the fire was just a distant thought. "_Here_? You brought Rose here?" She asked in disbelief, remembering his words.

Damon shrugged and shook his head. "Nope, I've never seen this place before," He said bluntly, glancing around at the forest nearby and the fields. It honestly bothered him how similar this place was to the one he brought Rose to. He didn't know what to expect when he started the dream manipulation, there was any number of possibilities that it could have led them to, but instead it brought them here.

He explained when he saw Maggie's continued look of confusion, "I brought her to the place of her happiest memory and this is the place of _yours_… which brings me to the terribly cliché question of... where are we?" He stood up straight, placing a hand casually against the bark of the tree and looked up through the branches at it.

"It's my home," She answered and felt her stomach knot into a twist as she stared where Damon was standing. "The spring before my mother passed," She whispered when understanding hit of what time exactly they were in.

Damon's head snapped in her direction at that information, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"You're standing where we put her memorial," She informed him.

"Oh," Damon said uncomfortably, he couldn't help but look down, wondering if he should move or not even though it was just a memory and the woman hadn't actually been buried there. Maggie didn't watch his reaction because she took a step forward, placing a hand against the trunk as well and looked up at the massive plant.

"This was her tree," Maggie lips tugged slightly upwards, despite the swirling of emotion in her chest.

Damon honestly wasn't very interested in the trees, but he needed her to keep talking to distract him from the thoughts of another memory. The first one had ended with death and this one was beginning with the talk of death. "It seems pretty old," He commented absently.

"It is," She confirmed and looked around her, "All of it is. This farm has been in my family for over 160 years." Looking back at the tree, she frowned slightly in thought for a moment. "I don't know how old this tree is. I remember once my father wanted to cut it down for his field, but my mother wouldn't let him." She smiled at the memory, "Daddy was never able to say no to her. Even after she passed, he never did."

Damon's eyes focused on the bark as he just quietly listened to her voice, which was a mixed blessing in itself. Her voice didn't have the same accent, but for once he heard the same warmth and compassion that radiated off of Rose. He paused his thoughts to look up at the leaves, furrowing his brows a bit. "Is this some kind of Oak?" He asked.

Maggie half shrugged, "Something like that… I used to climb it all the time as a girl and even in high school I would sneak way up in the branches with some beer where my daddy wouldn't catch me." She wasn't one to normally share stories, but being back at her home put her in a state of ease she hadn't experienced in a long time.

Damon looked to her with a grin at the mention of her mischief. Before he could comment further, she surprised him by reaching out and grabbing his hand, giving it a slight squeeze and tug. As much as she appreciated being in this spot, she couldn't pass this opportunity to see the rest of her home.

"Come, I want to see my home," She demanded and he couldn't turn down the radiant smile on her face. He let her pull him along the field, enjoying the happiness in her that he had never seen before, but maybe one day he could bring it out for real again…

* * *

Her eyes opened and were met with the dark ceiling of the boardinghouse. She swore she could still feel the warmth of the sun on her skin and the feel of the farmhouse railing beneath her fingers. No one had been in her dream beside her and Damon, which was probably good because she wasn't sure how much of that she could handle. Seeing her home, the bedroom she slept in, the kitchen her mother and step-mother spent hours in, and every room filled with memories was bittersweet.

Not even the slightest bit of alarm entered her when she realized she was lying in Damon's bed, on her back staring up. Said vampire was next to her, lying on his stomach with one arm draped across her waist, her hands resting on top of it. She felt the slight chill of silent tears that she didn't know when they fell running from the corners of her eyes.

Hearing her stir, Damon opened his eyes slowly, noting how close they were and the tears on her face. When she had nodded off on his shoulder last night, it was easy to bring her up to his room. He wasn't expecting to share the dream for so long though. The longer she had been at her home and put at ease, he couldn't bring himself to end that joy until he lost his concentration and fell asleep too. He took a deep breath, not sure what would happen next or where they would stand after that. If it changed anything at all.

So he said nothing as she stared up at the ceiling, the thoughts passing through her eyes. She didn't seem upset or ready to yell at him for bringing her to his bed. Instead, she licked her lips nervously before turning her head to look at him.

"Thank you," She whispered, staring into the ocean blue of his eyes. "for making the last image of my home a happy one." She never would be able to express the significance of that gift for her. The night they had to flee their farm haunted her with nightmares, but now he gave her something to hold onto as a last memory, even if it was just a dream.

Damon gave the slightest nod of his head in response. He didn't trust himself to speak at this point and that feeling he got around her drew him to sit up slightly. Carefully and slowly, he watched her eyes for any sign of hesitation while he leaned over her. Lifting the hand on her waist, he gently brushed away the tears from the side of her face closest to him. Then he moved to the other side, he could hear her heart pounding and picking up the pace as he wiped those tears away.

Instead of letting his hand drop, he decided to be a little bold instead and cup her cheek. His eyes dropped hers and down to her lips. He could hear her inhaling sharply, she knew what he was thinking of doing next. Leaning a little closer, he paused to look back up in her eyes, in a way as if asking for permission. He saw apprehension, but he didn't see any fear or anger.

His eyes dropped down to her lips again and they closed as he took away the distance between them, tilting his head slightly to the side. Maggie froze at the feeling of his lips against her, gentle and soft before they tried to coax hers to move. It was a simple kiss, it wasn't demanding, but he felt a hand against the back of his neck and fingers weaving into his hair. He felt a little part of her give as she returned it.

Before he could press it further, the hand on the back of his neck slide down and around to his chest. She pushed back against him and he reluctantly broke from her. He could feel it shaking slightly against him. Opening his eyes, Maggie stared up at him, appearing lost and flustered.

"I need to go," She said weakly, feeling slightly trapped underneath him and the need to breathe without being consumed by his scent.

Damon nodded numbly, "I know." He pulled his hand away and leaned away from her. She wasn't the only one that seemed a little bit lost. He honestly had been expecting the push from the start or maybe even a smack, but not her actually kissing him back. He said nothing as she scooted out of the bed quickly.

Maggie hid away in a long shower before leaving the boardinghouse. The water splashing on her face was like the cold slap of reality. Somehow in the course of coming to the house, she had ended up doing exactly what she came to yell at him about. Even worse, the carefully constructed walls that she kept around herself and the control she always clutched to had been stripped away in the matter of a simple dream.

Guilt swelled up within her as she left the house, taking the bag of borrowed clothes with her. Damon wasn't around by the time she got out of the shower. She was grateful for the quiet escape. No matter how she tried to justify it, she kissed Damon and she thought of Glenn as she started up the engine of the Camaro. Before moving anywhere, she leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and cried.

She cried for the hurt she felt last night and for how much this would hurt Glenn. She cried for the loyalty she had always prided herself on that was now broken in a moment of weakness. She cried for how wrong it was that she felt alive for the first time in a long while around Damon.

* * *

Eventually, Maggie mustered up the strength to return to the police station. To her surprise, she didn't find her family in a holding cell. Instead, they were in Sheriff Forbes' office with the same Council member she had spoken to about the housing assignment. Apparently they had located a home within a mile from the downtown area that was abandoned and would be large enough for all of them. It was the home of a previous Founding family that didn't make it through the outbreak. Maggie didn't have the heart to ask which one.

The meeting took a while. The first thing they did was sign the property of the house over to Hershel's name. At first she thought the formality was completely ridiculous, but then Liz reminded them of the fact it would keep creatures like vampires out without an invitation. Then the Council member went through a map, marking and pointing out locations of various places they would likely need to go. One of them was a store off of the downtown area that used to be a clothing retailer. Clothes were periodically brought in from supply runs and sometimes they ran a swap out of it for town events. Then there was the schedule for the Grill and the other food supply location. There was also the old hardware store were they stored supplies such as a seed and encouraged each household to plant a private garden to supplement their supplies. Being it was the spring, it was getting close to that time of year.

It was all such an information overload for her. She was grateful for the distraction from her personal problems though. It also gave Glenn and her family something else to fixate on. She didn't get too many questions about last night, her hospital excuse holding water for the moment. After the meeting, they all piled into the Camaro. At first, she enjoyed seeing the way Glenn's jaw dropped at the vehicle, being the first sports car he got up close to since the Dodge Challenger in Atlanta. The moment was short lived though. As soon as he heard it was Damon's, he closed his mouth and the tension returned.

Based on the Council member's directions, they found the house close by. It was a deep charcoal color and sizeable to the old farmhouse, given how many people they requested to live in it. There was a front porch with a bench swing and the remnants of neglected landscaping in the front. Instead of going inside right away with the others, Maggie opted to drive back to the hospital to pick up the Grimes. The drive left her alone to her thoughts, which she then realized was what she didn't want. She couldn't stop thinking about the look in Damon's eyes before he kissed her and how she had been able to see her home again. With those thoughts though came the suspicious looks from Glenn and the sick feeling in her stomach of her betrayal.

After finding Rick at the hospital, it was easy enough to get Judith discharged with some care instructions and the promise of bringing her in for routine checkups. She used the new housing assignment as a distraction from her problems, bringing Rick and Carl up to speed as she drove them to the house. Carl was quick to ask about the car, showing his youthful enthusiasm and she gave the same vague answer of just borrowing it as she did the others.

The next two days passed in a blur of activity. The group reunion was actually a relief and went better than she thought. Hugs went around to Rick and Carl, particularly from Beth and handshakes from Hershel and Glenn. Everyone was concerned about Daryl and Carol, but Maggie insisted that they would be okay with Stefan and Elena. She wasn't quite confident in that, but she didn't want to consider other possibilities at the moment. They explored the house and found some of the personal possessions such as photographs had been removed, probably by the Council before they showed up. No matter how many homes they had squatted in during their run, she still felt odd staying in a house she knew a family grew up in. The sentiment was doubled when they found some long since dried bloodstains on the walls. The water was working, but at the moment there was no power. Sheriff Forbes said it would likely be a few more weeks before the grid the house was on would be restored, but they at least had a fireplace to stay warm at night.

The first day passed quickly in a whirl of cleaning out the house, bagging up and removing things that wouldn't be necessary for them and scrubbing down the walls and floors. It seemed everyone was eager to get to work after being coped up in the station and hospital, also motivated by the prospect of somewhere they could call their own. The house was bustling and didn't leave much downtime or privacy with six people, one of which was a needy baby. Maggie was silently relieved for this fact, allowing for her to throw herself into the work and cleaning up the place.

The second day, the men sized up the backyard and decided they would plant most of it. They didn't have the need for a lawn but the idea growing any sort of crop particularly appealed to Hershel. They spent most of the day running from place to place, gathering the supplies they would need for the yard. The other time Maggie and Beth went to the clothing drop. It was a relief to spend some time with her little sister again, almost doing something normal like picking out clothes for everyone. There was also a run to the food pantry, which they were able to pick up some supplies to tide them over until the seeds grew and for the times they didn't want to rely on the Grill.

The group kept to themselves, working mostly on the house and the sleeping arrangements. She and Glenn had taken a room, but even then she didn't spend much time talking to him. In some ways, she knew that she was avoiding being left alone with him because she knew what would be brought up. She knew eventually she would have to face it, but she was willing to take whatever time she could get to figure things out. The first night she was quick to get up and help Rick when she heard the baby crying. The second night, she was exhausted from all the work she fell asleep in bed before Glenn even came in the room.

The next morning she convinced the group to head down to the Grill for the morning meal. Part of her just wanted to get away from the house for a bit and the other part wanted to see other familiar faces. They opted to go towards the end of the serving time, not particularly thrilled at the idea of being exposed to the whole town just yet. When they arrived at the Grill, half of them walked there because there wasn't enough room in the car, but Hershel and the baby definitely needed it. The place was starting to clear out, it was easy to pull a couple of tables together and they were half way through their meal when Maggie decided to get up and get some water from the bar counter. It wasn't like a full service diner anymore, there was a few tables with the food setup almost buffet style, but drinks you had to get from the counter. She marveled in the community effort and the constant sentiment people had of not taking more than what was truly needed.

"Excuse me, could I get some water?" She asked the familiar blonde-haired, blue eyed behind the counter. It took her a moment to remember his name, Matt. He looked up at her and nodded.

"Sure, no problem," He ducked down to pull out the glasses and begin filling them. As he did, he gave Maggie a second look. "Say, are you Maggie Greene?" He asked in a friendly tone.

"The one and only," She answered with a curious look.

He stuck out his hand to her, "Matt Donovan." She gave it a firm shake.

His last name clicked faintly in her mind and she said without thinking, "Oh, Damon told me a little about you… You live with Jeremy and Elena, right?" She left out the part where Damon had described him as the token human in Elena's social circle and something about staking his sister.

Matt cleared his throat a little uncomfortably at the mention of Damon's name. He never really considered him a friend so he wasn't sure how he felt about him speaking on his behalf. "Yeah, anyway… I know your family is still settling in and all, but if you ever are looking for something to do we could always use an extra hand around here. Especially when supply runs come in and such," Matt rubbed the back of his neck a bit as he spoke.

Maggie raised an eyebrow, having not been expecting this conversation when she came in this morning. "Are you offering me a job?" She asked dubiously. The concept itself seemed completely foreign to even consider it in light of everything that had been happening lately.

Matt chuckled and shrugged a bit sheepishly with a smile. "Yeah, it was Jeremy's idea actually. Don't tell him I ratted him out."

Maggie couldn't help but smile then, nodding since that suddenly made so much more sense. "Why me though?" She had to ask.

Matt lowered his voice a bit, answering hesitantly, "Honestly, given some of the _regular _crowd, finding help can be tough sometimes."

It didn't take a genius to know he was referring to hybrids and vampires. Maggie snorted slightly, wondering if she was supposed to take that as a compliment that they apparently thought she could handle them.

Sensing her indecision, Matt tried to give her a convincing smile. "And there's some plus sides… like knowing where they keep the booze from runs."

Maggie laughed and she shook her head a bit. "Quite the enticing offer, but I'll have to think about it," She answered him somewhat sarcastically.

He grinned and gave a half shrug. "That's fine, just let me or Jeremy know sometime," He said to her as she gathered up the glasses.

Smiling and still shaking her head a bit, she walked away from the counter and rejoined the group at the table. She caught a few curious glances and Beth was the first one to say something.

"What was that about?" She asked without an accusation, but genuine interest.

Maggie sat down, putting the glasses down carefully, still in a little disbelief herself. "Matt offered me a job here," She simply put it.

Glenn casted a thoughtful look back at the bar, but said nothing as he bit into his food. Hershel remained just as quiet and pensive, but she didn't sense any disapproval from him.

Rick and Beth were the most positive. "Oh that's exciting," Beth commented with a real smile, which Maggie appreciated.

Rick nodded, "I imagine we'll all do our share around here eventually…"

She couldn't help but think about the way Matt said her family was settling in here. In some weird twisted way, she supposed that was what they were doing. She doubted it would be easy though…

* * *

_Author's Note: So I hope this was a squeal worthy chapter! Let me know what you think._

_Hint for next chapter, Glenn is only going to stay quiet for so long!_

_Review responses:_

_LiveHappy: So this wasn't a total make out, but it's definitely a step in that direction and the next three chapters will get messy between Damon/Maggie/Glenn. The song inspiration I use for Damon and Maggie's relationship is Fix You (Coldplay Cover) by Boyce Avenue, which I will probably include in another chapter. They both have a lot of baggage going into this, but they could be good for each other. It's the song I think when writing for them._

_Thesummersky: Yeah it's a bit of a challenge trying to explain the ongoings of the town without slamming it all at once and getting bogged down in the details… or maybe I just nit pick over fine details too much haha. _

_I hope this update was speedy enough, it practically wrote itself haha._

_Nethra: That's huge to me that's what you envision when reading these chapters because that's exactly what I try to do while writing them. The small conversations and interactions with other minor characters really helps enrich it in my opinion. _

_I don't have a soundtrack for all the chapters, but some of them I do write with a specific one in mind. I can start adding them to those specific ones, but if you come up with something I'd love to hear it. Most of the songs I use are from the TVD show, but I just imagine very different scenes for them obviously._

_As always, please review and enjoy!_


	19. Chapter 19

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Free Energy – All I Know_

_Scene: Morning through to Damon/Maggie conversation_

_Rosi Golan – Can't Go Back_

_Scene: Maggie/Glenn_

_Chapter Nineteen_

Rick nodded, "I imagine we'll all do our share around here eventually…"

She couldn't help but think about the way Matt said her family was settling in here. In some weird twisted way, she supposed that was what they were doing. She doubted it would be easy though…

* * *

Maggie woke with a yawn, stretching lazily in the bed. Once she did so, she realized that Glenn had already gotten up and the room was empty. It was the same way for the past two days since they went to the Grill. She wasn't an idiot, he was doing it purposely as one of the ways he expressed how he knew she was keeping something from him. In truth, they never really sat down and had a proper conversation, especially since she kissed Damon. Before that happened, she could just stubbornly say she didn't have to justify anything to him because nothing happened. But now it was just guilt that kept her quiet.

The window of the bedroom they had taken up overlooked the backyard and she could hear voices drifting in from outside. Glenn and Hershel had been early risers lately along with Rick. She could hear Hershel giving advice on which seeds to put where while mostly just watching Rick and Glenn do the actual back work.

Shuffling out of bed, she went to one of the two bathrooms on the second floor to wash up a bit. Then she changed into a pair of jeans and a loose tank top. Even after splashing water on her face, she still felt sleepy, having never been a morning person. On the night stand next to the bed, she picked up the car keys from Damon and stuffed them into her pocket, having gotten used to carrying them everywhere.

Going downstairs and into the kitchen, which was thankfully open and had several barstools along the island, she spotted Beth and Carl. Beth was holding little Judith in her arms with a baby bottle. Her sister always had a soft spot for infants and it caused her to smile a little.

"Morning," Maggie mumbled and moved towards a pot that still rested on the stove top. The stove wasn't working yet, but they made a small fire pit in the backyard to heat things up with. She helped herself to a bowl from a cupboard and scooped out some oatmeal for herself.

"Hey Maggie," Carl greeted from behind his bowl. Maggie moved to sit on the seat next to Carl, who's feet dangled a bit in the air. Beth remained standing and fussing over the baby.

"The things I would do for some coffee..." Maggie grumbled out loud while stirring around her food.

Beth smirked and responded playfully, "Coffee? Never heard of it."

Maggie grinned half heartedly, but then remembered how selfish her comment was. She wasn't sure when the last time the group had coffee… Probably since the farmhouse. Yet, here she was complaining about the lack of it when she only had it a few days ago at Damon's. She mentally shook her head, thinking she really needed to get her mind off of him more.

Truth was while the house was full with six people, sometimes she felt it was oppressively silent. The months of being on the road and trying to avoid walkers had led to the group being able to communicate a lot without actually speaking. This was well and good for when only walkers were their problem, but now they had a whole new ball game to deal with and she hadn't even mentioned anything about her doppelganger status and she already found the silence suffocating.

"So I was thinking about taking that job at the Grill," Maggie announced, breaking the silence and honestly curious to see what Beth and Carl would say.

They exchanged a look and it was Carl that shrugged his shoulders. "Why not. Me and Beth were actually thinking of enrolling in school here too," He said firmly. A glance to Beth told Maggie that she had been thinking the same thing. It floored Maggie a little to hear Carl suggesting the idea of school when only a few weeks ago she had seen him wielding a gun and killing walkers with a resolve too mature for his age.

She frowned slightly while she thought about the idea. She honestly didn't know much about the school, since she was past the age for it so she didn't give it much thought. The more she thought about it though, the idea didn't seem so bad. If there was ever a chance and symbol of normalcy at Carl and Beth's age, it was going to school. Maggie tried to think of who else she knew of that went to the school and she was trying up a blank except for one person. This was actually a good thing in her mind because everyone she heard of had some connection to the supernatural and keeping the youngest members of their group away from those problems was highly appeal.

"I think you should, it's up to Daddy and Rick though, but I think it's a good idea," Maggie declared, earning a hopeful look from Beth and a matching grin from Carl. "I know Jeremy Gilbert goes to the high school. He's a sweet kid," She added on.

Before they could say anything else, there was a knock at the front door. The three looked up and Maggie frowned, wondering who would possibly be coming by.

"I'll get it," She said, standing up and making her way out of the kitchen, down the hallway to the front door.

Opening the door, she gave a sigh at the sight of Damon standing in his usual black leather jacket glory. "Miss me?" He smirked.

"Like a canker sore," She answered dryly.

He placed his hands on either side of the door frame, leaning forward by was stopped by the threshold of the doorway. "You know, the polite thing to do would be to invite me in," He said with cheek.

Maggie folded her arms and didn't suppress her smirk this time, holding her ground. With pretend regret, she said, "Sorry can't. My father decided no vampires, no exceptions." Despite everything that had occurred, they were right back to their usual bickering.

Damon half shrugged, "I could just compel them to let me in."

Maggie dropped her arms, her hands into fists and clenched her jaw. "Don't you dare," She hissed threateningly.

"Or what? You'll stab me with another kitchen utensil?" Damon challenged, his eyes light with teasing.

"Probably, want to find out where?" Maggie bit back quickly.

Another voice from the hallway cut into their conversation. "Maggie? Is everything okay?" Beth approached the two, keeping a little distance though, holding the baby against her shoulder.

"Fine," Maggie said sharply before Damon could come up with a snarky comment. He looked to the youngest Greene with mild curiosity. Maggie looked over her shoulder at Beth, "I just need a minute."

Beth frowned and watched as Maggie stepped forward, placing one hand against Damon's chest to push him away as Maggie went outside and closed the door behind her.

"Damnit Damon, do you have a daily quota of people you need to irritate or something?" Maggie demanded once the front door was firmly shut and putting a little distance from him.

Damon grinned and ran with it, "Yes, but you should be flattered. Me being here first thing in the morning means you're high on the priority list."

"Charming," Maggie answered humorlessly.

"Oh relax," Damon gave a slight sigh before saying seriously, "I actually came here to drop something off."

Maggie's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she held back anymore scathing comments. Her curiosity was there, but she couldn't help being weary after the trouble the last time he gave her something caused. Her mind went back to the police station and then the after dream kiss. She had to stifle those thoughts as Damon gave a nod towards the street in front of the house.

Lately, she had just been parking the Camaro on the street in front of the house. Things like traffic laws and parking in driveways still seemed really trivial to her at this point. Pulled up behind the Camaro was now a second vehicle, a maroon Toyota Camry. Along the side was stenciled in white spray paint, '_MFVI 0057_.'

"A car?" Maggie frowned, part of her thinking going from the Camaro to a Camry was a definite downgrade style wise. But then again, she had only been borrowing Damon's car.

"Yep," He popped the 'p' a little, "Actually it's from the Council… that whole one car per household policy." He waved a hand nonchalantly. "And since I'm part of the Council…"

"You jumped at the opportunity to be delivery boy?" Maggie raised an eyebrow with a hand on her hip.

"Well…" Damon drew out the word before dropping into a teasing tone, "It might also be a shameless attempt for another thank you kiss." His eyebrows wiggled slightly.

Maggie's eyes widened and her face went beat red. Quickly, she looked back to the closed door and prayed there was a God that didn't let anyone hear that from a window. She roughly grabbed Damon by the arm, pulling him off the porch and towards the street. "_Seriously_, Damon?" She hissed to him along the way.

"Not really, no…" He answered, letting him be half dragged more out of shock from her strong reaction. Then it clicked in her mind the way her eyes darted back to the house and he stopped half way to the cars, not letting her pull him any further. "Ooooh," He whirled around to face her directly again and his eyes searched her face with a smirk. "You haven't told your little boyfriend about that lip lock…"

"Damon," She growled in a low warning tone.

He kept going unaffected by the threat, stepping closer to her. "Tell me, Maggie, have you even told him you're a doppelganger?"

"No I haven't, Damon," Maggie spat, choosing to not to address the kiss comment at all. There wasn't anything good that could come of that right now. "What am I supposed to tell him? I don't understand all of this and if wasn't for the fact everyone was confusing me for Rose, I'm not so sure I would even believe it myself. So how can I expect him to?" Her voice was bordering on a shout by the end with the frustration radiating off of her.

Damon grew quiet. This conversation was eerily familiar to ones he had several times over, but with his brother and Elena. For a moment, he considered pointing out the fact she was taking away Glenn's chance to understand it by making that decision for him, but he wasn't Elena and that was her good-doing tirade. He could also point out the times he kept things from his brother and Elena, trying to do what he thought was protecting them and how badly it had blown in his face later. Then there was the classic sending Jeremy to Denver example and how well that had panned out between him and Elena.

No, she would have to make her own mistakes. He tried to tell himself it wasn't selfish that was how she needed to learn from it and that was why he wasn't going to tell her what to do. Deep down, he knew the truth though. He wouldn't be particularly upset by any wedge driven between her and Glenn because so far that was pushing her closer to him.

"You can't," Damon admitted softly.

Maggie's irritation was taken by his agreement. Her anger bubbled down to resigned frustration and worry. The teasing was gone from Damon's face and she could see the honest turmoil in his eyes.

Maggie nodded, knowing at some point she would have to tell Glenn the truth, but it wouldn't end well. If anything, all this proved that nothing will ever be the same.

Seeing the somber pensive thought from Maggie, Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out the car keys to the Camry then. "Here," He held them out to her.

"Thanks," She mumbled, taking them and stuffing them into the opposite pocket of the keys she already had. Remembering they were there, she pulled out Damon's keys and held them out to trade.

He shook his head, "Keep it. I have a spare."

She looked down to the keys in her hand, her fingers wrapping around them tightly. Biting her lip slightly, she gave a simple, "Okay" and tried not to look into the gesture too much. Looking back to the house, she thought she saw a curtain move by one of the first floor windows. "I should probably go," She said without much conviction.

"Wait, there's one more thing," Damon stopped her before she could turn away from him.

"There's this Founder's celebration coming up," He said and Maggie frowned at the completely foreign concept. He half shrugged, "Frivolous parties has always kinda been Mystic Falls' thing… Anyway they have one every so often now in the town square. The usual loud music, bad dancing, and cheap sometimes vervain laced drinks…"

Maggie gave him an aggravated glare as she caught on to the direction he seemed to be going with this. "This better not be your way of asking me to be your date," She warned.

"Pfffh, no," He said quickly and then smirked at her, "Now who's being clingy after one kiss?"

Maggie gasped and raised a hand quickly to smack him. Before it could connect, it was stopped by Damon's wrapped around her wrist. He caught it with ease and his hold was unforgiving even with Maggie's frustrated groan. Damon took the opportunity and pulled Maggie roughly towards him. Her free hand caught herself on his shoulder while his other hand firmly grasped her waist.

A blush started to form on her cheeks as she realized how their body positioning oddly resembled the pose of a couple slow dancing.

"It _would_ be an honor to have a beautiful woman with me while I smooch the Council and irritate Stefan," He teased with a charming smile.

Maggie swallowed thickly, unsure how to respond to the compliment and playfulness from him. Being so close to him wasn't doing much for a coherent thought process either. She was also sure he was purposely tracing a light circle with his thumb on her waist. A small part of her knew she should push and back away from him. But his gaze kept her trapped and she recognized the hint of stubbornness that she too possessed in them. He already proved that he didn't back down easily.

She gave a defeated sigh before answering, "When is it?"

Damon didn't hide his triumphant with a pleased tone, "Two weeks from tonight."

"If I haven't murdered you by then, I'll _consider _going," was the best answer she was willing to give him at the moment.

"Looking forward to it," Damon grinned, knowing that was the closest to a yes he would get and that was enough for him to hold her to it.

Before she could say anything else, Damon then uttered two words without taking his eyes off her face that acted like a cold slap of reality, "Hello Glenn."

Startled, Maggie pushed away from Damon, who let her go this time. Sure enough, standing a few feet away from them was Glenn. There were mud stains on his jeans and hands, which were clenched in white knuckled fists. The swelling had gone down on his eye, but the bruising was still evident, even through the murderous glare he was sending to Damon.

"Keep your hands off my girlfriend," Glenn ordered.

Damon's eyes narrowed at the challenge, but he didn't appear bothered by the threat at all. "You know, the wounded Panda look isn't very intimidating," He sneered.

"Okay, enough!" Maggie cut in, stepping between the two of them before it could get out of hand. She looked at Damon, stating firmly, "Damon, leave!"

As much as Damon wanted to stick around and see what happened next, he already done what he came here to do. So he gave a noncommittal shrug and said, "Fine" before fishing out his spare car keys from his jacket.

Turning away from the couple, Damon casted one more smirk over his shoulder before climbing into his car. His intentions weren't entirely innocent for asking Maggie to go to the celebration for more than one reason beside the obvious. If Mystic Falls had taught him anything in the last few years, things had the tendency to get out of control at school dances and parties. If something happens, he wants Maggie close by just in case.

* * *

Glenn glared at the Camaro as the engine revved up before it took off down the street. He took an aggravated, controlled deep breath before looking at Maggie. She stood there looking at him with wide green guilty eyes, like a child that just had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Except this cookie jar was a vampire with a dangerous allure.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Glenn asked bluntly, having never been one for yelling, but the accusation was there.

Maggie felt her stomach twisting into a knot, even as she countered, "What do you mean?"

The avoidance was beginning to set Glenn off and his patience was running thin. "You know what I mean, Maggie. What was that there? I know you've been hiding things from me since we got here. What aren't you telling me?"

Maggie opened her mouth to speak, but no words came from her lips. She shook her head helplessly while Glenn threw his hands in the air as he spoke.

Seeing her lack of response, he kept going. "And I talked to Rick… he said he never saw you that night at the hospital. Where did you go?"

She winced slightly at the all questions and realized he was then waiting for a response. Taking a deep breath, she felt she was damning herself by answering the only question that had a certain straight truth to it and avoiding the others. "I was at Damon's," She gave honestly.

Glenn jerked his head back as if he had been visibly slapped. A look of disbelief and what she thought might have been disgust passed through his expression slowly. Her chest tightened from the hurt so clearly in his frame and the fact she was doing it to him.

"Who _are_ you?" Glenn whispered in a dejected tone.

Maggie furrowed her brows.

"Sneaking around with _vampires_, keeping secrets… I don't recognize this person in you, Maggie," The disappointment oozed with each word as his eyes passed up and down her, as if he couldn't believe she was really standing there.

Tears at the corners of her eyes threatened to cloud her vision as she shook her head. "You don't understand, Glenn, there's so many things I can't even being to…" Her voice trailed off, not properly sure what it was that she was trying to express.

Seeing her on the verge of tears and how lost she looked, Glenn changed his tactic and stepped closer to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders to look her directly in the eyes. "Then _help_ me understand, Maggie," She didn't miss the desperation in his tone. "We're in this together, we'll survive together, remember?"

Maggie was touched by his conviction, it was the same one that had kept them alive since the farm. But as she stared at Glenn and considered the possibility of dragging him into the whole doppelganger situation with the Originals, she could only see the image of Carol's neck being snapped. Glenn was only human. The doppelganger status was the only thing keeping her alive as it was. How could she possibly protect him when he could be so easily killed in the snap of a finger?

A few tears escaped the corners of her eyes as she uttered words that slowly began to rip her heart out. "I'm sorry, Glenn, but not this time… Not with this we aren't."

She stepped back from him, his hands falling away helplessly from her shoulders. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled the car keys.

Glenn watched numbly as Maggie got in the car, starting up the engine and pulling away without a look back.

She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the sob as she began to drive down the street. Looking in the rear view mirror, her shoulders shook and she winced at the pain in Glenn's expression. She just hoped this would mean keeping him alive. Damon's words to her echoed in her mind, truly understanding what he meant now and hoped it was true:

"_I could live with myself knowing you're alive, even if it meant you hating me because of it."_

* * *

_Author's Note: Short, quick update, but the beginning of the end of Maggie/Glenn! (Remind anyone of the way Elena tried to protect Jeremy?) There wasn't much action here, but there will be action in the next chapter, which will be one of my favorite and long awaited for some. My one word hint: Walkers!_

_What do you think of Maggie's decision trying to protect Glenn? Or how about Damon's trouble stirring?_

_Review responses:_

_Thesummersky: Yay for honest character relationship development, huh? I feel like a lot of fanfics jump the gun too soon sometimes. But yeah, things will be far from perfect for Damon and Maggie, and they don't have a lot of time to sort it out before things to begin to hit the proverbial fan (Founder's celebration, maybe… hmm…) _

_Feel free to overanalyze Maggie's dream. ;) With so much going on in this story, I don't have a lot of space for irrelevant details, no?_

_I'm glad you enjoyed the touch of romance there. :D I'm thinking the next chapter might have a happy dance moment in it._

_Nethra: Oh don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the Rose/Maggie doppelganger situation, that'll come back into play in a couple more chapters. _

_What do you think of the two songs I selected for this chapter?_

_As always please review and let me know what you think!_


	20. Chapter 20

_**Warning: Due to the graphic nature of this chapter, read at your own discretion. The author does not endorse violence beyond fictional purposes. **_

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Ross Copperman – Holding on and Letting go_

_Scene: Beginning through Maggie and Beth_

_Three Days Grace – Animal I Have Become_

_Scene: Maggie/Damon at the county line  
_

_Chapter Twenty_

She covered her mouth with her hand to hide the sob as she began to drive down the street. Looking in the rear view mirror, her shoulders shook and she winced at the pain in Glenn's expression. She just hoped this would mean keeping him alive. Damon's words to her echoed in her mind, truly understanding what he meant now and hoped it was true:

"_I could live with myself knowing you're alive, even if it meant you hating me because of it."_

* * *

Maggie drove and drove around Mystic Falls just to get away for a while. It took a long time before she physically calmed down, but the emotional hurt was still there. She had a feeling it wouldn't be going away anytime soon and possibly would only increase as the way things were going. Rolling the windows down in the car, she tried to forget everything as the wind whipped against her face and she halfheartedly explored the town.

In the end, she found herself going back to the Grill. If there was anything that could distract her right now, it would be getting that job. She decided it wasn't the group's decision and she would have to deal with her father later if he didn't approve, this was hers to make. Pulling up to the Grill, she went inside to find the place mostly empty except for two people. She wasn't surprised to see Matt Donovan, but there was also Elena Gilbert.

"I have to go to the old witches house and try to talk to Bonnie," Elena gave a sigh as she leaned against the bar counter, watching Matt move some boxes. As a vampire, she easily could've helped him, but she didn't want to completely emasculate the guy.

"Good luck, that place was creepy enough with just the dead ones in it," Matt sympathized with her. He was never there during some of the more eventful visits over the past couple of years, but he remembered sneaking off there in high school just to check it out.

"Believe me, I know," Elena muttered, secretly a little nervous about setting foot on the property now that she was a vampire too. She doubted she would even be able to get into the house now that the house had been partially renovated and a few witches are living there now, including that Andover warlock.

At the sound of the door opening, they looked to see Maggie walking in. Elena straightened up as she approached the pair. The tiredness was evident in her shoulders, but she had a determined look in her features, which faltered slightly when she saw Elena.

"Maggie, hey… how are you?" Elena expressed with genuine concern, she hadn't seen her since she was with Carol at the boardinghouse.

Maggie took a moment before answering. She certainly wasn't going to tell anyone about the fight she just got in with Glenn. Nor was she going to mention the whole situation with Damon to Elena of all people. "Adjusting," She said simply. "You?"

"I'm good," She gave politely, having not completely forgotten Maggie's snub that morning when she woke up.

Matt watched the exchange and wondered if he was the only one that found it a touch awkward, but he didn't say anything.

"How's Carol doing?" Maggie had to ask.

Elena frowned slightly and inclined her head slightly as she spoke, "She's having a hard time, but she's coping… Daryl's been helping her a lot. We have them setup in a cottage outside of town, it'll probably be a while before she can be around people." She thought as she spoke how she and Stefan would only let Daryl be around the newborn vampire with a heavy dose of vervain in his system.

Maggie nodded somberly, saying sincerely, "Thank you for your help." She meant it because she wouldn't have the slightest clue what they would have done without Stefan and Elena's help.

"Of course," Elena muttered and the three fell into an awkward silence.

Elena shifted on her feet. "Well I need to go, but I'll see you around," She said to the both of them before flashing a small smile and making for the door. Matt watched her go before looking back to Maggie.

"So still have that job opening?" She tried to lighten the mood slightly.

Matt cleared his throat slightly, "Uh, yeah. When do you want to start?"

Maggie shrugged her shoulders, "How about now?"

* * *

Working at the Grill proved to be a helpful distraction over the next couple of days. Maggie threw herself into it and spent a lot of time during the day there. It took a bit to learn the layout of the place and where everything was stocked. Also there were the procedures for when the supply runs arrived, which apparently was pretty frequent between all the resident vampires and hybrids in Mystic Falls going out regularly. She didn't really stick around during the food service at the beginning and end of the day though, partly because she just didn't want to run into anyone.

At the house, it was easy to avoid Glenn during the day since the men spent a lot of time in the yard, breaking ground and working on the household garden. Rick occasionally disappeared every now and then from the house, but Maggie wasn't really in the mind frame to be tracking everyone's whereabouts. Also now that the group was released, she could see Rick and Hershel taking up the patriarchal roles. They were beginning to look less to her for answers now that they were experiencing everything for themselves. That was a welcomed relief for Maggie.

Not everyone stopped questioning her though. Every night without fail had been spent with a late night discussion with Glenn, which came in the form of heated whispers and judgmental silences. Glenn wasn't the one to raise his voice or lash out like Damon and it scared Maggie one time when she almost wished that he was. Maggie stood her ground in her conviction about keeping Glenn away from her doppelganger problems and by extension what had been going on with Damon. At first it started with them giving up when the other was too tired to continue and ended with them rolling over to opposite sides of the bed they shared, a visible distance between them.

"I heard you and Glenn last night," Beth's voice cut into her reverie. Maggie frowned, last night had actually gotten to the point that Glenn left the room and slept on the couch in the living room. She sighed heavily as she stood next to her little sister in the dimly lit clothing supply. In truth there was no power in the place, the only light coming in from the large front windows. There were rows of racks of clothing from various supply runs.

When Maggie had gotten around to telling her family about the Founder's celebration, Beth was the most enthusiastic about the idea. She immediately insisted on getting dresses as soon as possible, quoting something about before all the good ones were gone. Maggie didn't particularly care, she would show up in jeans and a t-shirt if it was up to her, but she couldn't deny her little sister. There weren't many things that caused her face to light up anymore these days.

With Glenn sleeping on the couch, she honestly wasn't sure where they stood anymore. Maggie frowned as she stared at the hangers, inhaling dust in the slightly musty store and ignoring the sweat that dripped down her forehead. It certainly wasn't the picture perfect idea of a shopping trip.

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that," Maggie responded genuinely, she didn't want her family to suffer through the tension between her and Glenn as well, but it made it difficult in one house. Her hands found a purple dress and she pulled it off the rack, holding it up to Beth. Her sister gave it one look, scrunching her nose and shook her head. Biting her tongue, Maggie put it back.

"It's about Damon, isn't it?" Beth pressed further while having several dress options in her hands. Hershel had been receptive to the idea of school and they were enrolled right away. Tomorrow she and Carl would be starting, so Beth wanted to find something nice to wear for it, which Maggie found amusing since they had just recently picked up a whole wardrobe.

Maggie mentally cursed how perceptive Beth had always been with her, but she supposed that's what sisters do. Beth took her silence as an affirmative.

"Do you like him?" She asked eagerly, showing her curious youth.

Maggie shook her head at her naivety. Bless Beth, but this wasn't high school to gossip about crushes. "It's not that simple," Maggie did not answer her question directly.

Beth frowned and Maggie could see that she was honestly trying to understand. Flipping through a couple more hangers, Maggie pulled out a simple yellow sundress that was pleated with an empire waist. "How about this?" Maggie asked partly unsure. It was a little understated, but she didn't think she would be pretending to be something she wasn't in it.

"That's a keeper," Beth approved before pulling out one for herself. She looked thoughtfully at the fabric before saying aloud as if she was choosing her words carefully, "I like Glenn…"

Beth looked back up at Maggie reassuringly, "But you're _my sister_."

Maggie was touched by what the tone in her voice said that the words did not. The emotion was written in her eyes and she knew that Beth was really saying that no matter what happened, they were family at the end of the day and she would support her. Before she could help herself, Maggie pulled her into an appreciative hug, having truly missed her during their separation.

"Thank you," She whispered in her ear. While she didn't exactly have someone to confide all of her problems in, it was something to know she still had her family at the end of the day. Beth gave her a squeeze in return before letting her go with a small smile.

With a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips, Maggie waited patiently by the racks as her sister made a couple of final decisions and eliminations from her pile.

"Damon's also _really_ hot," Beth blurted out in a quiet sheepish voice.

"Huh, I didn't notice," Maggie pondered with feign innocence.

The sisters exchanged a look before Maggie snorted and they broke out into a small giggle.

* * *

Maggie looked up at the afternoon sky, the blue was mostly hidden by the clouds. She squinted at them and tried to find a shape of something that didn't remind her of anything. She just tried to focus on the feeling of the cool hard wood beneath her as she lay across the top of the picnic table. It was the same table she was starting to consider her and Damon's table, she knew that in itself was wrong. Her hands were folded upon her stomach as she stared up, the slight frown on her lips seeming be perpetually there lately. Her legs were curl slightly as she thought.

Her visage was interrupted by someone else leaning over her. Sure enough, she recognized the outline of Damon and he tilted his head slightly as he stared down at her. His blue eyes were inquisitively, if a bit amused by the sight.

"What are you doing?" He asked, skipping the pleasantries. He placed his hands on either edge of the table.

"Hiding," She answered curtly, a little annoyed that he was blocking her view and she couldn't be left alone for a while.

His forehead scrunched a bit as he looked around them, clarifying incredulously, "In the middle of town square?"

"You'd be amazed what can be hidden in plain sight," Maggie said flatly and moved to sit upright on the table, not particularly wanting to be staring up at Damon at the moment.

Damon mused at the idea, thinking of a certain moonstone in a soap dish and how well that had turned out for him. He opted to leave it alone though when he saw how tense her shoulders were. When she sat upright, Maggie didn't look at him but instead buried her face in her hands a moment before slowly running them back into her hair.

"What's wrong?" He asked softly, which part of him knew that was a slightly redundant question given the trouble he had caused between her and Glenn in their last meeting.

Maggie gave a humorless laugh that came out more like a bark. "Everything," She snapped. Lifting her head, she looked at everything while looking at nothing at all. "Everything is out of control since coming here… I've been so angry, confused… Guilty and trapped." She struggled to put into the words how overwhelmed she was feeling.

Here they were trying to put together some semblance of a normal life, but she knows there are problems just beneath the surface, beyond the bickering between her and Glenn. The frustration that came with everything was just piling onto each other and going nowhere but building within her. The trapped feeling came from being packed into the same house with everyone, trying to pretend that nothing was wrong for everyone else's sake.

Damon studied her closely, tempted to reach out and console her in some way. He recognized that she was having a hard time putting into words what she felt like he had so many times before. He hesitated from reaching out to her though. The only times he had seen her this strung up, she was on the verge of lashing out and he didn't want to be stabbed right now.

He stepped closer to her, asking meaningfully "What do you need to do to get it out?"

At first the answer of 'I don't know' came to her tongue as she stared off. What did she need to do to release all this pent up emotion without causing more of it?

Then an idea hit her.

Turning her head sharply to him, she requested with a hopeful gaze, "Do you think you can find me a machete?"

* * *

Two hours later, after much disagreement and finding the requested tool, Maggie and Damon stood at their final destination. He had immediately turned down the idea and even then still did not look happy.

"I'm going to express one more time how _bad_ of an idea I think this…" Damon grumbled, leaning against the driver's door of the blue Camaro. In some ways he looked very much like a pouting child since Maggie didn't back down from what she wanted to do.

"I _need_ to do this," She said firmly, and they both knew that she would just come out here and do it on her own if he didn't go with it. Now the idea had come to her, she wasn't going to let it go and Damon figured if it was going to happen he wanted to be there in case things went wrong.

Currently Maggie stood in the middle of a deserted road, a few feet away from the county line. The yellow flags hanging on each side of the road acted as an invisible threshold where she was a short moment away from crossing. Looking down at her hands, she tossed the machete Damon had come up with lightly between her hands, getting a good feel for the weight and balance of the weapon. It shined almost new compared to her last one and the blade was still very sharp.

Damon eyed the weapon with mild curiosity. He had to admit, the woman was crafty with a corkscrew, and he wanted to see what she could do with a real weapon. The air was still around them with only a few bird calls carrying through. The road remained empty and the yellow flags barely moved. It was almost as if the forest had been waiting their arrival.

"Okay, remember don't do anything stupid," Damon reminded her for the third time. "There's no guarantee I can come after you once cross that line. You need to get back to me if you get bit." His vampire blood was the only insurance policy in keeping her alive if something happened, but even then there was the hundred yard distance between the two lines of flags which the spell was active in. Given how he reacted last time, he didn't doubt it would knock him out if he entered it and he would stay down until someone moved him. He just hoped that none of them would take down Maggie.

"Got it. Are you sure this works?" Maggie asked, referring back to the county line. She never actually saw it do what it was claimed to.

Damon nodded. "The spell hemorrhages the brain of undead creatures, without self-healing they literally drop." That being said, Damon leaned through the open window of the Camaro and laid a heavy hand on the horn.

The noise was blaring in the otherwise silence. Maggie tensed slightly at the unpleasant noise and Damon let it carry on for a good twenty seconds before finally releasing it. When he did, Maggie looked across to the other side of the county line and saw the stirrings of movement.

It started with one and then two more figures appeared from the brush. The scuffle in their gait and the excited snarling coming from their weather worn throats was the obvious signs of the walkers, along with their ragged clothing. The shreds of clothing were stained and torn from likely months of aimless wandering about the country.

The first walker to cross the line was a female with a large patch of her scalp missing. She took one step forward past the yellow line and continued completely oblivious to the destruction it was marching towards. By the third step, the walker suddenly stopped and dropped like a puppet that had been cut from its strings.

The other two walkers were only fifteen feet behind her, dropping in a similar manner once they crossed the line.

Impressed by the effectiveness, Maggie took it as go time and determinedly walked across the first county flag line.

With each step, she focused a little more on the sound and each intake of her own breath. Her eyes darted across the way to the movements starting to materialize on either side of the road from the trees, even some much further down the pavement in the distance. This was what she was familiar with and she pushed her thoughts away, instead honing in on the tension in her body and her muscles ready to spring to life.

Meanwhile, Damon was toe to toe with the county line. He wanted to go after her. The gravity of this whole ridiculous idea was starting to hit him as he watched her march towards the approaching walkers. He told himself that she would probably kill one, maybe two before getting spooked and retreating. Then they could laugh about it all later.

Coming to the second county line, she zeroed on her first target. It was a decrepit looking farmhand from her guess. The face was so worn out she couldn't guess the age, the skin missing in places where she could see the cheek bones. The horrid creature only had one hand to rise, stretching out towards. Without hesitation, Maggie lifted the machete and swung the blade down upon the top of its skull. The bone crushed under the blade, splatting a putrid black mess with it. She grunted slightly as she pulled back on the blade, crushing and yanking out the right eye socket in its wake.

Damon's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. He watched in shock as Maggie turned onto her next walker, giving it a firm kick in the chest to put some distance between her and it first. She then swung the machete in a slight arch aimed for its neck. The head fell to the ground with another splatter of blood from the stump between its shoulders.

Maggie moved with careful purpose. Her technique wasn't perfect and rather scrappy at that, but she was aware enough to keep the county line to her back and not stray from it too far. She moved onto her third and fourth walkers, barely keeping track of them in a blur of snarling moans and sickening crunches of bone as she aimed for head shots.

With each movement and strike, she felt a little of everything she had been experiencing from Mystic Falls disappear. The anger from her kidnapping and captivity sliced off the arm of a reaching walker before the tip of the machete pierced into its deflated eye socket.

The anger for all of the things she had loss went into the next two walkers. The loss of her farm and her family's home for so many generations. Along with that loss was any feeling of home. There was also the anger of everything between her and her family that would never be the same since coming to Mystic Falls.

She mourned the unity of her group and the way it was beginning to crumble by grabbing the shirt of another walker and driving the blade up through its throat and into the skull. At some point, the snarls and groans of the walkers blended in with her one as she yanked the blade back out roughly.

She pushed back her guilt by the shoulders of another before jamming it in the temple with the butt end of the machete and turning around to slice open the next one. The first was her guilt for the pain she was causing Glenn and the inevitable heartbreak that was beginning to form. The second guilt was for no matter how much she considered it, she truly did not regret her actions with Damon.

Damon watched her now in stunned silence. He saw the way she nearly pounced upon each walker without relent, completely blowing his theory out of the water. While he had an idea what it took for her survive the past year in this environment, he never had the reality of it displayed before him until now. Paralyzed by the county line, he was only a spectator to the way she just shut everything down and let control go.

Her thoughts slipped away as well as any recognition with walker's faces. It just became instinct as she stopped counting how many had fallen. She only reacted to their movements, sizing them up like a predator before making her offensive. She paid attention to her footing and making sure she didn't step on any of the remains and slip. The smell rising in the air was completely nauseating and almost stopped her. It had been a while since she was last surrounded by it. Her stomach was stronger now though, so she bit back the bile in her throat with every other emotion.

Soon it just because the sweat on her skin, mixed with the blood that dripped down her forearms and along her temple, she knew more covered her face and clothing. She only stopped when all she had left was the heavy panting heaving from her chest and the burning protest from her muscles.

Clutching the slicken machete in her hand, she halted in the mist of her mess. A few walkers were still in the distance but there was a lull. A long enough lull for exhausted satisfaction to come over her. Her eyes flickered around her, dancing livid in their poisonous green shade. A few walkers hung around the trees to her right, still confused by the sound of the car horn by not drawn to the smell of walker blood. She probably looked like one herself at the moment.

She was about to dismiss them when she noticed something odd about one.

Tilting her head slightly, she noticed that walkers don't normally stand completely still with their hands in their pockets. It was hard for her to see him clearly because of her human vision, but he wore jeans and some sort of dark sports jacket. The clean appearance was the first dead ringer to the fact it wasn't a walker at all. His dark brownish hair, possibly windswept, and sharp features she would recall almost perfectly from memory.

Kol.

He stared directly back at her with dark impassive eyes. His expression was masked with his lips set in a thin line. There was no lazy smirk this time. He studied her as she did him. Her heart rate was already up and as before, she wasn't afraid of him, especially not in this circumstance where she actually had a weapon this time.

He made no move to approach her or even make his location known and she felt no desire to approach him. The tree next to him likely blocked him from Damon's line of sight. Given everything that had just happened, she couldn't bring herself to express curiosity or wonder at his appearance. She took in the sight of him blankly before finally tearing her eyes away.

With finality, she stepped around the carnage and across the county line once more. Looking down at the bodies, she tried to will herself to feel anything towards them. There had been a time she hated the term walkers and just thought of them as sick people in need of help. Now, she felt nothing for the decomposing corpses, the people they had been were long since gone.

Damon stood with a numb sense of stricken awe. He wasn't necessarily horrified by the sight, he had seen much worse over the decades. What threw him was the fact that he had to remind himself that this was Maggie, whatever this side of her that came out was still her. She moved and slaughtered the walkers with a regard that only reminded him of ripper tendencies. No sooner had she thrashed one, she dismissed it and moved onto the next. Yet, she was only human.

As she came across the second county line within an arms distance from him, he voiced the only thought that formulated coherently in his mind, "You would make one _frightening_ vampire."

Until then, Maggie had her eyes down on the pavement, just listening to one footstep after another and not letting herself think. As soon as she heard Damon's voice, her head whipped up, her eyes cutting into him a split second while his words sunk in.

Without a word, she took one step forward to him and swiftly stabbed the point of the machete deep into his abdomen. Not sure what to expect, Damon didn't see the action coming until the tainted blade plunged into his skin. His jaw clamped shut as the pain paralyzed him, barely raising his hands to grasp at it before falling down to his knees. Confusion barely accented the pain in his eyes as the veins in his neck popped.

Maggie leaned over him, speaking in a low threatening tone that was completely uncharacteristic of her, but true to every word.

"_Damon Salvatore, if you ever speak those words to me again, I will end you."_

Damon opened his mouth to say something, but only a strained groan came out instead. He fell over onto his side and watched helplessly as Maggie then marched around to the driver's side of the Camaro. Without a glance back, she started up the engine and pressed a heavy foot on the gas, turning it around and leaving him to breath in exhaust fumes as his car sped off back in the direction of Mystic Falls.

* * *

Night had fallen by the time he made it back to the boardinghouse. Opening the front door, he took slow weary steps inside, subconsciously still clutching to his stomach. The lights were on within the house and he spotted Stefan from the entryway in the living room. He was lounging casually on the sofa in front of the fireplace while writing in his journal.

Hearing his brother come in, Stefan looked up from his writing and raised an eyebrow at his brother's appearance. His clothes were stained and torn with a particularly large blood spot on his stomach. His hair was disheveled and skin rather pale in the clear signs of desperate need for blood. If he wasn't a vampire, he would've guessed he had his ass handed to him in a bad bar fight.

"What happened to you?" Stefan asked, not in actual concern for his wellbeing but pure curiosity for the explanation behind his current state.

Damon gave a slight groan before muttering bitterly, "She shanked me with a machete… then stole my car and left me there."

Stefan didn't hide his impressed look, not feeling particularly sympathetic because as far as he was concerned with Damon he deserved every bit he had coming to him. "And who do I send the thank you card to?" He smirked a little.

Damon shot him a glare before answering, "Maggie." He wasn't particularly mad though at her, because during that long walk through Mystic Falls he had_ plenty _of time to think about his poor choice of words to her.

He turned to keep walking with the intent on getting some blood bags from the basement.

"Ah, that explains a lot actually," Stefan spoke aloud to himself mostly, going back to his journal.

Damon stopped, furrowing his brows, "Like what?"

Stefan gave casually while flipping to the next page, "Oh, the fact she came in an hour ago and she's sleeping upstairs in your room."

With a slightly dumbstruck expression, Damon studied Stefan to see if he was pulling his leg or not before chancing a glance up towards the ceiling.

"Good luck getting that walker smell out of your car, by the way," Stefan wore an amused grin.

Damon's lip curled slightly upwards in annoyance before muttering, "I think I liked you more on the bunny diet."

* * *

_Author's Note: Long chapter, but a lot going on! What do you think?_

_A few things to point out, yes I promised a big Damon/Maggie moment in this chapter, but I decided to include some Maggie/Beth bonding and Stefan instead… but it will come first thing next chapter!_

_Also another thing for people who aren't avid TWD viewers, one major theme that is similar between TWD and TVD is the struggle to retain humanity and/or losing it. So that's something to think about with Maggie's walker scene._

_And of course that's not all of Kol we'll see...  
_

_Review responses:_

_LiveHappy: Yep, I would count on Maggie and Glenn appearing at the Founder's celebration… but I wouldn't expect them to show up together. _

_As always, please review and let me know what you think!_


	21. Chapter 21

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Tawgs Salter – Brave_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie_

_Hurts - Stay_

_Scene: Maggie leaving Damon's room through goodbye_

_Awolnation – Sail_

_Scene: Kol_

_Chapter Twenty-one_

Stefan gave casually while flipping to the next page, "Oh, the fact she came in an hour ago and she's sleeping upstairs in your room."

With a slightly dumbstruck expression, Damon studied Stefan to see if he was pulling his leg or not before chancing a glance up towards the ceiling.

"Good luck getting that walker smell out of your car, by the way," Stefan wore an amused grin.

Damon's lip curled slightly upwards in annoyance before muttering, "I think I liked you more on the bunny diet."

* * *

A few blood bags later, Damon came to his room to find the lights off. Even in the darkness, with the aid of the moonlight shadow casted from his window, he could see the sleeping form of Maggie in his bed. She was turned on her side, away from the door and her breathing was even. Walking into the room, he noticed the slight change in humid and smell of soap. He was relieved that she decided to take a shower before crawling into his bed.

Peeking into the bathroom, he found her clothes in a bloody mess on the floor and her keys on the bathroom counter. He would have to remember to burn them later, there was no way she would wear them again after all that. He knew that also meant she raided his closet for something to sleep in.

Quietly, he moved about to change in a pair of pajama pants and a fresh t-shirt. He didn't have it in him to wake her up and he felt pretty exhausted himself. So instead, he carefully lifted the covers on the other side of the bed and slid in next to her. Resting his head on the pillow, he gazed at her in silence for a long time. A grin tugged at his lips as he thought about no matter how badly she lashed out at him, she still ended up coming back to him.

As his eyes shut, a part of him realized that he would take each one of those wounds if that meant it kept her coming back to him.

Maggie woke with a deep sigh as the morning filtered through the window. Her hand was tucked under her pillow as she buried her nose in it slightly, subconsciously refusing to wake up but knowing it was inevitable. Aside from the comfort of the blankets, she immediately noticed the warm body that was curled up around her and the slight intermittent chill that befell her neck. She knew right away it was Damon holding her against him and his breath falling slowly against her.

She looked down at the arm wrapped around her torso, her hand resting lazily upon as if they had always been this way. Her fingertips brushed over the Salvatore family ring on his hand as she thought to herself, wondering at what point it was during all this she had gotten used to be physically close to him.

She felt him rouse with a sharp intake and her fingers stilled on his hand.

"Do you know how much it hurts to heal major organs?" Damon mumbled, his voice heavy with sleep. In truth he hadn't decided which one was worse, the stomach or the intestine she had pierced yesterday. The added infected walker blood certainly delayed the healing process too.

Maggie's eyebrows rose slightly at the odd greeting, but couldn't say she was entirely surprised. It would have been odder if he pretended nothing happened. Carefully, she rolled over onto her back and he allowed her to without actually pulling his arm away from her. She wanted to see his face, which ending up being quite close to hers.

It was then he opened his eyes and she was struck by the brilliant hue. "_Especially_ when I deserved it," He added on in a clearer tone. It was then she could see that he wasn't angry at her, which she admittedly was a little nervous about at first. Relaxing at that, she matched the slight tug at the corner of his mouth with a smile of her own.

She didn't feel the need to point out how stupid what he said was. Maggie opened to just bask in the ease and comfort she felt for a moment longer, staring back at Damon. The rest slipped away from his face as he became more alert and his lips parted, as if he wanted to say something but didn't. The hand on her hip shifted to hold her a little tighter and she felt the tension between them start to surface.

Because of that, she moved suddenly, pushing herself to sit upright with her back leaning against the headboard. Damon raised half an eyebrow at the startled movements. "I need to say a few things," Maggie declared, pulling her hands into her lap.

"Okay…" Damon gave unsurely as he turned his body and mimicked her position for this apparently serious discussion they were about to have. Last night, he had thought about a half a dozen different things he could've said to her about it, but now they seemed to be nowhere in sight.

Maggie fumbled with her fingers as he waited, trying to think of where she wanted to start. She didn't exactly rehearse this in her head before she fell asleep last night.

"I'm not the best with words… and given the chance I would rather express myself with actions," She stated, thinking of all the heartfelt confessions she ever made in her life could likely be made on one hand.

Damon's narrowed thoughtfully. There was no hint of playfulness in her voice and on a normal day he would've turned those words around into something suggestive. This time he knew it wasn't his turn to the speaking.

"I don't open up to anyone easily, especially after everything that has happened," She continued and her face twisted slightly as she admitted the next truth quietly, "Because they would just be another person for me to lose."

"I keep it to myself until I can't take it anymore and I lash out," She didn't need to point out any examples after how many times Damon had been on the receiving end already.

She took a deep breath, thinking of the next truth and how it was something her group generally felt, but they would never admit to anyone in Mystic Falls. Some of her group, like Beth and Rick, would say that they feel this way, but she knew they didn't while she genuinely did. "I would do anything protect my loved ones… even if that means I have to hurt them or trade the lives of strangers," She voiced, staring ahead and not necessarily looking at Damon.

As Damon watched her, he couldn't help but wonder if it was herself that she was describing or him. It was almost eerie how alike they were in some ways. He didn't need to point out all the times he had hurt Stefan or Elena in what was his attempt at protecting them. He also knew a thing or two about lashing out.

"I've cried more in the past two weeks than I have in the past two years," She admitted, partly hating how emotional she was being lately, but it was hard to avoid with everything that had been going on. She wasn't the one to get teary over a movie and came nowhere near close to be a bleeding heart.

The only explanation for her actions she saved for last. "And when I'm miserable, I rebel… sometimes by drinking, even smoking a few times, but in some way doing something impulsive," She shook her head slightly as she spoke, partly remembering some of her more childish antics when she was younger. "The last time I acted out against my father, I had sex with the first boy close to my age that I had seen in months." She then added in a slight humorless chuckle, "In a pharmacy."

Damon's eyes widened at her bluntness that was something most people would've expected coming out of his mouth. He tried not to dwell too much on the mental image of that. He questioned in a soft whisper, "What happened?"

Maggie gave a sad smile and turned her head towards Damon. "Oh, my daddy was _mad_… but then I fell in love with him," She blinked away the few tears forming in her eyes. This wasn't the time to cry. "We held onto each other and kept each other alive," There was a soft fondness in her voice.

It was then that Damon realized she was talking about Glenn.

"When you take away just surviving…" Her voice trailed and she stopped herself, that was a different line of thought she couldn't explore now. Taking a deep breath, she really looked Damon in the eyes and tried to keep her voice from shaking, showing just how vulnerable she truly felt. "But now I'm _losing him_, he's slipping away… I know I'm doing this to him, but I don't know what else to do…"

Damon grimaced slightly at how lost she looked in that moment, looking for some sort of anchor in the storm. He never considered himself to be that anchor for anyone, but he needed to do something for her. Gently, he reached out his hand and placed it over hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Her fingers relaxed at the gesture and he moved to thread his fingers with hers. Maggie watched him with a small sense of fascination.

Finally trusting himself to speak, he leaned close to her. "I think he's a fool," He declared, earning a slightly alarmed reaction from Maggie. Before she could take it the wrong way, he continued determinedly, "If he can't see that you're worth fighting for and _never_ letting go."

Taking his hand from hers, he used to delicately pull a few hairs away from her face and tuck them behind her ear, "You deserve that and _so_ much more, Maggie."

Her heart swelled, adding to the pressure in her chest as she gasped silently. The emotion conveyed in his voice was as clear as the intention in his expression. His eyes piercing into her, studying each feature of her face, starting with her eyes and moving down to her lips. This was the type of conviction she hadn't been expecting to see this morning and from someone other than her boyfriend.

It was because of that she panicked.

"I can't do this," She pulled away from him, scrambling to get out of the bed in a hurry. Even though she just wore a pair of Damon's pajama pants and one of his black shirts, she made for the door without a look back.

Frowning at the sudden change in her demeanor, Damon stared after her. The big question of "Why not?" formed at his lips, but he didn't sound it. He knew there was a whole list of excuses that she could come up with. He trailed behind her, giving her some distance as he climbed out of the bed. Sensing that she was probably going to bolt, he blurred quickly into the bathroom to grab her keys off the counter and shove them in his pocket. Then he went after her down the hallway.

Up until that point, the moment had reminded him of when he came to after the confrontation with Klaus. He knew it took a lot from her to open up like that. As they went down the stairs, he was wondering if maybe he had pushed it too far. Maybe if he hadn't pressed it further, she wouldn't be shutting down like the way she appeared to be as she got to the front door.

Yanking open the front door roughly, Maggie was hit by the chill of the morning air and a blast of sunlight. She stopped in the doorframe. At first she told herself that she stopped because she realized she was storming out of the house while her house keys were still in the pocket of the dirty jeans upsides and she didn't actually have a ride home. But something about that wave of fresh air snapped her thoughts together.

It was then she realized that something had to give. She couldn't just walk out again, whether it was the boardinghouse or her house without something changing. Otherwise, she would forever be running back and forth, dealing with the burden herself and caught in some sick sense of in between the two. The longer she drew it out, the more hurt there would be for not just her, but everyone involved.

Damon curiously approached with slow steps, closing the distance of the main hallway silently, almost as if he didn't want to startle her. For the life of him, he wanted to know what was going through her mind as she stood in the open doorway, one hand on the door and the other on the wooden frame, her back to him.

"Maggie…" Damon's voice to her ears like a soft caress and she closed her eyes a moment to revel in it.

Opening her eyes, she turned back to face him, her hands dropping from the door but leaving it wide open. With a new sense of resolve in her expression, she took her first step forward and declared, "This is the_ last_ thing I'm going to feel guilty for."

Before he could question what, she closed the distance between them, reaching up with one hand to the back of his neck and pulling him down to her. Catching on, Damon caught her lips with his, reaching with his hands to her hips to hold her against him. Closing her eyes, Maggie gave into the heated passion that radiated from him. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he coaxed her mouth open with his tongue. When one hand slipped under the hem of her shirt to slide up her spine, she arched her back, pressing her chest against him and earning a slight growl from his throat.

Then her back was pressed up against the wall of the hallway and the hand on his shoulder blade dug her finger tips into his skin. The action caused him to suck firmly on her lower lip, grazing it with his teeth, eliciting a whimper from her. The tension she always felt around him twisted into a knot within her, itching for more with each touch and caress.

It was the type of burn she could get carried away. Feeling the need for air and herself beginning to lose it, Maggie slowly eased away from the kiss.

Leaning her head back against the wall, she opened her eyes, met with his as dark as a stormy cloud. Despite her panting, she could tell he was ready to lean in and continue. Removing her hand from his hand, she slid it down to touch the side of his face, gently framing his eyes. "If I stay longer, I'm not going to be able to leave," She whispered in a huskier tone than normal.

"Then don't leave," Damon replied instantly with a smirk forming. He kept one hand trailing his fingers tauntingly up and down her side while the other reached up to brush his thumb lightly against her swollen lower lip.

Maggie swallowed thickly at the tempting offer, but held her resolve. "I need to sort some things out," She said and there was a touch of regret in her voice.

Damon's eyes narrowed in a flicker, but he nodded before dropping his hand and backing away from the position he had pinned her against the wall. Seeing how quickly he was backing off, Maggie knew that he was shutting down. "But I'll see you at the Founder's celebration," She promised.

She thought she might have seen a bit of hope pass through him before he masked his expression. Glancing to the open doorway, Damon hesitated before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the keys.

Holding them out to her, he gave a curt nod, "Do what you need to do." He wanted to add, '_and come back to me'_, but he refrained.

"Thank you," She gave as her goodbye, taking the keys from him and heading for the door. Stepping outside, she paused momentarily to look over her shoulder at him with a meaningful gaze. This time she grinned a little before she left.

Damon watched her go, hoping that the kiss wasn't the last thing she was going to feel guilty about because it was the last kiss.

* * *

After digging a blanket out of the trunk to cover the driver's seat and driving with the windows down, Maggie decided she would definitely have to clean the Camaro out somehow before giving it back to Damon. The smell wasn't the worst she had experienced, but she figured it must be ten times worse with his vampire senses. Before she knew it, she was pulling up to the house.

She spotted Rick with the Camry keys in his hand and the door open, as if he was about to leave. Hearing the rumbling of the Camaro, he halted and furrowed his brow as Maggie parked behind the Camry and cut the engine. He tried not to judge too badly when she stepped out in a set of clothes that were clearly not hers and too big. He had a feeling they belonged to the same owner of the Camaro.

"Maggie? Where were you?" Rick questioned as she looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Uhh… around," Maggie said sheepishly and slightly embarrassed to be caught outside in pajamas by Rick Grimes of all people. She then noticed his appearance. He was clean shaven, which was quite a sight for her to take in since she couldn't ever remember a time they were able to worry about things like that. It made him look much younger and truer to his real age than scruff that showed the trials of their survival. "Wait, where are you going?" She countered.

"Downtown," Rick gave just as vaguely while rubbing his chin anxiously and glancing back at the house.

"Huh," Maggie bit her tongue slightly as she looked him up and down. Then it clicked in her mind what was going on. She gave a slow smirk and suggested, "How about I'll forget that you're clearly sneaking off to meet with someone if you forget you saw me come in like this?"

Rick appeared a bit flustered at being called out, but managed a chuckle anyway. "Deal," He agreed.

Maggie grinned and turned to walk towards the front door. She made it a few steps before Rick's voice stopped her. "Hey, I know what's going on between you and Glenn isn't my business…"

Maggie frowned and stiffened slightly at the caution in his tone. "I just hope you'll be careful in what type of company you keep," Rick said sincerely. It was obvious the type of company he was referring to was the one of a certain blood drinking variety.

At first, she wanted to laugh at the thought that any of this had started from her choice. He had no idea just how much she was in over her head now. She just nodded somberly, "I will."

Rick bit the inside of his cheek, not knowing what more he could really say to the young woman in front of him. He noticed the way she was spending less and less time with the group, whether it was at the Grill or as he suspected the home of her original kidnapper. She turned away from him and walked towards the house, leaving him to sigh heavily before climbing into the car.

Luckily for Maggie, the house was mostly empty when she crept inside quietly. Glenn had taken Beth and Carl downtown for the bus to the high school and she had just seen Rick leave. That just left Hershel and Judith, she could hear them from the kitchen. She swiftly slipped up the stairs to change clothes before he could see her.

Once she changed into some jeans with a casual top and a cardigan pulled over it, she went in the kitchen to say hello to her father. She gave a quick excuse about where she was and said she actually had to get going to the Grill at the moment. It actually wasn't a lie, since she was going to meet up with Matt there.

Coming back to the front door, she opened it and halted at the sight of someone on the porch.

Kol leaned against the post at the top of the small steps of the porch. His hands were buried slightly in his jean pockets, pulling back his black jacket. His eyes flickered with dark amusement at the way that Maggie stopped just behind the threshold of the door. She looked remarkably different today, much more like the woman he cornered in the Grill and the one he had overheard telling off the baby Salvatore. But he certainly wouldn't forget the uninhibited wild look in her eyes yesterday splattered with walker blood, like a black lioness.

Maggie stared at him as he made no move to speak or do anything, unable to read anything from those dark eyes. Unable to help herself, she looked down to her feet, noticed the few inches between her toes and the wood of the door frame. She knew he hadn't been invited inside and she looked back up to see the glimmer of a challenge in the upward turn at the corner of his mouth. It would be really easy to step back and slam the door shut.

That would make her a coward though and she refused to be afraid of him. She also didn't need to give him a reason to wait her out and possibly harm one of her family in the process. Hopefully Rick had gotten away before he arrived. So taking a deep breath and steadying her shoulders, she stepped over and outside, pulling the door shut firmly behind her.

"I have enough to deal with today without you trying to kill me. Can't you stalk me a different day?" Maggie snapped, her tone coming out harsher than she realized as she made quick steps, blowing right past him and down the front walkway. For a moment, she considered taking the Camaro, but she doubted Kol would let her drive off that easily and downtown was less than a mile away.

Kol grinned as she tried to appear unaffected by his presence, but her heart gave her away. Her words didn't bother him, in fact he found her feistiness entertaining. He watched her go down the steps, glancing her up and down before moving to follow after her. "I don't recall claiming I was going to kill you, darling," His voice sounded, dare she say it, a bit chirper.

"Yet," He added, falling in stride with her easily enough as she marched down the sidewalk with determined heavy steps.

"Lovely," Maggie muttered more so to herself, but Kol heard it clearly anyway. She kept moving and some small part of her hoped that he would just go away. Unlikely, but a hope. She refused to look directly at him because she could feel his unfaltering stare on her the entire time as they moved. To a third eye, they would've looked like a couple on a morning stroll, but she just hoped they didn't run into anyone after what happened to Jeremy. The last thing she wanted was to encounter Glenn on the way back from downtown. A part of her hoped that Damon would step out from behind one of the trees along the sidewalk.

Feeling slightly unnerved by the silence, Maggie asked with genuine curiosity, "What were you doing out there, Kol?"

Kol tilted his head slightly at the sound of his name on her lips. It was sharp, but he decided it wasn't entirely unpleasant. His answer made her nearly trip over her feet, "Admiring you."

"What?" fell from her lips as she finally turned to face him directly.

He took a deliberate step forward, which caused Maggie to take one step back away from him. "I thought what you did was magnificent," He grinned. Maggie fell open slightly as she listened to his words. It would have been deeply flattering in any other situation to spoken such words to, but it seemed oddly twisted by the predatory look in his eyes and the fact he was referring to slaughter.

He took two steps forward and she took a step back with each one, as if it was some forced dance move. But then she felt her back bump into something hard and unforgiving. She nearly cursed aloud when she realized he had her backed against a tree trunk. For a moment, she thought about trying to make a run for it, but she wasn't going to give him a chase when he was looking at her like that.

He placed a hand on either side of her against the trunk, trapping her in, one by her head and the other by her waist. Maggie swallowed thickly and leaned her head back as far away as she could against the wood, distinctly aware of the lack of space between them.

"I marveled at the way for a moment you just turned it off and let everything go, completely uninhibited by anything other than your body," Kol's voice came out like a purr, each accented word causing her to shiver slightly. Then she could see the dark sense of admiration in his eyes as he leaned close to her. Her heart pounded nervously as his scent washed over her. Through all of that, she didn't look away from his stare.

Her mind grasped for an explanation as to why she knew she should run or get away from him, but she remained fixated under his gaze. It felt like the Grill all over again, but this time it was stronger. "You can't compel me," Her voice came out as a stubborn whisper.

His eyes narrowed the slightest at her. He masked his annoyance behind a cheeky rhetorical question, "And where would the fun in that be?" Lowering the hand by her head, he reached forward to trail his fingertips slowly down her neck, right along where he knew the jugular would be. Maggie closed her eyes at the contact and clenched her teeth tightly.

"Is that what you think I'm trying to do to you?" He asked in a tone that almost sounded tender to her and something about she felt her cheeks starting to turn red. Especially when the hand on her neck disappeared to be placed firmly on her waistline, which felt like fire through the fabric of her clothing because of how acutely aware of it she was.

"I don't know," She answered weakly, keeping her eyes closed. She took a deep shaky breath, "Whatever this is… _please_, just." For a moment, she considered saying stop, but she knew would only wave a red flag of challenge. She struggled to find a way out, "Not…"

"Today," Kol finished for her quickly, remembering her first words.

Opening her eyes, she wanted to say ever or now. She nodded barely, willing to take whatever she could get. Kol studied her without a smirk on his face, but she could tell that he seemed to be considering her request.

Finally, he gave a half shrug with an arrogant grin. "Fine, what's a few days in the grand scheme of things?" He didn't intend on killing her right away anyway, there was still some fun to be had with this one.

Before leaving her though, he leaned in with his head tilted slightly to the side, causing her to hold her breath while her mind panicked. What was he doing? Was he going to bite her? In some way, he almost looked like he was about to kiss her and that thought caused her to squeeze her eyes shut in disbelief.

He did neither of those things, instead just inhaling her scent deeply before murmuring, "He was right about one thing. Your mortality limits you."

In a chilling breeze, the hand on her hip disappeared and Maggie opened her eyes to realize that he was gone.

She lifted her hands, noticing they were shaking considerably to hug herself tightly.

Numbly, her back slide down along the trunk as she fell to a seat, wondering what just happened.

* * *

_Author's Note: Bam! So thoughts on Damon and Maggie? _

_On a scale of 1 to 10, how creepy was Kol?_

_Next chapter, Founder's Celebration!_

_Nethra: I'm glad you thought that was intense! I hope it was in a good way haha._

_So I think I stunned my usual reviewers into silence with the last chapter, but I hope to hear from you on this one!_


	22. Chapter 22

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Diane Birch – Rewind_

_Scene: Beginning to dance_

_The Civil Wars – Poison and Wine_

_Scene: Damon/Maggie dance song_

_Chapter Twenty-two_

He did neither of those things, instead just inhaling her scent deeply before murmuring, "He was right about one thing. Your mortality limits you."

In a chilling breeze, the hand on her hip disappeared and Maggie opened her eyes to realize that he was gone.

She lifted her hands, noticing they were shaking considerably to hug herself tightly.

Numbly, her back slide down along the trunk as she fell to a seat, wondering what just happened.

* * *

"I can't believe you dragged me here to use a hair dryer," Maggie muttered defiantly as Beth brushed out her hair. It was already dark out and the celebration would be starting soon, but Beth had insisted on finishing getting ready at the Grill.

"Rick said it would be two more weeks before we get power," Beth answered her matter-of-factly, ignoring Maggie's tone. The older Greene sister thought it was interesting that Rick had been talking to Sheriff Forbes lately about things like that, but she didn't say anything about it. In truth, the days since her run in with Kol had flown by and it was the night of the Founder's celebration before she realized it.

"Where did you even get all this?" Maggie asked, looking at the bar counter next to her. There were a whole slew of cosmetics and a couple of different types of hair brushes. Beth had managed to coax lose curls out of her long blonde hair.

"April Young," Beth said and Maggie just nodded numbly. Ever since Beth started attending school, she would practically talk her ear off about the friends she was starting to make. Maggie was excited for her to be slowly becoming the girl she used to know before everything happened and she was happy that she was adjusting, even if she had no idea who most of the people she talked about were.

"I still think this is too much effort," Maggie grumbled as Beth moved on from her hair. After getting her hair yanked a few times, she learned it was best to sit and suffer through humoring her little sister as she went for the makeup.

"Oh come on, Maggie, how often do we actually get to dress up for something like this?" Beth huffed a little impatiently as she fussed over Maggie's makeup, which she was keeping light and natural or her big sister would wash it off. Beth wore a light blue dress that complimented her eyes with a light flowy material.

Maggie snorted slightly, knowing the answer was never. Even before the outbreak, school dances and such was always more Beth's style than hers. "And who am I trying impress?"

She opened her eyes, feeling that Beth was finished with them, to be receiving a '_Really_?' stare from her complete with a hand on her hip.

Maggie sighed, "You're terrible… it's hasn't even been a week." During the time, she had finally spilled some of the truth behind the tension between her and Glenn to her sister. She left out the part about kissing Damon, but it was hard not to say something as the couple trouble became apparent to everyone else in the house. Maggie was actually relieved to have someone to talk about it, but it also alarmed her how understanding and accepting Beth had been, particularly when they were talking about vampires.

* * *

From the street, a stray light in the back of the Grill could be seen through the big window panes, partly obstructed by the blinds. Pushing against the front doors, Damon stepped inside the place, hearing some voices within and having a feeling his hunch had been right.

Spotting two figures inside, he walked in with his signature smirk, "A little Gilbert told me I might find you…" At the sound of his voice, Maggie stood up quickly from the bar stool, smoothing out her dress as she did. The heeled wedges that Beth had found her still felt a little awkward to be in after not wearing any in so long, but she adjusted quickly.

"Here," Damon finished feebly and the smirk was wiped from his face. His eyes roamed up and down the curves accentuated by the dress and her smooth legs, glowing skin. What caused his heart to stop in his chest was that Rose stared back at him. She looked strong, but delicate in some of the small touches like the way her hair flared out at the ends like a chestnut halo.

Rose's eyes passed him up and down, the brilliant emerald standing out more than before. Her lips fell open a little as she stared at him, both in silence and ignorant of the young blonde smiling triumphantly. Rose recovered before Damon did and raised an eyebrow at him, "_That_'s what you're wearing?"

Damon looked down, running a hand over his jacket with a slightly offended tone, "Hey, I got a stylish vampire image to uphold around here."

Rose takes a few steps towards him, shaking her head slightly. "The world goes to hell and you're wearing a suit… You look completely ridiculous." And just like that Maggie was back.

He could tell that she was fighting a smile. Recovering from the déjà vu feeling, he stepped forward to her and leaned in to press a soft kiss against her cheek swiftly. "And you look ravishing," He whispered in her ear before pulling away to see Maggie biting the inside of her cheek while blushing. In truth, he looked the opposite of ridiculous, but she would never let his already inflated ego hear that.

Damon enjoyed her stunned silence and then turned to offer out his arm for her. "Shall we?"

She eyed the arm a moment, thinking for this being a non-date he was being rather gentlemanly. Figuring to just go with it, she linked her arm with his and looked over her shoulder at her sister. "I'm going to leave my keys here, lock the front door but leave the side one open, okay?"

"Sounds good," Beth answered her quietly, busying herself with cleaning up their mess.

Damon glanced at the younger Greene with a smirk, "If this is what I get, you're welcome to kidnap her anytime."

Maggie rolled her eyes at the shy nod from Beth. For all the times her sister would tease her at home, no wonder she got all quiet and bashful when dealing with the vampire in question. "Oh stop, let's go," Maggie muttered and pulled Damon along to the front door.

"Kidnap, really?" Maggie criticized his choice of words as they went out.

* * *

As they arrived in the town square, Carol Lockwood was finishing up her opening toast to the town. Around the square, torches were lit for lighting and on the way Maggie noticed an area of generators setup to power the event. String lights were strung up along walkways and the fountain in the center. A makeshift dance floor of pile wood with carpet rolled over it was setup and she noticed a loud stereo system provided the music.

Across the way, there were a few tables setup for refreshments and some food. Damon whispered in her ear to be careful who served her. The crowd at the celebration Maggie found to be completely overwhelming. While she knew that a good number of people lived in Mystic Falls, she hadn't seen them gathered all in one place and it seemed like everyone was there tonight. The sheer amount of bodies made it impossible to see clearly from one end of the square to another or even half way.

Maggie took in the array of attire, noticing that Damon wasn't the only one in a black suit, but also noticing some people were dressed less formally as herself. Feeling better about that much, she stuck to his side as he made his way through the crowd. He took the time to talk with several Council members, exchanging basic pleasantries and if she didn't know better she would swear that he was sincere with each one. She had to hand it to him, he definitely knew how to work a crowd. Occasionally, he would introduce her briefly as well, but she kept quiet and honestly didn't really commit very many of names to memory.

They came around to Carol Lockwood, who was dressed in a modest black number. She flashed her award winning polite white smile to Damon as they greeted each other. Maggie could see a little tenseness around her eyes, but didn't think anything of it.

"I don't think you've been formally introduced," Damon stated with a faint of a smirk on his lips, looking between the two women. "Mayor Lockwood, this is Maggie Greene."

Maggie swallowed at the memory of being one of the Council members in attendance when she was shot at the Grill. Regardless of that fact, Carol put on a polite smile and held her hand out, "Carol, please. It's a pleasure."

"It's nice to meet you," Maggie said stiffly, briefly taking her hand.

"I hear that you will also be looking to stay in Mystic Falls for a while?" Carol questioned in a friendly but pointed tone.

Maggie refrained from frowning at the way she said also and nodded. "Yes, with my family," She replied curtly.

"I see… I hope our ways here are agreeable with your lifestyle," Carol gave carefully and Maggie furrowed her brows at the meaning of her words.

She hesitated and fumbled a bit before answering her, "Uh, of course… This is a wonderful town." It was then Maggie decided she really didn't like this type of socializing and fake pleasantries.

"Thank you." Carol seemed to relax a bit before she spotted someone else she had to greet, "Oh if you'll excuse me…" Before waiting for an answer, she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Maggie to stare after her in utter confusion.

"Agreeable with my lifestyle?" Maggie repeated her words before looking to Damon, who seemed to be struggling to contain his amusement as he stood next to her. It was then it clicked in her mind. She gasped and grabbed Damon's forearm tightly, lowering her voice to a whisper, "Did you tell her I'm a vampire?"

Damon snickered, "Technically I didn't tell her anything. She assumed and I failed to correct said assumption. Liz is the only other Council member that knows."

Maggie blinked, opening and closing her mouth a few moments at first. She considered what he said earlier about people leaving her alone if they thought she was a vampire and she couldn't find herself to be entirely mad at him.

Before she could help herself, she started to break out in a giggle. Damon's slightly perplexed expression made it worse and she had to cover her mouth before explaining, "Oh my gosh, she honestly thought I was going to take a bite out of a guest here."

"Yep," Damon popped the 'p' and then took her hand to lead her through the crowd. Maggie didn't question where they were going, she was too busy shaking her head at the surrealism of everything. Sometimes she felt like she was living in some ongoing dream, or nightmare, in Mystic Falls. Being at a celebration with vampires while being confused for one was definitely towards the top of the list of surreal moments.

Coming to the edge of the dance floor, Damon spun back to look at her with a half playful and half serious expression. "You can dance, right?"

"Of course," Maggie answered confidently without first listening to what kind of music was playing. As he pulled her out onto the dance floor, she then realized it was a slow song.

She tried not to look too flustered as he took her hand in his and the other on her waist, pulling her closer than necessary to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and letting her feet follow his lead.

"She drinks, she dances,_ tries_ to kill vampires… Alaric is in dangerous risk of being replaced," Damon teased into her ear, drawing her in closer with their heads next to each other.

"No thanks, Ric can retain the title of Damon's BFF," Maggie threw back at him and hoped that he couldn't hear just how quickly her heart was beating. She tried not to think about just how close they were, how good he looked in the suit and how much better it would be with it off. Instead, she tried to focus on the other people on the dance floor and around them. At one point, she spotted Stefan and Elena briefly, not dancing and neither of them looking particularly happy to be there before her view was blocked.

"How noble of you," Damon smirked and then couldn't help but add, "Then again, friends don't make out, do they?"

Maggie stiffened in his arms, almost missing a step in the dance. She knew it would only be a matter of time because that morning came up. Damon had been rather respectful of her wish and she hadn't seen much of him since then, except for in passing in downtown. She had thought of many things to tell him, but she wasn't expecting to deal with it in the middle of the dance floor.

Her heart sank further when she spotted Glenn and Beth. They were too far away to hear what Damon and Maggie were saying, but Glenn made no attempt to hide that he was watching them. "No they don't," Maggie answered, losing all the teasing from her voice.

Damon leaned away just enough so he could see her face. He wanted to ask her what it meant, if it meant anything to her. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of this odd hot and cold relationship they had. He didn't have the right to hope for anything after kidnapping her in the first place.

His gaze soft, but the sudden intensity of it made Maggie look away. Her eyes fell back upon Glenn and the hurt he was trying to hide behind his. "Do you ever feel like no matter what direction you step in, someone gets hurt?" Maggie asked quietly.

Seeing the turmoil in her eyes caused Damon to seriously consider her question, even if it was rather vague. He looked over her shoulder and around them, trying to think of how to answer her. He never pictured himself as the one to go to for emotional advice. Before he came to Mystic Falls, he would have dismissed it with some sort of sarcastic remark instantly. His eyes then found the young woman that changed that for him, standing in a black and white dress with a drink in hand.

"Remember that girl I told you about who's emotionally divorcing me for everything I have right now?" Damon countered, while his words were light, his tone was sincere.

Maggie nodded faintly, "Elena." Remembering that morning she woke up and saw the two, she figured things were a long way from being resolved.

Hearing her name, said vampire turned her head and locked eyes with Damon. "She taught me one beautiful lesson," He spoke quietly to Maggie, aware that there was a good chance that Elena was also listening. "Take each step with confidence that is what's right for_ you_ and accept the hurt that comes with it. _Revel_ in that feeling and don't shut it off for a moment. It's messy, it's ugly, but it's what it means to be really living."

Damon held her a little tighter as he spoke, his eyes never leaving Elena and seeing the way she sucked in her breath deeply as she listened. He thought of all those times that she had told him to stop pushing people away and not letting them see the good in him. He wasn't sure if he saw it yet either, but she did get him to see other people and death do matter. Shutting off your emotions wasn't the way to deal with it.

Maggie hung onto each word as she stared over Damon's shoulder, blinking away the tears that threatened to come. His words touched her and she hoped the step she was taking would be worth it in the end.

Taking a deep breath, she voiced the source of her hurt, "Glenn and I broke up."

Startled, Damon tore his eyes away from Elena and pulled away to look Maggie in the eyes. The song came to a close, but it didn't matter since they both stopped in their steps. Maggie swallowed nervously at the stunned expression mixed with confusion in Damon's eyes.

"Oh," was Damon's all so eloquent response. He had thought there was a good chance he would be receiving some speech about how they couldn't repeat what happened. Not the total opposite, leaving him wondering if that meant he was supposed to push for something. Seeing how troubled she looked, he doubted the way was suddenly paved clear for him.

"I think it was inevitable… It was easy when it was just literally holding on and trying to survive together… But now it's not just about surviving anymore," She tried to explain, struggling to put into words the differences and confrontations that led to their break up.

"I think I'm going to get a drink. Alone," Maggie suddenly declared at seeing Damon's lack of reaction. Pulling her hands away from him, she spun around and quickly left the dance floor before he could stop her. The crowd of people made it difficult for him to catch up with her and using vampire speed impossible.

So instead, he was left staring after her, a little dumbfounded by the sudden bomb she dropped on him. Letting a nervous deep breath out, he ran a hand through his hair.

He wasn't left alone before another vampire joined him at his side.

"Damon… what are you doing?" Elena gave him a suspicious look, her eyes lingering where Maggie had last been before she disappeared from sight.

Damon sighed and threw on a smirk to hide what he was really thinking. "Absolutely nothing, just enjoying the festivities." The irritation showed a little in his voice.

Elena looked unimpressed with his reaction, folding her arms across her chest. "Really? Because it looks Maggie just dumped her boyfriend because of you."

"And what if she did? You got me confused for the wrong brother if you think you have any right to say anything about it," Damon snapped back at her harshly, not particularly wanting to deal with her at this moment, especially how persistently she had been showing up at the boardinghouse when Maggie wasn't around. "Go find Stefan," He ordered firmly, turning away and dismissing her.

"Damon, stop trying to push me away…" Elena stubbornly kept up with him in his steps as they left the dance floor.

She nearly collided with Damon when he halted suddenly. "No seriously, _go find Stefan_," Damon repeated more forcefully.

"What? Why?" Elena frowned and then followed the line of his gaze. Her eyes widen as she recognized cold blue eyes staring back at them. The man of curly fair hair had a purely feral aura as he flashed them a smirk before slipping into the crowd. "Klaus," Elena realized.

Damon turned to her with a clenched jaw and placing a hand on the small of her back to get her attention. "I'll go find Maggie. Find Stefan and be careful," He looked at her directly. For a moment he was torn between staying with Elena to make sure she would be safe and going after Maggie. Only one of them was a vampire though and a lot more vulnerable because of it.

Elena opened her mouth to say something more, but saw the urgency in his expression. She nodded before turning and going back the way she came in the direction she last saw Stefan.

* * *

Damon swore to himself as he shifted through the crowd, his eyes darting and searching for Maggie in the mess of people. Each moment that passed by, he tried not to panic and think if Klaus had gotten to her first. He berated himself as he checked by the refreshment tables and didn't see her there either. He honestly thought he had more time before Klaus would show up again. They never seemed to have quite enough time before something happened.

He didn't know how much time passed before he realized she wasn't in the celebration crowd, but it was entirely too much time in his mind. His next thought was that maybe she left or she was at the Grill. Maybe that's where she went to be alone. He noticed earlier when he was working the Council that she seemed a little overwhelmed.

Now was one of the few times he wished Barbie was around to distract Klaus while he found Maggie.

Walking at a brisk pace, which was just short of a jog, Damon went to the Grill. From first appearances, it seemed to be empty, but he could barely make out one stray light on in the back from the window. At first he went to the front door, giving it a rattle and realizing it was locked.

Then he remembered what Maggie said to Beth before about the side door, he went around to the side street by the grill. Spotting said door, he went to give it a pull and frowned when he found that one was locked as well. Did someone just leave the lights on then?

"Pub's closed for a private party, mate."

Damon looked up just in time to catch a blow to the side of the head before he was consumed by blackness.

His body dropped down to the ground with a loud unceremonious thud.

Kol grinned, standing over him with a blood smeared aluminum baseball bat in his hand. He was dressed for the occasion, in his own black suit and slacks, forgoing any tie. "I told you we'd catch up," He sneered down at Damon's temporarily dead form.

Rolling him roughly over onto his back, Kol crouched down and began searching through his pockets. "A bit of a cheap shot, I know, but I'm a little pressed for time," He spoke casually as if they were discussing weather. He then found Damon's car keys and took them before picking him up and swinging him over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

Kol had to hold himself back from taking off the Salvatore's head when he swung the bat at him, but it was still satisfying to see him taken down.

With the bat in one hand and carrying Damon in the other, Kol made his way through the parking lot with a rather merry expression before he spotted the blue Camaro. Using the keys to pop open the trunk, he roughly stuffed Damon's body inside of it.

"For you see, I've got to go see about a girl," Kol smirked down at him before dropping the baseball bat in the trunk with him.

He let it the lid of the trunk slam shut heavily. Walking back to the front of the Grill, Kol jingled the car keys lightly in his hand before looking up towards the top of the building. With one last parting look, he tossed the keys up onto the roof.

* * *

Meanwhile, Maggie had darted through the crowd after she left Damon, determined to just get away from all the people for a bit. She hadn't entirely planned on telling him that she and Glenn broke up in that manner, but she blurted it out before she could take it back. It was hard enough to speak those words aloud and she just had to get away for a bit to compose herself.

Deciding to skip the refreshment, partly not wanting to talk to anyone and find out if there's vervain or not in it, she decided to go back to the Grill instead. She was relieved to find the side door unlocked, glad that Beth had remembered what she told her. Stepping inside of the Grill, it was mostly dark until she found the light for the bar.

With a sigh, she wiped her hands off on a towel behind the bar, her hands having been a little sweaty from nerves. Looking under the counter, she found the glasses and pulled out a tumbler for herself, setting it roughly the counter with a _thunk_. She tried not to think about Damon's stunned expression too much as she went into the store room, looking for the stash her and Matt had put away the other day.

She wasn't expecting anything from him tonight. She still had to come to terms with the break up and she hadn't even really addressed what that kiss meant.

Finding a bottle of whiskey, Maggie sighed in relief. Drinking wasn't going to solve her problems, but she needed something to take the edge off. Walking out of the store room, she came back to the bar and suddenly stopped in her steps when she saw there was not one glass tumbler on the counter now, but two.

More alarmingly was the man standing at the counter behind them. He wore a deep charcoal business suit with appropriately matching undershirt and a deep maroon tie to go with it. The immaculate nature and perfect tailoring of it added to the unnerving presence of his arrival. Looking up to his face, he had a strong jawline and chiseled features. His brown hair was neatly kept and his endless black eyes added to features that resembled ones she had seen before.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you," He spoke to her in a smooth voice that was as comforting as ice. It came out more as a statement than a question.

Swallowing thickly, Maggie barely shook her head before stepping forward to the glasses. Opening the bottle, she tried not to let her hand shake as she filled each one, but refused to say anything.

"You must be the Leavey doppelganger… Ms. Margaret Greene, is it?" He spoke with little actual curiosity in his eyes as he took the second glass and raised it to his lips.

Maggie stiffened at the family name she could only vaguely recall from a genealogy book passed through the family. She took a deep breath and steadied her shoulders, acknowledging who she realized stood before her.

"Hello Elijah."

* * *

_Author's Note: We've got dancing, break ups, and Originals! What do you guys think? Oh and let's not forget Damon getting stuffed into his own trunk!_

_I just want to take the time to thank Nethra and wileby for sticking around for each chapter and giving me your feedback! I really appreciate it and it's a huge motivators to get such a warm response each time._

_Please review as always!_


	23. Chapter 23

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Awolnation – Guilty Filthy Soul_

_Scene: Elijah and Maggie_

_Trent Dabbs – Wrap My Mind Around You_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie_

_Chapter Twenty-three_

"You must be the Leavey doppelganger… Ms. Margaret Greene, is it?" He spoke with little actual curiosity in his eyes as he took the second glass and raised it to his lips.

Maggie stiffened at the family name she could only vaguely recall from a genealogy book passed through the family. She took a deep breath and steadied her shoulders, acknowledging who she realized stood before her.

"Hello Elijah."

* * *

Elijah took a long sip as he studied Maggie. She tried her best not to flinch under his stare, feeling like every detail of her was being scrutinized.

"You recognize who I am?" There was the slightest raise of an eyebrow with his question. She was unaware of the mysterious reputation surrounding the eldest surviving Original and how few vampires would even recognize him, but be fearful of his name.

She nodded curtly, not touching her glass just yet. "Your resemblance to your brother," She answered him stiffly. His name she hadn't heard since the night Stefan yelled at Damon after meeting Klaus, but that wasn't the sort of night she would forget easily.

Elijah kept himself from frowning, but chose to file that piece of information away for later. There was no way she could have been referring to Niklaus, which only left the youngest Mikaelson. For Kol to have any mortal acquaintance was something for him to consider later.

Acknowledging his resemblance to his sibling didn't seem to get him to relax, Maggie thought, which was odd since it usually did for most people.

"What do you want from me?" She questioned bluntly, most uncomfortable by his silence. What was it about millennium old vampires that made her incredibly tense to be around? Elijah was different than his brothers. Klaus was purely predatory. Kol, she couldn't quite put her finger on how to describe it yet. But Elijah seemed to radiate years off his shoulders. A timeless creature not to be taken lightly.

"You have nothing to offer that interests me. I come to bid you caution," Elijah's tone was neutral and frank. Maggie wasn't sure if she should have been slightly insulted or feel threatened. The way he said caution set off red flags though.

"Caution? From what?" She asked dubiously, finally raising her glass to her lips, but only taking a small sip.

"Obtaining knowledge of the origins of your doppelganger bloodline. Knowing the nature of the ritual itself would be motivation enough for many to kill you," Elijah spoke the words so calmly that Maggie almost thought she misheard him.

Her fingers tightened around the glass and she carefully set it down. While she had been getting used to being danger, especially since Mystic Falls, she wasn't aware the gravity of the situation until now. She didn't miss the way he spoke about the ritual though. "But you know what it is?" She prompted.

Elijah tilted his head to the side a bit, as if to shrug without actually doing so, "Naturally. _I _arranged for the sacrifice that Rosemarie participated in."

Maggie's eyes widened as she comprehended she was standing before the originator of this whole mess. It was because of the curse he arranged that she was dragged to Mystic Falls to begin with and why she bore such a resemblance to this ancestor.

"And I don't suppose you're going to tell me what it was," Maggie muttered dryly.

For a moment, she thought she saw the corner of his mouth turn up slightly, but it was gone in a second. "No. It would not matter now," He stated firmly.

"Why not?" She quickly asked, trusting her voice more but still unnerved by his impersonal mannerisms.

"The sacrifice was not conducted as planned," Elijah explained, earning a confused look from Maggie. He took a deep sip of his whiskey, pausing to muse over his exact words a few moments before continuing. "I was well acquainted with Rosemarie and her family. Her father was a hunter of a different sport. When I requested his assistance in preparation for the sacrifice, he was eager to further aid me by offering his eldest daughter."

Maggie hid her mortification behind a steeled expression. She had a hard time trying to imagine what sort of father would offer their daughter up for slaughter. Hershel would never be able to do such a thing.

"At the time, I was not aware of the fighting spirit of Rosemarie that you share. When the sacrifice occurred, there was another element involved that did not belong," Elijah continued, there was no hint of admiration when he spoke of Rose's spirit and Maggie sensed the bitterness in his tone.

Maggie frowned in thought a moment, wondering what it could be. The idea came to her quickly, not because she knew much about sacrifices but was willing to wager the intent is for the subject to remain dead. "Vampire blood," She supplied.

"Very good," Elijah responded and Maggie clenched her jaw slightly at the patronizing tone in his voice. Elijah finished his drink, setting down the glass one final time and tore his eyes away from Maggie for the first time. He looked at something far away without actually seeing it in. Maggie watched him get lost in his memories for a moment as he let out a sigh.

"So you can imagine my _displeasure_ upon discovery of her deception," Elijah's voice came out low and dark. It didn't take much to surmise that causing displeasing Elijah did not end well for you.

She let his words chill her for a moment before she questioned in a careful, but nonaggressive tone, "But you didn't kill her?"

"No, there are worse existences to suffer than death," Elijah then looked back to her with one of the stoniest stares she had ever seen. "Similar to you, Rose was fiercely loyal to her family and a fighter… After compelling her to forget everything regarding the sacrifice, I also compelled her to do the two things she hated the most." Maggie stomach lurched slightly at the idea that he knew so much about her. She tried not to think about it and let it distract her.

Elijah leaned close to Maggie, as if he was about to compel herself as he delivered, "I compelled her to forget her family and newborn… I told her to _run and hide _and so she did until her death over five hundred years later."

Elijah didn't voice how even after all of that it wasn't the end of his troubles with Rose. If only he had any indication her youngest sibling Trevor would seek her out later, he could have avoided another troublesome situation with a different manipulative doppelganger.

Maggie's hands shook under the bar counter as she listened to each of his words. She could see it wasn't just about him retelling the story of Rose. He was expressing just how powerful of a creature he was and a similar fate could befall her if crossed. She tried not to think about the idea of her family being taken away and being forced to run for five centuries. The idea a vampire had the ability to force someone to forget existence of their family she found sickening.

Elijah could see that she was trying to control her expression, but it didn't matter because he could hear her heart rate anyway.

Hold it together, she reminded herself, and just get through this.

"If you cannot tell me what the curse is," Maggie gritted her teeth, not trusting herself to address Rose's story, "Than can you at least tell me what is so different about my blood?"

"I honestly cannot," Elijah didn't appear bothered by her rising anger even though he could see it in the tenseness of her shoulders. "You are the first manifestation of the debauched curse's results."

Refraining from groaning in frustration at the lack of answer, Maggie glared at him harshly, "Then why else are you here?"

Elijah inclined his head slightly, "Curiosity. I take an interest in all of my investments, even the ones that run afoul. Doppelgangers are a fascinating phenomenon, particularly how different than they can be from their original. You for example lack the warmth and compassion for humanity that Rosemarie carried through her life."

Reaching her limit for listening to anymore, Maggie picked up her drink and knocked back what was left in one giant gulp. She was tired of the subtle condescending remarks and did not need an ancient vampire to point out how cold she could be at times.

"As _touching_ as it is to hear about a dead ancestor I never knew, I believe we're done here then," Maggie sneered out harshly.

If Elijah was surprised by her outburst, he didn't show it and didn't stop her as Maggie started to walk down the length of the bar with the intentions of leaving the way she came in.

His voice stopped her as she reached the end of the bar counter, "I should advise you, Ms. Greene, I do not promise to protect you against any actions of my siblings."

Maggie turned back to look at him, glaring up and down at him. It was in that moment she came to the conclusion she, like Rose, would likely never be allies with this man.

"Duly noted," She bit back before exiting the building.

* * *

Maggie left the Grill and despite the urge to lash out and hit something, she put as much distance between her and the building as quickly as possible. She went back to the celebration, wanting to find Damon. No one made any moves to stop her, which was probably due to the scowl and harsh glare on her face. She was fuming about that confrontation with Elijah. She had never been told her existence was a mistake in such an impersonal manner before.

It was also alarmed her how he knew anything about her personality. Was it that obvious in her face when she didn't react to Rose's fate? Or did he actually observe her at some point or another in her life? The second thought she tried not to dwell too much as her eyes passed over faces in the crowd, looking for any familiar ones and not wanting to think about him being around her family.

The first ones she spotted were Jeremy Gilbert and Beth. They were standing off to the side from the dance floor and she quickly approached them before she could put much thought into the fact they were talking to each other. Jeremy didn't exactly dress up for the occasion, just wearing some kakis and a nice button up shirt. His eyes lit up a bit as he saw Maggie.

"Maggie! Wow, you look great," Jeremy greeted her with a smile.

Maggie had to force a smile in response, "Thanks, it was Beth's doing actually." She tried not to let the urgency show in her voice, forgetting this was just a normal celebration for most people. Beth beamed proudly next to her at the compliment.

Turning from her sister, Maggie looked to Jeremy seriously and lowered her voice, "Hey listen, have you seen Damon around?"

Jeremy gave a half shrug as he shook his head, "Nah, I haven't seen him for a while. Is everything okay?"

"Yes," She said out of reflex at first, but she then corrected herself. "No. I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, of course," Jeremy gave quickly. To Maggie's right, she could sense her sister shifting uncomfortably at the hijacked conversation. She didn't have the time to deal with whatever it was that she had interrupted. "I need you to make sure Beth gets home safely, okay?"

Seeing the seriousness in her expression, Jeremy nodded immediately.

"_Mag_-gie!" Beth's eyes widen in mortification at the sudden paternal mode of her older sister.

Maggie spun on her with one pointed finger at her, "Don't start with me now." She ordered her firmly, "Go home and _do not_ invite anyone into the house."

Jeremy's ears perked up at the second half of her order. Reaching out to touch Maggie's arm to get her attention, he inquired pointedly, "What's going on?"

Beth clamped her mouth shut, but glared cold daggers at her sister. She never could match her ferocity though and knew better to make a scene of it. Ignoring Beth, Maggie looked back to Jeremy, hesitating a moment before figuring the truth would help make him understand. "I just had a run in with Elijah," She admitted.

Understanding flashed through Jeremy as he stiffened. "Be careful, I saw Klaus talking to Stefan earlier," He warned her. Maggie muttered a swear under her breath and tried not to show how alarmed she was at the prospective of two Originals being there.

"Go find Damon, I'll look after Beth," Jeremy tried to reassure her. Beth crossed her arms defiantly, annoyed they were talking about her as if she wasn't standing right there.

"Thank you, Jeremy," Maggie gave an appreciative squeeze of his shoulder before darting around the two. She knew that Beth was beyond peeve and would give her a lecture later about being treated like she needed a babysitter around boys her age. As long as she was safe and sound to give that lecture later, Maggie would deal with it.

* * *

After twenty minutes of searching, Maggie's frustration only increased. Nowhere had she looked could she find any sign of the eldest Salvatore. She briefly caught an eye of Carol Lockwood again and now she partly understood the slight tense undertone in her smiles. She must know that there were several Original vampires in attendance and she could only sit back and watch, hoping all hell did not break loose.

At one point, Maggie saw Stefan talking with a tall blonde with a baby round face. She was gorgeous but had a completely sour expression that mixed with boredom. While she had her moment when she thanked the youngest Salvatore, she didn't feel comfortable enough to approach him in public, especially with that kind of company nearby.

She was hovering around the edges of the dance floor when her search was halted at the sighting of a particular couple dancing. Maggie stiffened at first when she saw Elijah, his back to her first before the couple turn in the slow dance. What surprised her more was to see Elena as his partner. Unlike Damon, Elijah kept a respectable distance between the two of them as they moved across the dance floor. His motions were precise but fluid, appearing to be the perfect gentlemen, if she didn't know better.

What floored her more was their body language. They were speaking as they danced and Maggie could see that Elena seemed rather at ease. If anything, it almost looked like she was enjoying herself. Elijah didn't strike her as the type to smile openly, but she would almost guess that his features seemed a little softer.

"It's quite perverse, isn't it?"

The voice behind her caused Maggie to still for two reasons. First, she recognized the smooth accent immediately. Second, it was close enough her that he was almost speaking into her ear. Maggie fidgeted with her fingers in front of her, knowing if she turned to face him she would bump right into his chest.

Kol smirked at the way her heart picked up every time he was around her, enjoying the reaction he got by invading her personal space. He stood behind her, just off her left shoulder at enough of an angle to see the profile of her face. She clenched her jaw a moment before letting out a deep breath slowly.

"Alright, I'll bite. What is?" Maggie wasn't particularly thrilled at her new company, but figured being in the crowd of the celebration offered relative safety. True to his word and then some, she hadn't seen him since the incident outside her house so she figured it was only a matter of time before she ran into him again. His question had also peaked her interest, but she refused to look at him directly.

Kol grinned at her choice of words, but left it alone and his eyes followed her gaze to the dancing couple, "Elijah making doe eyes over Elena Gilbert."

Maggie frowned slightly at the confirmation she wasn't the only one that noticed that, but the way Kol said it made her think there was more to it. "I don't think I follow…" Her voice trailed unsurely.

This caused Kol to raise an eyebrow partly in surprise and the other in amusement. "You haven't heard about the Petrova women and their brothers?"

"I haven't gotten to that point in the history lessons," Maggie muttered dryly. There seemed to be a never ending list of things she didn't know around here and some of them she wasn't sure she wanted to be involved with anyway.

"At least Salvatore hasn't completely brainwashed you then." Maggie greatly refrained from shooting him a glare at the sneer only because she was curious at this point to hear what he had to say. "Tatia was the Original Petrova. She lived in our village and had many suitors after her. I was never particularly interested. She was tainted and had a babe to prove it."

As he began to tell his story, Maggie couldn't help but turn her head to look at him. She caught the half shrug as he expressed his disinterest and for a moment showed he belonged to a different century in the way he spoke.

"That didn't stop my brothers. Niklaus and Elijah competed for her affections," Kol left out just how it just about tore the brothers apart and the family by extension. His eyes weren't on Maggie as he spoke, barely watching Elijah and Elena. "My mother used her blood in the ritual that made us what we are. After that there was the first doppelganger, Katerina or Katherine was her New World name. Niklaus sought her blood to break the sun and moon curse, but not before she charmed Elijah with her manipulative ways and escaped. She used Rose's blood to turn herself."

"Later, Katerina sank her claws into both of the Salvatore brothers and turned them in 1864," Kol continued, Maggie was more familiar with this part of the story but didn't make any move to interrupt him. He didn't have much to say about that period of history since he wasn't actually involved. "She wanted to keep them both around for fun from what I hear."

"Cue in Elena Gilbert, the second Petrova doppelganger," Kol gave a slight nod in the direction of said vampire. "Just like Katerina, she had a Salvatore on either arm when Niklaus finally broke the sun and moon curse. Then there's my dear brother, Elijah the masochist, with a weakness for the third woman bearing the same face as his original lover." Kol's tone was not sympathetic towards Elijah and Maggie noticed a hint of disgust in his voice.

Looking back to Elijah and Elena, Maggie remained silent while she thought about Kol's words. At first, she would've credited any story from Kol Mikaelson as being pure poison. But there was a part of her that caused her to stop and seriously consider his words. Damon had already alluded to the situation with Katherine and the love triangle between his brother and Elena. There was many other aspects she would have to look into later, especially all the references to curses and rituals.

Maggie voiced a thought that struck her as she watched Elena try to contain a small smile from something Elijah said. "She's not exactly discouraging it, is she?"

Kol's eyes flickered with amusement while he smirked, "History does have its tendency to repeat itself."

Maggie nodded noncommittally. She wasn't one to get involved in other people's relationships, but even she had to admit there was something unsettling and twisted to that story. As an outsider, it was easy for her to wonder how the Mikaelson brothers could be put at odds over the same face twice, possibly three times. Then there was the Salvatore brothers put at odds twice by the same face.

Kol studied her face as he allowed her to her thoughts. He had no face to compare her when he met her. Her chestnut hair and emerald eyes with flecks of gold in them reminded him of no one else and her face was uniquely Maggie's in his mind.

Stepping around to stand in front of her directly, Kol held out a hand for her and put on a charming smile, "Enough chatter… How about a dance?"

Maggie nearly snorted in surprise and disbelief. "Absolutely not," She said quickly. There was no way she would accept a dance from the man that had thrown an arrow through Jeremy's chest. Not wanting to put up with his company any longer, Maggie turned from him and began walking away.

Kol's eyes narrowed slightly at the rejection, but he didn't relent. He followed after her steps easily. "Why not? Because that Salvatore told you not to?" Kol sneered his name.

Kol couldn't see Maggie roll her eyes, but he saw the way she shook her head slightly. She didn't say anything in response. While they had managed to hold one decent conversation, she wasn't interested in it becoming anything more than that. She moved around the edge of the dance floor to try to get away from him.

Her lack of response only fueled him further. He smirked, guessing that his suspicions were right. "Tell me, Maggie. Do you ask Damon Salvatore how high when he tells you to jump?" He called after her loudly.

The accusation caused Maggie's eyes to widen as she gasped. She stopped in her steps and spun around quickly. Before she could think it through, she raised her hand and there was a loud resounding crack.

Several people around them stopped in stunned silence and Maggie dropped her hand quickly. She felt her blood run cold along with the jarring feeling radiating through her hand, each nerve stinging. Trying not to think about how smacking him was like hitting stone and the pain she would fully comprehend in about thirty seconds, Maggie tucked her hand behind her back. Maggie gulped nervously and watched his reaction.

Kol's head turned slightly to the side from the slap. It didn't actually move or hurt him, but his eyes were closed and lips parted loosely. He rolled his jaw, clenching his fists tightly as he realized this mortal had the audacity to strike him, an Original! Any trace of humor or playfulness disappeared with the smack. His nose flared as he attempted to restrain the anger surging through him.

Opening his eyes, they were the darkest black, revealing the animalistic monster underneath them. He leaned towards Maggie and he hissed threateningly, "I have slaughtered mere commoners like you for much lesser reasons…"

The condescending tone in his voice incited Maggie to step up to him with her chin up, nearly nose to nose with the vampire. "Then quit talking and just do it," She spat back at him.

She could nearly hear him grind his teeth, unaware of how it was taking nearly everything for Kol to not lash out at her right then and there with the crowd around them staring. He inhaled sharply before putting on a dark smile and promising her, "With pleasure."

Maggie stilled at the acceptance of her challenge, realizing her mistake. This wasn't one of her spats with Damon, it was Kol Mikaelson she was dealing with. Before she could say anything else though, Kol stepped back from her. Shooting one last glare at her, Kol slipped into the crowd and disappeared, leaving Maggie to only stare after him and wonder what she had done.

* * *

Glenn shook his head as he passed through the people and made his way towards the refreshment table. He wasn't entirely thrilled to be at the celebration in the first place, knowing that his now ex-girlfriend was also going. She looked amazing too. He had never seen her dressed up like that and hurt even more to know that it wasn't for him.

It was a kick of enough to the stomach to watch her dancing with that Salvatore vampire. He just didn't understand how this could happen. This was the same creature that kidnapped her in the first place. Didn't that matter to her at all? It sickened him to watch the way she looked at him and how she seemed to fit on his arm. Even through all the fighting, Maggie never expressed to him if there was something going on between the two, but he wasn't an idiot.

What really made him begin to doubt how well he ever actually knew her was seeing her standing by the dance floor with another man whispering in her ear. He had never seen the guy before, but the way that Maggie reacted to him appeared that they were acquainted on some level. It made Glenn's blood boil to wonder what Maggie was really up to during all the time she spent away from the house and the group. Who was this woman?

Troubled by his thoughts, Glenn barely paid attention to where he was going as he got to the table and ended up bumping into someone as a result of it.

"Oh! I'm so sorry," He apologized quickly to the young ebony-skinned woman who had been reaching for a glass on the table. She had long black straightened hair and olive green eyes.

Despite being jostled, she waved a hand lightly. "Oh it's fine," She said politely, looking to Glenn. She nodded towards the table, "Go ahead."

"Oh no, please," Glenn held a hand out to let her go first sheepishly. With his other hand, he scratched the back of his neck nervously, not only did he bump into a total stranger, but a rather pretty one at that.

She grinned appreciatively at his gesture, reaching to grab a glass. Picking it up, she then tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked at him. "Are you new around here? I don't recognize you…" She asked curiously while trying to hide any suspicious.

"Oh, yeah, we just got here a few weeks ago. I'm Glenn," He held out his hand to her.

"Bonnie Bennett," She responded and relaxed a minuscule amount when she shook his hand. She didn't get any bad vibes from him.

"Cool," Glenn said somewhat awkwardly.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but smirk as she questioned his word choice, "Cool?... That's not normally the reaction I get."

Glenn furrowed his brows slightly in confusion. "Why's that… Wait," Then it clicked in his head, he leaned forward and dropped his voice as if sharing a secret. "Are you one of _them_?"

The slight fear in his eyes made Bonnie willing to bet that he was referring to vampires. She shook her head quickly, "No, I'm not a vampire. I'm actually…" She paused to point a finger at one of the cups on the table and it rose into the air on its own violation. Following the direction of her finger, offered itself to Glenn by hovering in front of him. "A witch," She spoke as this happened.

Glenn's eyes widened and he stared at the cup a long moment before hesitantly taking it. "Whoa," He gasped in amazement.

Bonnie grinned at his awe from a simple parlor trick. She then added with a warning tone, "But believe me, nothing good comes from associating with vampires."

* * *

_Author's Note: Wow, so what do you guys think? A bit of a different side to Elijah that we don't see often because of Elena's influence. How about Maggie slapping Kol?_

_Review responses:_

_Wileby: I hope this chapter answered most of those questions in your review haha. If not, just PM me and all. _

_Nethra: I hope this helps sate your Elijah fix! __ I can't wait for his return in season four._

_LiveHappy: Thanks so much! I'm glad you picked up on that with the dance scene. I thought it would be an interesting scene to have Maggie and Damon dancing together, holding onto each other while trying to come to terms with their past (but recent) relationships. _

_Thesummersky: Well we got some of that knowledge, but not a complete tell all. I hope you enjoy seeing a different dynamic to Elijah, the more business and cold detached side that the show alludes to when he's dealing with other vampires (and specifically not Elena)._

_Thank you for the wonderful review. __ I always love hearing what you have to say and look forward to reading them._


	24. Chapter 24

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Howie Day – Longest Night_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie in Damon's room_

_Chapter Twenty-four_

Glenn's eyes widened and he stared at the cup a long moment before hesitantly taking it. "Whoa," He gasped in amazement.

Bonnie grinned at his awe from a simple parlor trick. She then added with a warning tone, "But believe me, nothing good comes from associating with vampires."

* * *

Reality came back to Maggie with Kol's disappearance. She pulled her hand out from behind her back, it throbbed and stung. She swore rather loudly and crudely as she shook it in front of her, flexing her fingers.

"Oh my god, Maggie! Are you okay?" Elena came rushing over to her.

Startled at her voice, Maggie looked up and quickly tried to recover her composure. Only a few steps behind her, Stefan was making his way over to the two doppelgangers with equal concern on his face as Elena. Of course, Maggie thought to herself, they must have witnessed the whole thing and definitely saw her slap Kol.

"Never better," Maggie gritted through her and then threw on a forced smile that was to keep herself from falling apart. "I could use a drink, yeah. How about you?" She said in a rush.

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but wasn't sure what. That was enough for Maggie to take it as a yes and reached forward to loop her arm through hers. "Good! Let's go," She exclaimed, leaving no room for the young vampire to objection and began dragging her through the crowd.

Stefan watched her with an expression that bordered between amusement and concern, but followed after them anyway.

It was a short while that Stefan and Elena found themselves standing at the bar in the Grill. Maggie wasn't particularly thrilled to be returning to the Grill so soon, but her belongings were there and they didn't want any prying ears. Luckily, there was no sign of any Originals around this time.

Maggie stood behind the counter, pulling out three shot glasses this time for all of them. Elena sat on one of the bar stools and Stefan kept a comfortable distance from her, but remained standing. She quickly explained that she had slapped Kol because he insinuated she was just Damon's puppet. She skirted over the details of the rest of her conversation with him by explaining what happened with Elijah, which easily captured Elena and even Stefan's attention. She skipped over some of the personal details, like the condescending remarks and his judgment of her character, but filled them in about what he said about Rose.

"So he wouldn't tell you exactly what the sacrifice was for?" Elena clarified with a hand on her cheek as she leaned her elbow against the bar counter.

Maggie knocked back a shot, letting it burn down her throat to help calm her nerves before shaking her head. "Nope, he really didn't tell me much of anything now that I think about it."

Elena sat more upright as she frowned thoughtfully and suggested, "Well, maybe I should try talking to Elijah…"

Maggie refrained from rolling her eyes before snapping quickly, "No way. I don't know if Elijah was lying or not and I'd rather not find out the hard way. Staying alive is something I'm highly interested in."

Stefan, who had been keeping half an eye on the door, as if to keep a watch out for anyone coming in, leaned forward to join in the conversation. "I'm with Maggie on this. It's her curse, her decision. You don't need to get involved in this," He cut off Elena's protest.

Maggie appreciated his support, but she couldn't help wondering if it had more to do with discouraging Elena from hanging around the Original. "See, two against one. Majority wins, leave it alone," Maggie jumped on it quickly and poured another shot for Stefan appreciatively.

Elena let out an indignant huff, but didn't have a valid enough comeback for that. Stefan turned his head away from the two to smirk to himself, for a moment seeing why Damon seemed to be so taken with Maggie.

A few moments of silence passed through them before Elena shook her head slowly in disbelief. "I'm sorry, I still can't believe that you slapped _Kol_," Elena smiled a bit in spite of being scared for Maggie.

Stefan looked back to them, still smirking and added, "Me too… even if it was rather suicidal."

Maggie offered a halfhearted smile in response to them, but it made her think of something that had been on her mind lately. In truth, she had put a lot of thought behind it since her last run in with Kol. She looked down at the empty glasses on the counter and she carefully took a moment to refill the shot glasses for Stefan and Elena, recognizing vampires had a higher tolerance for it than she did.

"I'm not so sure he's actually going to hurt me…" Maggie voiced her thought out loud as the two vampires picked up their shots.

Elena nearly choked on her shot and her voice came out like a hoarse whisper, "What?"

Even Stefan couldn't contain his reaction, he set his shot down on the counter and actually leaned an elbow against the counter. "Oh now, _this_ I want to hear…" He shook his head slightly in disbelief.

Maggie shot a slight glare at his sarcastic tone, but opted to leave it alone. "I'm not saying he's harmless," Maggie began.

"Of course he isn't! He killed Jeremy," Elena cut into her immediately.

"I know that. I was there, Elena!" Maggie snapped back at her. She took a moment to keep herself from going off at Elena and her incessant need to point out the obvious. Maggie hoped she wasn't as nearly this annoying when she was in high school. "What I'm trying to say is that for all the times that I've been alone with Kol, he hasn't hurt me… or even directly threaten me," Maggie defended herself. "Until tonight, but I even hit him and he just walked away."

Stefan's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened to her words, catching onto a particular part. "Wait, just how many times have you been alone with him?" He asked. Elena was ready to speak up too, but she stopped herself at Stefan's question, wanting to know the answer too.

Maggie shifted uncomfortably on her feet a moment before answering, "There was two other times before tonight." She didn't feel like getting into the incident at the county line or trying to explain how she asked Kol to leave her alone the next day and he actually respected her wish. She could see in Elena and Stefan's expression she wasn't going to be convincing either one.

"This is Kol we're talking about, Maggie. Just because he didn't come after you right now doesn't mean he won't. He waited until Denver to get back at Damon," Elena pointed out. Stefan inclined his head slightly, having been thinking along the same lines.

Maggie sighed because she didn't have a response for her, she had a point and that was why she was still unsure. Maybe she was just letting the situation get to her head. The mention of Damon's name derailed her thoughts and she realized in all of this she had forgotten her search for him.

"Speaking of Damon, have you seen him around?" Maggie asked in concern and partly to change the subject.

Elena and Stefan exchanged a look, the former clearly still worried about Maggie defending Kol. Stefan gave a noncommittal shrug. "He probably left with Rebekah," The slight bored expression Maggie was used to seeing on Stefan returned.

Maggie frowned slightly at the vaguely familiar name, but she was more bothered at the idea Damon would leave without saying anything to her at least. Elena stiffened noticeably at the Original's name. "Wait, Rebekah was there too?" Elena questioned.

"Yeah, while you were off dancing with Elijah, I found her still trying to get back into Matt's good graces," Stefan explained with an obvious edge in his voice as he stared solely at Elena.

Elena clamped her mouth shut and if anything seemed a little flustered by the comment.

Maggie's eyebrows rose at the obvious tension between the two and she awkwardly cleared her throat. She really had no interest being a witness to a high school couple drama, even if the one of them should be remarkably more mature by this point.

"Right… Well, as fun as all this has been, I think I'm going to head back to the boardinghouse," Maggie declared. Neither of the vampires seemed particularly surprised at her choice of houses, having started to get used to having Maggie around. Maggie just didn't feel like going home and facing questions from whoever may have seen her with whom tonight.

"We'll go back with you, just let me find Jeremy," Elena offered and she stood up, getting ready to move towards the door.

"Oh, he already left. I asked him to look after Beth," Maggie stopped her.

Elena blinked in surprise a moment before nodding, "Oh, good thinking."

"Do you have a ride?" Stefan asked her, seeming to be just as eager to get out of there.

Maggie shrugged, "I'll just take Damon's car. Just let me lock up here and I'll meet you outside." She grabbed her keys, again thankful to have the spare ones from Damon.

Maggie moved to take care of the glasses and put them away properly. The two vampires slipped outside to wait for her to shut off the lights and lock the doors.

"So Jeremy and Beth, huh?" Stefan grinned slightly as they waited.

Elena gave an unsure shrug of her shoulders, "At least she's not a vampire or witch…"

* * *

When Damon came around, for a moment he thought he had gone blind, but then he realized he was just in a very dark place. With some awkward shifting, he also noticed it was a very dark cramped space. Really not the way he wanted to wake up, might he add. This certainly wasn't helping the pounding headache he still had from being slugged upside the head. He gingerly touched the side of his head, above his ear, where he got hit. The wound had healed over, but there was still somewhat wet blood and it was tender to the touch.

"Son of a…" He grumbled out loud, remembering the last words he had heard before he was knocked out and their unmistakable accent. If that wasn't confirmation enough for who hit him, the baseball bat he found lying with him was the next give away.

After bumping his knees and his forehead, he growled slightly, really not liking how confined this space was. With some blind fumbling around, he soon figured out exactly where he was. "If irony could kill…" He groaned out loud when he realized he was in the same trunk that he had stuffed numerous vampire corpses, many to show Sheriff Forbes to prove that he wasn't one himself.

He was torn between popping the trunk opening, which lord only knows how long it would take him to find a replacement part, and waiting for someone to find him there when he started to hear some voices outside. Stilling for just a moment to realize there was three people out there, he started pounding on the lid of the trunk.

Maggie was walking with Stefan and Elena through the parking lot in the direction of Damon's Camaro, they only parked a few cars away from it. Suddenly Stefan and Elena stilled for a moment. "Do you hear that?" Stefan frowned and asked Elena. Maggie gave them a confused look, not hearing anything herself.

Elena nodded quickly, "It's coming from Damon's car." She picked up her steps as the three advanced on sports car. The two vampires were quicker than her and gathered around the trunk.

"Here's the key," Maggie tossed them in the air towards Elena. She caught them with easy and in a blink got the lid unlocked. It shot open with an alarming amount of force without breaking off at the hinges.

"Christ Stefan, did all that brooding make you deaf too?" Damon snapped as he slowly moved to sit upright, some of his joints cracking from the uncomfortable position.

Stefan ignored the insult and frowned at him, "What happened to you?"

"What does it look like?" Damon continued irritably and he reached down next to him, pulling out the baseball bat and letting to drop to the ground in a loud dinging clatter before climbing out of the trunk himself. "Did I mention I really _hate_ baseball…"

Elena's eyes widened at the sight of the bat, "Kol…"

While this had been happening, Maggie hung back several steps as soon as the trunk opened. She had been hit with the smell of the blood almost immediately. The other two vampires knew it was there, but they didn't seem to be bothered by it. For Maggie, she smelled the metallic copper right away and there was a strong sweet odor to it, but it was like if it had gone sour at some point.

The smell literally caused her throat to burn as it permeated through her senses. Her nose scrunched up and it got worse when Damon pulled out the bat, being able to see the smear of blood in the street torches. Her throat was almost throbbing as her stomach gave a lurch. She had to turn away as Damon climbed out, holding her breath and one hand clutching to her stomach.

It was a few moments before Elena noticed Maggie's sudden discomfort. She turned from Damon and approached the young woman concernedly. "Maggie, are you okay?" She asked, placing one hand gently on her shoulder.

Maggie closed her eyes for a moment, breathing in and out her mouth before nodding roughly. "Yeah… I think with all the whiskey and nerves, the blood is just unsettling my stomach," She went with the only logical explanation she could think of her for her reaction.

Elena frowned and looked back towards the Salvatore's. Stefan gave the two doppelgangers a worried look and even Damon was slightly suspicious while clutching the side of his head and leaning back against the car.

* * *

After insisting on Damon taking a moment to clean up his blood, Maggie eventually got in the Camaro with him to ride back to the boardinghouse. A pair of headlights followed them the entire way back with Stefan and Elena. They didn't say much in the car ride back. It took a few minutes before Maggie's head cleared and the burning in her throat subsided. When Damon asked her about what happened while he was out, she said she would fill him in back at the boardinghouse where they all could discuss it.

Back at the boardinghouse, Maggie took a seat on the couch in the living room while Damon helped himself to a drink. Stefan and Elena followed in shortly after. Stefan remained standing, crossing his arms while he listened to Maggie fill Damon in on what happened while he was knocked out. Elena took a seat on the other end of the couch, folding her legs underneath her.

"I wonder if Kol killed you before _or_ after Maggie slapped him," Stefan mused aloud at one point and he was fighting a grin, not particularly concerned about his brother's wellbeing.

This caused Damon to nearly crush the glass in his hand and whirl around on Maggie, "You did _what_?"

It took some talking down to keep Damon from going out after Kol. Between Elena and Maggie, they were able to talk him out of doing anything stupid. He looked something torn between kissing Maggie in awe and yelling at her for being so reckless. Instead, Maggie distracted him by telling what happened with Elijah and what he had to say.

"As much as I will regret for _eternity _not seeing you slap Kol, back to Elijah," For a moment, it looked like it literally pained Damon to not witness it before he got serious again, "What exactly did he say about Rose's father?"

Maggie shrugged, "Just that he was some sort of hunter."

Stefan's head picked up at the word hunter and exchanged a look with Damon, knowing they were thinking similar thoughts.

Damon scrunched his brow and shook his head, "See, that doesn't make _any _sense. Why the hell would a vampire hunter cooperate with an Original?"

"Maybe he didn't hunt vampires?" Elena suggested while Maggie remained silent. This was definitely out of the realm of her knowledge.

"No way, I would've heard of them by now," Damon dismissed quickly. After 160 years, he would have at least heard something if there were different types of hunters.

"It's possible, Damon," Stefan cut in, "Just because they weren't going after you doesn't mean they aren't out there."

Damon shot a glare at his brother, but wouldn't admit that he had a point. That would also mean they would have to go back to the research he had Bonnie doing on the curse and broaden the field from anything related to vampires to just about anything. That would be completely grasping at straws then though.

Maggie perked up as a thought came to her, "Oh, Elena has a point. Elijah specifically said that vampire blood was not supposed to be in the ritual, so whatever it was about… I don't think it was vampires."

Damon ran a hand through his hair in aggravation, avoiding the side he got hit. Then waving a hand in the air, "That doesn't leave us with much… I guess it's time we see if little Gilbert can get a ghost to squeal again."

"It's worth a shot," Stefan agreed with him. Elena didn't look particularly thrilled at the idea of Damon harassing her brother again, but she didn't say anything.

"Well," Maggie piped up as she got to her feet. "As the only human that actually needs sleep, I'm going to go to bed. You three can settle this."

In truth it was much later than she realized and the stress of the evening was starting to take its toll on her. When she sat down on the couch, it came to her in a wave and she would end up passing out there if she stayed much longer.

"That almost sounds like an invitation," Damon smirked at her as she started to leave the room.

"Could be," Maggie answered him as she stepped into the hallway. Damon set his glass down and started to follow after her. "But I'm pretty sure you aren't supposed to do any strenuous activity after severe head trauma," She added with a grin as the two heading towards the stair.

Damon didn't see the way that Elena stared after him when they left. Stefan noticed the longing expression on his girlfriend's face though.

* * *

Upstairs in Damon's room, he went to the bathroom immediately to shower, grumbling something about wanting to wash the bad dead vampire vibes off of him. Maggie didn't really feel the need to point out the contradiction there, but was glad he would wash any remnants of the blood off of him as well. As he showered, she went to his closet and dug out some sweats and a shirt to wear. Amusedly, she thought to herself at this rate she better just start leaving clothes in his room with how often she was borrowing some.

After she changed, he came out of the shower wrapped in nothing but a towel. Damon strutted confidently out of the bathroom as Maggie was going in for her turn. Her eyebrows nearly rose to her hairline, seeing him for the first time shirtless. The faint smirk on his face told her that he was doing it on purpose. Because of that, she kept herself from gawking at him, but she did pause to get a good look as soon as his back was turned to her.

Splashing cold water against her face kept her thoughts from wandering too far out of control. Her and Damon was another issue she just didn't have the energy to tackle tonight. She did notice how they moved through his room and went through the nighttime routine as if it was the most natural thing. Taking the time to wipe her makeup off, when she finally emerged from the bathroom, Damon was already in the bed under the covers with his hands tucked behind his head waiting for.

Maggie actually found the silence between them comforting, for the first time this evening not being examined or scrutinized. Coming around to the side of the bed, she pulled back the covers and climbed in next to Damon. She laid on her side next to him.

"Come here," Maggie murmured as she reached out to touch the side of Damon's head where he had been hit.

He almost snapped that he was fine, but stopped at Maggie's worried gaze and let her run her fingers through his hair as she inspected the spot. Sure enough, it was completely healed over by now and any traces of blood had been washed away. Regardless of that, Maggie had to make sure herself that he was completely okay.

"Where's this concern coming from?" Damon asked genuinely curiously while partly fighting the reflex to close his eyes at the calming feeling of her fingers running through his hair and failing.

"It's not the same when someone else does it," Maggie said softly and Damon realized in her backhanded way that she was saying at some level she cared about him.

A slow grin came to his face and he opened his eyes to find her face was hovering not too far above his. Pulling out one hand from behind his head, he reached up to slip his fingers around the back of her head and pull her down towards him. His lips caught hers in a slow, but sweet kiss. She didn't fight him or hesitate, but he didn't push it for more. He counted this as a small victory.

As she pulled away, the hand on the back of her head slid forward so his thumb could stroke her cheek. He opened his eyes, but they lingered on her lips. "Are we going to talk about this?" He whispered, wanting to know what to call this thing that seemed to be forming between them. He didn't exactly get an answer earlier.

Maggie stilled for a moment, knowing it would have to be discussed at some point, but not tonight. "_Now_ who's being clingy?" She threw his earlier words back at him with a smirk.

"Ouch," Damon muttered playfully and let it drop when Maggie pulled away to tuck her head against his shoulder. Raising an eyebrow, Damon watched as she wrapped an arm around him and draped on leg over his, cuddling right up against him. While it was rather forward for her, he wasn't going to complain. He wrapped one arm loosely around her waist, holding her to him and the other hand reached across to the lamp to shut off the last light in the room.

Maggie never would admit it aloud because it scared her, but she had missed Damon.

* * *

Maggie awoke the next morning to a light tingling feeling dancing across her lower back. At times it was soothing, until it hit her spine and caused her to squirm from the sensation. She let out of a soft groan, her head moving slightly with the rise and fall of Damon's chest. It took her a few minutes to realize it was Damon's hand on her back, under her shirt and his fingers tracing lightly against her skin.

"Stop it," She mumbled out with a lame attempt at swatting his hand away and refusing to open her eyes.

His chest rumbled with a low chuckle, but his hand didn't stop moving. "Nope, this is payback," Damon teased gently, whispering against the top of her head.

"For what?" Maggie whined, for being half sprawled on top of Damon she was rather comfortable and didn't want that interrupted.

"Snoring… or was that moaning?" Damon flashed a toothy smile when Maggie's head shot up, nearly hitting his chin in the process, in mortification.

"I did not!" She denied indignantly.

Damon snickered and silenced further protests with a swift kiss. Maggie was a little slow to response, being still half asleep and not entirely thinking straight. Before she knew it, he was coaxing her mouth open with his tongue and she sighed gently into the kiss. The hand on her lower back ran his fingers up along her spine to her bra, causing her to shudder against him. Letting out a soft whimper against his lips from the action, she was suddenly rolled over onto her back. Damon hovered over her with his knee against the mattress between her legs and his other elbow supporting him.

Her hands went to his hands before sliding up his back, appreciative of the fact he went with just pajama pants last night as they slid over the smooth muscles. When she needed air, Damon pulled away to attack her neck with a slow assault of kisses.

He was half way down her neck when he paused, letting out a low groan. Maggie opened her eyes, for the first time realizing how flushed she was. "Incoming paternal control," Damon hissed slightly, hearing footsteps coming down the hallway. Had it been about thirty seconds later, he probably wouldn't have had the concentration to hear them.

He pulled back with a scowl and before Maggie could ask him what he was talking about there was a knock at his bedroom door, followed by Elena's voice, "Damon?"

Rolling off of Maggie, Damon begrudgingly climbed out of the bed and headed towards the door. Once there was some distance between them, Maggie couldn't help but be a little grateful for the interruption. She blushed a little in embarrassment at how easily she had gone from being asleep to pinned beneath Damon and nearly having his way with her in the matter of seconds.

Maggie sat up on the bed, keeping the blanket clutched around her as Damon opened the door.

Elena froze slightly with her mouth open at the sight of Damon in just his pants, looking slightly disheveled. Behind him, she could see Maggie still in the bed with a severe case of bedhead and the blankets gathered around her.

"A little busy here, Elena," Damon said irritably, but then put on a cheekily smile and added, "Unless you're offering to join." A second after he added that part, Damon was hit in the back head with a pillow.

He blinked slightly from it, but otherwise kept the same expression while Maggie glared at the back of his head.

"No thanks," Elena crossed her arms. "Sheriff Forbes wants to speak to you."

"Tell her to leave a message," Damon dismissed easily and went to close the door. Elena's hand stopped him from shutting it completely.

"She's downstairs right now," Elena pushed.

Damon clenched his jaw slightly before conceding, "Fine. I'll be down in a minute."

* * *

Elena disappeared shortly afterwards and Damon went to find a shirt before heading down himself. Maggie took a moment to compose herself, brushing out her hair before heading downstairs as well. As she went, she could hear Damon's voice and Sheriff Forbes' carrying from by the front door, but she didn't intrude.

Instead, she went for the kitchen at the smell of coffee carrying through the air. She was partly surprised to find Elena in there as well. Maggie tried not to think about how potentially awkward it was and whether or not Elena assumed anything from what she saw.

"Is Stefan here?" Maggie asked, figuring he probably had to be if Elena was here, while she went to cupboard to help herself to a mug.

Elena shook her head. "No, he went to check on Jeremy and Matt and then went hunting," Elena explained.

Maggie frowned slightly but didn't say anything as she poured some coffee, sensing there was more to it than that. She thought that Stefan was drinking human blood last she understood. Elena didn't notice her reaction because she was looking towards the front of the house and tucked her hair behind her ear. It took Maggie a moment to realize that she was likely listening to whatever was being said in the hallway.

A minute later, she gasped and barely put her cup down without spilling it. "Oh my god," Elena whispered, her eyes wide and a hand covering her mouth.

Maggie looked at her in alarm, but didn't know what it was that she heard.

A moment later the front door closed and shortly after Damon appeared in the kitchen with a somber expression. Seeing Elena's expression, he sighed, "You heard?"

Elena nodded numbly.

"What happened?" Maggie finally cut in, slightly frustrated at her human hearing for a moment.

"Four people are dead," Elena said and she could see her eyes watering a bit.

Maggie stilled and her stomach dropped, "Who? How?" her voice was a little hollow.

"The Morrison's. Two of them were drained… They turned into walkers and got to the other two before the neighbors heard the screams early this morning," Damon was the one to explain. "Sheriff Forbes came by to see if we had any idea who did it…"

The two vampires looked at Maggie and she could tell that they were thinking the same person she was for being responsible. Maggie remained silent and her expression a long moment while she considered this information. Elena seemed visibly upset, but she could tell that whoever these Morrison's were, they weren't terribly close to her.

"Were they someone you knew?" Maggie asked no one specific.

Damon shrugged and Elena shook her head slowly.

They were silent for a long period. Naturally, Maggie had been afraid this would happen. It took her a long time to really fall asleep last night, thinking about the way that Kol sneered his last words to her. He promised to slaughter mere commoners, like her, but maybe not necessarily her. Either way, she had been worried something would happen to any member of her group.

"Well that's a relief," Maggie muttered out loud as she let out a sigh and took a sip of her coffee. For a moment she had been terrified to hear one of her family's names, but that passed quickly when it was just a bunch of strangers.

This caused Elena's head to snap up with a slightly horrified expression. "A _relief_? How can you say that? Four people are dead because you provoked Kol last night!"

Maggie bristled at the accusation, "Yeah, I provoked Kol, but don't think for a moment that I regret it. It's a relief because it could have been my family last night but it wasn't."

"_Your_ family? What about their family and friends? They had people who cared about and loved them too," Elena questioned incredulously, completely shocked by Maggie's rather cavalier attitude.

Damon shoved his hands into his pocket, glancing between the two women and not entirely sure where he wanted to place himself at the moment.

"Oh come off of it, Elena," Maggie sneered her name harshly. "What do you want me to do? Weep for people that I've never met? I won't sit here and lie, saying I wish it had been someone else because when it comes down to it I will _always_ trade the lives of my family over any number of strangers."

"How can you say that?" Elena hissed in disbelief and partly horror. She was baffled by how the loss of human life seemed to matter so little to Maggie and she was the vampire!

Maggie mustered up a cold unmoving stare as she took a deep breath before warning her, "I don't just say that, I _believe_ it."

"Whoa, let's dial it back a notch here!" Damon cut in, feeling sufficiently uncomfortable at the heated tension between the women and not particularly wanting to find out who would lunge at who first. "As much as I would love to see this with a mud pit and much less clothes, Maggie would _totally _be at a disadvantage."

Elena broke her stare with Maggie and gave a disgusted eye roll at the innuendo. It didn't ease the tension in the room, but interrupted it enough for Maggie just to grab her coffee mug and move to leave the kitchen without another word.

She shot Elena one last harsh glare before disappearing to head up the stairs to take a shower before leaving. Damon moved to follow after her, but stopped to add one more thing to Elena, "Oh, next time you get into one of your self-righteous modes, before you start making accusations maybe you should stop and ask yourself… _Where's Stefan_?"

* * *

_Author's Note: Phew, things getting heated between the bleeding heart and the cold-heart youknow. So what do you guys think? Whose side of the argument do you fall on?_

_Review response:_

_IrishBeauty: Awww, I know, him and Maggie were having a moment there! But I wouldn't give up on him so easily. ;) But I totally agree, I've developed a bit of a grudge for Elena too and I think it's starting to show in my story as well, haha._

_Thesummersky: I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, it's definitely a bit of a challenge trying to get a grasp on Kol's personality when we've only seen him briefly in four episodes. And as you can now see, I'm kinda shipping Jeremy and Beth, I just think they would absolutely be adorable together in their shy awkward way._

_Nethra: I'm glad you like the different perspective on the Petrovas! That's exactly what I was aiming for, honestly, from an outside perspective, the whole web relationships is a little twisted and weird and Maggie's black/white personality wouldn't be too impressed with it. _

_I'm glad I got the right vibe for Elijah through to the readers. To someone other than Elena, he would definitely be detached and impersonal. It also doesn't help that Maggie looks like Rose, who betrayed him, so yeah there's no love lost between those two!_


	25. Chapter 25

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Mat Kearney – Here We Go_

_Scene: Beginning through to the Grill_

_Birdy – Skinny Love_

_Scene: Rose, Jeremy, Maggie, and Damon_

_Chapter Twenty-five_

She shot Elena one last harsh glare before disappearing to head up the stairs to take a shower before leaving. Damon moved to follow after her, but stopped to add one more thing to Elena, "Oh, next time you get into one of your self-righteous modes, before you start making accusations maybe you should stop and ask yourself… _Where's Stefan_?"

* * *

Elena looked as if Damon had visibly slapped her. It was no secret for any vampire in the house that Stefan had left during the night, but to go as far as to suggest Stefan might have been involved in the deaths even Damon knew was a low blow.

He didn't stick around to see her reaction though. He left the kitchen to head up the stairs. He spotted Maggie half frozen at the mid landing of the staircase. The look on her face said that she heard what he said to Elena, he wasn't exactly trying to be quiet. They exchanged a look before continuing to head up the stairs.

Maggie sipped on her coffee as she went back to Damon's room. She walked straight to the bathroom and as she set it down on the counter she heard him closing the bedroom door behind him. "Do you really think Stefan could've done it?" She asked as she went to turn on the shower water, letting it warm up.

Damon moved to take a seat on the bed, not looking towards the bathroom out of respect as Maggie moved about. He shook his head, "No. It's not his style." What Maggie didn't hear, but he knew that Elena heard was that details that Sheriff Forbes had shared with him. The two members of the family that had been drained were the ten and twelve year old children, who were left to turn to walkers. By the time the police had gotten to the scene, what was left of the parents was a bloodied dismembered mess in the master bedroom. The vampire that had done this knew the kind of suffering it would bring to the parents to have their own children turned and going after them.

"What do you mean his style?" Maggie asked as she climbed into the shower.

"Have you ever heard of a ripper?" Damon countered.

Maggie frowned as she started to shampoo her hair quickly. "Uhh… You mean like Jack the Ripper?"

"Not quite, more like the Ripper of Monterey," Damon answered.

Maggie thought for a moment, but the name didn't sound familiar to her. "Never heard of it," She shrugged, mostly to herself.

"That's not surprising. It happened in 1910's… Monterey was a migrant village wiped out a vampire who had a tendency to rip his victims' heads off in his fit of bloodlust," Damon explained frankly, trying not to let describing his brother and the guilt of provoking said incident leak into his voice.

The water shut off and Maggie stepped out to wrap a towel around her as she thought about his words. A few years ago, to hear such a tale would have horrified her more than it did now, but now she had seen similar to worse things and done a few herself if walkers counted.

"What does that have to do with last night?" Maggie asked as she took the time to towel dry her hair a bit.

"The Morrison's still had their heads. Not Stefan's style," Damon turned at this point, catching Maggie's profile and seeing her raised eyebrows when she processed what he said. Admittedly, his eyes lingered a bit on her legs and how short the towel was on her.

"_Stefan_ was the Ripper of Monterey?" Maggie gasped, clearly not thinking that youngest Salvatore had it in him.

"Yep," Damon confirmed.

Maggie gathered up her clothes and came to stand in the doorway of the bathroom, clutching the towel and clothes to her tightly. "Huh, I guess that explains half the reason for all the self-loathing," Maggie commented.

Damon smirked, "What's the other half?"

"Being eternally seventeen," Maggie matched his smirk before adding somewhat seriously, "Mind your eyes before you lose them, Salvatore." She then turned her back on him and went to change in the bathroom.

Not wanting to test her threat, he looked away quickly while still grinning.

* * *

After gathering up her dress from last night, Maggie was ready to go, feeling slightly silly to be wearing the wedges with sweatpants but she didn't have a whole lot of other options. She wasn't surprised to see that Elena was nowhere in sight within the house and had wished she seen Elena's reaction to Damon's words.

The car ride was mostly quiet back to Maggie's house. Damon's expression was pulled thoughtfully and Maggie could tell that something was brewing behind his eyes. This is why it wasn't too much of a surprise to her when they pulled up to the house that Damon got out of the car as well.

Maggie hesitated and waited as he walked around from the driver side to stand before her, clutching the dress in her hand and her keys, which were considerably lighter without the Camaro spares. They would have to figure out where Damon's keys disappeared to later.

"With Klaus being back in town, Maggie, you should really think about moving into the boardinghouse," Damon suggested seriously.

"What? Why?" Maggie blurted out, definitely not expecting that to come from Damon.

"I can't protect you when you live half way across town. At least at the boardinghouse there's me and Stefan," Damon tried to reason with her.

Maggie shook her head quickly, "No way, I'm not leaving my family. I refuse to be afraid of Klaus and give him the satisfaction of cowering in your house."

Damon grinded his teeth a bit before snapping at her, "Oh come on, Maggie listen to yourself. That kind of stubborn pride is going to get you killed. You can't take on an Original."

Maggie scoffed and fired back, "Oh that's rich coming from you, Damon. How do you expect to stop Klaus? Any vampire can go waltzing into the boardinghouse right now, no invitation required. At least I have that much here."

Damon threw his hands in the air in aggravation when he saw that she wasn't going to back down on this. "Fine, stay here! But only if everyone is on vervain and I _will _be checking up on you," Damon conceded begrudgingly.

"Fine," Maggie snapped back at him and turned her back on him. She didn't like the way he said he would be checking up on her as if she was some troublesome child to be looked after.

She marched down the front walkway briskly to the front door. Behind her she could the slam of a car door before the engine of the Camaro roared to life, quickly taking off afterwards. It wasn't exactly the best way to part, but she wasn't going to let any Original dictate her life any more than it already was.

* * *

Maggie got a few questions about where she had been last night, but didn't get receive much teasing or suspicion when her family saw how irate she was after dealing with Damon. It was just as well as far as she was concerned. She had enough to deal with without straightening out assumptions about what happened last night between her and Damon.

To her surprise, she found that Beth wasn't upset with her at all about sending her home early. Apparently Jeremy had gone back to the house for a while and kept her company. Maggie didn't bother asking what exactly they had done, which she knew couldn't have been much with Hershel nearby, but Beth was shy and blushing when she spoke about it. The welcomed distraction only lasted for so long though.

A few hours later, a police officer arrived with a rather large box of vervain. The speediness of the arrival Maggie was willing to bet had everything to do with Damon. That turned into an impromptu family meeting with the Greene's and the Grimes', explaining what vervain was and why they needed to take it. No one seemed particularly upset at the idea that they would no longer be eligible for blood donations. It did raise a lot of questions about why they needed to take it for Maggie's safety. Hershel readily accepted anything that would help keep vampires away. Maggie could tell that he was still having troubles coming to terms with them, similar to the way he had troubles with walkers. Rick asked a few pointed questions about why any vampire would be after her specifically and Maggie skirted over most of the details by saying she accidentally upset one in particular.

True to his word, Damon showed up at the end of his day to see how the vervain went. Maggie explained to him out on the porch how it went, still not extending an invitation to any vampire. She told him how her family took it and how she mostly remained out of the room while they mixed it in with some food. Given her last experience, she wasn't too thrilled about being around the plant. Maggie could tell that he was still upset that she had turned down his offer. What she didn't know was that he was also a little hurt, a part of him had been hoping that she would want to stay with him.

During the next few days, Maggie didn't actually see much of Glenn. He was absent from the family meeting about the vervain, but she found out from Carl later that he was already on it for some reason. Every now and then she saw him coming and going from the house, but he mostly gave her the cold shoulder. She wasn't sure if that still stemmed from their recent break up or if there was something more to it, but she didn't have much energy to dwell on it with everything else that was going on.

The first few times that Damon stopped at the house, his protectiveness might have been endearing to some attention starved teenager. After two days, Maggie was starting to find the way he stopped by two or three times a day as unnecessarily overbearing. It made her glad cell phones weren't around anymore because she didn't know how often he would've called her. Maggie kept herself busy by helping out around the house, making up for all the time she had been away. She also took a few hours here and there to look after baby Judith while Beth and Carl were away at school. Through this, she found she wasn't very good with children, but could struggle her way through it.

When Maggie worked at the Grill, Damon had the tendency to drop by frequently. Sometimes he had Sheriff Forbes in tow with him or Alaric, but she knew what he was really doing. She snapped at him a few times that she didn't need the constant supervision, but of course that never deterred the stubborn vampire.

The third day, Maggie stepped outside, dressed in jeans and a casual top, ready to head down to the Grill for the morning shift. She gritted her teeth a bit when she saw Damon leaning against his car in front of her house with a smug smirk on his face.

"Seriously? This is getting ridiculous, Damon. I can walk just fine to the Grill," Maggie growled at him as she marched down the front walk.

"Nice to see you too," Damon answered calmly, used to her feisty behavior by this point. "There's actually a reason for me picking you up this morning."

"I don't recall you ever asking to," Maggie bit back sarcastically.

"You can't say no if never given the chance," Damon said cheekily as he went to open the passenger door for Maggie assertively. "Actually… I know Jeremy is working today and I need your help to see if he can reach Rose."

Maggie hesitated, biting in the inside of her cheek while debating being stubborn and walking anyway. At the mention of Rose, her curiosity got the best of her. It wasn't that she particularly cared about this ancestor, but she wanted to get some answers too.

"Fine, but this is only because of Jeremy," She gave in and climbed into the passenger seat.

She shot a glare at the triumphant smirk on his face as he slide into the driver seat before they took off in the direction of downtown.

It was the tail end of the morning food serving when Damon pulled into a parking spot nearby the Grill. Maggie didn't say much in the car, partly because she was still annoyed with Damon and also because there was still a lack of coffee in the house. Seeing as her family was a Founding family and rather new to Mystic Falls, they didn't get all of the same supply luxurious as some of the other families.

Stepping inside the Grill, Maggie spotted Matt starting the cleanup process and she was quick to go over and help him. She didn't pay Damon much attention as he slide into his usual bar stool, even though nothing was being served, and watched her work. Occasionally he threw in one of his typical snarky comments, which she would fire right back at him but she didn't let him distract her.

Once the cleanup was taken care of, Maggie relieved Matt and he took off quickly afterwards. Not too long after he left, Alaric and Meredith arrived carrying a couple of boxes. It took her a bit to realize it was the same boxes they had brought last time just after her confrontation with Kol. Apparently they decided today was a good day to actually get the research done they had been putting off on.

Maggie disappeared into the store room while they went through the boxes. She was gone for a while to take inventory of supplies, marking what was low and needed to be replaced in the next supply run. About an hour or so later, she emerged from the back room to find the three pushed together two tables and papers were sprawled over them.

Finally her curiosity got the best of her and she paused to her work to approach them. "What are you guys trying to find?" She asked, pulling out a chair, but not touching any of the papers. Her arms ached a bit from lifting boxes so she could use the break.

"Trying to find anything about undead creatures or spells related to them," Alaric was the one to answer her. "Besides vampires, obviously," He added an afterthought.

Maggie nodded in silence a moment, "You mean like the walkers?"

Meredith was the one to chime in this time, "Exactly. We're trying to find any explanation for what caused the outbreak."

Maggie looked at the books, which were old and dusty, some with water stains in the binding. There were grimories and journals among the stacks of binders. "And what is all of this?" Maggie waved a hand towards it.

"Some of my ex-wife's supernatural research from her apartment in Princeton," Alaric said with a sigh and a little edge to his voice. Damon who had been uncharacteristically quiet with his nose in a journal added on with a smirk, "Which he didn't know she had."

"Thanks, Damon, I could always use another reminder of how little I really knew her," Alaric muttered dryly.

"Anytime," Damon grinned and looked up briefly to catch a glare from the school teacher.

Maggie raised an eyebrow, but left it alone. Usually the term 'ex' was for a good reason and that was enough for her to care to know about. Instead, she shrugged her shoulders and announced bluntly, "Well, you're not going to find anything in there."

"Whoa, speak for yourself, Negative Nancy," Damon chided without looking from the page he was reading.

Maggie's words caused Alaric to look up at her though and even Meredith hesitated a bit, peeking out of the corner of her eye. "Wait… what do you mean?" Alaric inquired.

"I mean there's nothing supernatural about it. You're not going to find it in some spellbook," Maggie stated. This time it caused Meredith and even Damon to stop what they were doing. They stared at her silence and Maggie looked to each face, varying from shades of curiosity to disbelief.

"What? You really don't know?" Maggie found it hard to believe a town with doctors really was still unsure about what was happening. But then again, the hospital was a long way from fully functioning and never had been equipped for that kind of testing and neurology.

"No, but let's hear your theory," Damon had a bit of an arrogant tone to his voice.

"It's not a theory," Maggie corrected him harshly. She let out a sigh before launching into her explanation, "Before we met half of our group, they had gone to the CDC."

"Impossible, the closest center in D.C. blew up right after the outbreak," Damon cut into her impatiently.

"They went to the CDC in Atlanta. They were there until it blew up," Maggie's clarification managed to silence any further interruptions from Damon. So she went on, "I wasn't there, but Rick told us about it afterwards. The disease is viral, everyone is a carrier, which you already know. Whether you die naturally or get bit and get some sort of second infection, when you die only the brain stem is reanimated. They're no longer human after that. Memories, experiences, any part that made them who they were are gone."

"There's no magic to it. If you don't believe me, ask Rick or Daryl. They were there and saw the test results," Maggie added finally.

"Well that's a rather bleak way of looking at it," Damon muttered after a long silence in the group. Meredith gazed off into nothing while considering Maggie's explanation and Alaric's head was just bowed a little somberly.

Before Maggie could feel too terrible about dashing any hope, the front door of the Grill opened and Jeremy stepped inside. Perking up at the new company, Maggie stood up from the table.

"Hey, how's it going?" Jeremy greeted everyone, receiving a nod from Alaric and a small smile from Meredith.

"About time you got here," Damon grumbled slightly, picking up the feet he had perched up on the table to stand up as well.

Jeremy shook his head but didn't indulge Damon. Before he could say anything else, he was suddenly caught in a hug from Maggie. "Uhhh… I missed you too?" Jeremy stumbled slightly, returning the hug carefully.

"Thank you for looking after Beth the other night," Maggie whispered appreciatively to him. Jeremy relaxed and gave her a squeeze before letting her go.

"Sure, no problem. She's actually pretty cool," Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck anxiously as Maggie stepped back from him.

"Sounds like Gilbert has a crush," Damon teased as he approached the two.

"Cut it out, Damon," Jeremy snapped at him quickly. Maggie tried not to grin and further embarrass him.

"So touchy," Damon's eyebrows rose tauntingly. Jeremy turned from him with an aggravated sigh, choosing to walk away towards the bar counter instead.

Maggie and Damon followed after him. Damon was the first to take a seat at his usual spot. "We actually need you to try contacting Rose again," Damon said seriously as Jeremy moved behind the counter, looking to pick up where Maggie left off.

"I'm not some psychic hotline you can call on whenever you want, Damon," Jeremy grumbled while Maggie moved to take a seat next to Damon. "Besides, how do you know it'll even work this time?"

Damon smirked and threw a lazy arm around Maggie's shoulder, "That's what we have Maggie here for."

Maggie startled slightly at the gesture and gave him an odd look, not necessarily leaning into him or leaning away.

Jeremy shook his head before conceding, "Alright, fine." He stopped what he was doing to come stand directly in front of the two. His eyes were fixated on Maggie and she shifted slightly uncomfortably under the look he was giving her. Damon dropped his arm from her, leaning his forearms on the counter and flickering between the two anxiously.

The silence was uncomfortable for Maggie as she looked back and forth between the two, wondering if she was supposed to be doing something.

"Your family name is Leavey, right?" Jeremy finally spoke.

Maggie blinked in surprise before nodding slowly, "Yeah, some of my distant family."

"She's here," Jeremy announced, his eyes leaving Maggie's face and lingering on the empty seat next to Damon.

Damon sat more upright on his bar stool. Maggie leaned forward with a controlled expression, watching Damon's reaction closely. He looked unsure of himself of what to do and his eyes moved about reflexively, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to see Rose.

"How is she?" He asked, looking to Jeremy, unsure if he should address her directly or not.

Jeremy looked to Damon's right for a moment, apparently listening to whatever it was that she was saying. "She says not to worry, that she's fine and happy. There are others with her and Trevor," He relayed the message.

For Jeremy, he had to take a small step back when Rose first appeared. She showed up sitting on the other side of Damon, almost matching the same posture as Maggie. It was completely surreal seeing two women, who looked alike in so many ways at either arm of Damon. He also noticed the differences though. Rose's hair was slightly longer with a feathery flair. She had rounder cheeks and a warmth that radiated from her skin and smile. Maggie was the opposite. Her stare was blank, if not a little cold, while her expression remained steeled. She was much tenser while she watched them with a calculating gaze.

"She also wants to help as much as she can," Jeremy continued, pausing with a frown as he listened further to Rose. "But she's having some troubles with her memories, not everything has come back to her yet."

"That might have something to do with them being suppressed for five hundred years," Damon muttered, the sarcastic tone in his voice was much more subdued than Maggie had ever heard it before. It had even taken Elena a while to remember the things she was compelled to forget after she turned and those memories were only a few years ago, never mind centuries.

"She agrees," Jeremy nodded, "But what she can remember… she didn't know anything about the sacrifice until the night of and her father didn't tell her what was going on."

Damon frowned since that wasn't really helping him and he tried not to think about what he would do to her father if he was still around. He opened his mouth to ask Jeremy another question, but was silenced by a raised hand as the young Gilbert furrowed his brows, listening to more.

"She heard you talking at the boardinghouse…" He started to repeat, but then his eyebrows rose and he interrupted himself, "That's insane!"

"Hey," Damon snipped a bit, getting anxious over what he and Maggie couldn't hear. "Don't forget about the peanut gallery here."

Jeremy blinked a few times before looking back at Damon, "Right, sorry. She says that Elena was right, her father was a hunter, but he didn't go after vampires. He went after werewolves."

Damon raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? That couldn't have ended well…"

Maggie didn't pretend to know exactly what that meant, but she was willing to bet a human taking on a supernatural creature with a pack mentality probably wasn't the wisest decision to make.

Jeremy let out a disbelieving sigh, "It didn't… on a full moon too. Anyway, all she knows right now is that Elijah often went to him to obtain werewolf venom."

"And what about who turned her?" Damon pressed for more details, trying not to let his emotions distract him.

There was another silence while Jeremy listened to Rose's explanation and more confusion flashed through his expression.

"She says her mother brought her the vampire blood and it came from a Mary Porter," Jeremy replied slowly.

Damon's lip curled slightly in discomfort, looking down at the wood of the counter muttering, "Oh, Scary Mary."

"_But _now, she's not so sure… for some reason. She says she'll have to find someone and get back to us. That's all she has for now," Jeremy frowned slightly, confused by Rose's explanation that her memories were still a bit jumbled from the compulsion and she would have to attempt to find her mother.

"Jeremy, there's one thing," Rose spoke in a gentle tone, knowing that Maggie and Damon couldn't hear her, but looking at them thoughtfully.

"Damon is good for Maggie," Rose declared, gazing affectionately at Damon and not sparing a glance at her doppelganger. There was a hint of caution in her voice but she continued, "But Elena is better for him. She makes him a better person and he challenges her."

Rose then looked directly at Jeremy and he was stunned by the slightly fearful look in her eyes as she warned him, "I've been watching for the last three months. There's a darkness to Maggie that will draw Damon in and I don't think he's enough to save her."

Jeremy stared at her stunned silence, hearing what she was saying, but unsure whether to believe it or not. He never liked the idea of Damon being around his sister and further disapproved at the idea of them being together. But it also alarmed him what Rose had to say about Maggie. He knew that she was tough and cut from a different fabric than everyone else, but he had a hard time to believe the woman that cried and hugged him over his near death could be so dark.

"What did she say?" Damon asked sharply, noticing the disturbed expression on the youth.

Jeremy startled from his slight trance and shifted uncomfortably before clearing his throat. He gave hesitantly, "She's been watching over Maggie the past three months."

Maggie stiffened noticeably at her mention. Her expression hardened considerably at the prospect of this ghost watching over her. It rubbed her the wrong way immediately, thinking of all the hardships she faced and the people she lost. How a stranger had the audacity to say they were watching over her while she suffered so much she didn't like.

"She misses you and Elena," Jeremy said pointedly while looking at Damon.

* * *

_Author's Note: There we go! The long awaited arrival of Rose. Reactions to her? Shocked, surprised? What do you think about her still shipping Delena?_

_Review Responses_

_Nethra: Haha thanks for that mental image! I'm now thinking of the TVD cast chanting "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" Don't worry about sounding cold, I'm actually in the same position. I would save my family any day over strangers. _


	26. Chapter 26

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Pink – Just Give Me A Reason_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie_

_Chapter Twenty-six_

Maggie stiffened noticeably at her mention. Her expression hardened considerably at the prospect of this ghost watching over her. It rubbed her the wrong way immediately, thinking of all the hardships she faced and the people she lost. How a stranger had the audacity to say they were watching over her while she suffered so much she didn't like.

"She misses you and Elena," Jeremy said pointedly while looking at Damon.

* * *

Maggie rose from her seat at the bar stool and quickly stepped outside of the Grill to get some air. She wrapped her arms around herself as she thought about what just happened in there. The last comment from this ghost still bothered her deeply. How could anyone say they had been watching over her all those days they were starving and the nights they laid awaking listening to the moaning of walkers outside and their clawing at the wood, trying to get to them? Who was watching when T-Dog gave his life to protect the rest of the group and Carl had to shoot his dying mother after she gave birth to Judith?

Damon remained inside for a few more minutes to exchange a few words with Jeremy and then Alaric. Afterwards, he stepped outside to find Maggie standing near the doors and staring off into nothingness.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked her gently, not completely sure what it was that seemed to bother Maggie.

She just nodded simply, "Yeah, I'll be fine. I just want to go home." It still felt weird for her to be referring to the Atlanta group's house as home, but she supposed there was no other word for it. Her sense of home was still somewhere out there to be found.

"Sure, I'll drop you off. I have to go face Judgey and tell her we've been looking at the wrong supernatural creature," Damon shrugged and Maggie went inside a moment to tell Jeremy goodbye and grab her belongings.

After she came out, they started walking towards the Camaro. "Are you going tell Elena and Stefan what Rose told us?" Maggie asked as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Elena, maybe. Stefan, not a chance," Damon replied as he got behind the wheel and started up the engine. Glancing over to see Maggie's slightly perplexed expression, he clarified, "Stefan only agreed to help with Klaus because the curse may help him find a cure… anything to do with werewolves is kind of the opposite direction."

"Good point," Maggie muttered. She definitely wasn't going to throw any stones when it came to lying to loved ones lately. Lord knows she had been doing plenty of that lately.

The ride back to the house was peaceful, but Maggie could tell that Damon's thoughts were still back in the Grill. She also wondered if there was more to the last comment that Jeremy had relayed on Rose's behalf. She didn't know that Rose was terribly close to Elena.

When they arrived back at the house, Maggie thanked him simply for the ride and didn't feel the need to say that she would see him later because he would likely just show up later. Going back into the house, she busied herself with cleaning up the kitchen for a bit and taking care of the dishes. It was around noon when Rick and Carl came back to the house.

She sat down for a while with Rick at the kitchen island going over a list of supplies that she would go into town later to pick up. They needed to restock on whatever grain they could get that was available and a few other essentials. Maggie was admittedly very eager for the plants to grow and the prospect of having more fresh vegetables and maybe some fruit eventually.

"Okay, I'll also see if we can get our household on the wait list for some chickens," Maggie made another note as she leaned on the counter with a pen and paper in front of her.

"Good idea. If we can get a timeline on that, we can work on building a small coup out back for them," Rick agreed with her. Now that they had the seeds planted in the back yard, Maggie could tell that he was eager for the next project. Rick seemed to be a happier man when he was busy and it kept his mind from going to a dark place.

"When will they get the power on again?" Maggie asked, she never would be so happy to be able to use a stove again instead of the fire pit outside.

"Any day next week someone from town planning should be out here," Rick gave while Carl sat next to him on a kitchen stool, quietly listening to their planning.

There was a knock at the front door that caused all of them to look up.

Maggie sighed, "I'll get it. It's probably just Damon." She stood up straight and went to go down the main hallway to the door.

Rick gave her a worried look as she left but didn't say anything.

"Stupid overbearing vampire," Maggie muttered under her breath, not particularly caring if there was a chance Damn could hear her as she reached for the doorknob and opened the door. She stopped quickly when the person she came nearly face to face with was definitely not Damon.

Kol grinned as he leaned against the doorframe, having heard her last three words before she completely opened the door.

"Hello darling," He greeted her, hearing her heart rate pick up right away.

"Kol…" Maggie acknowledged faintly, looking him up and down. He wore his usual black jacket and a blue three button up shirt underneath it. His hair was slightly messy, likely from running to wherever he wanted, and almost begging for a hand to be run through it. "What do you want?" The edge in her voice was obvious.

"Just to have a little chat," He still smiled, not particularly bothered by the slightly hostile glare from her.

Maggie shifted uncomfortably, glancing behind her in the hallway to make sure no one followed her before she stepped outside, which took some awkward sidestepping as Kol didn't move and she shut the door behind her. "And if I refuse is someone going to get killed?"

"Possibly," Kol retorted with cheek, "But maybe if you weren't so difficult to talk to I wouldn't feel the urge to kill something."

Maggie bit her tongue, thinking maybe voicing the first thought that came to her mind wasn't the best way to start this conversation. Kol leaned off the door frame and moved over to the porch swing bench. He took a seat casually, crossing his feet at his ankles and lounging one arm over the back. "Besides, I acted with your blessing last time," He smirked as if that totally justified his actions.

"Come on, you know I won't bite _you_," He tried to coax while gesturing with his other hand to the open spot next to him.

Maggie let out an unease deep breath before moving slowly towards him and carefully taking the seat next to him, tucking one leg underneath her and letting the other one dangle from the swing. While the bench was small and cozy for two people, she was at least able to sit without touching him. Her stomach knotted slightly as his dark eyes watched her every movement. It caused her to look out towards the street as she fidgeted with her fingers a bit in her lap.

He studied her face for a moment before asking rather directly and seriously, "What did Rose tell you?"

Maggie's eyebrows rose and she turned her head towards him sharply, "How did you know?"

Kol gave in a slightly patronizing tone, "Oh, the Grill is hardly the place for a private reading. I would've thought that baby vamp would've learned to have a witch burn some sage or something by now." Kol didn't say it aloud, but any time he's seen that blue Camaro parked downtown, it just screams Damon Salvatore is up to something.

Maggie didn't quite know what he meant by burning sage, but was rather alarmed at the implication that he had heard the whole conversation. "If you heard, why do you need me to tell you?" She asked suspiciously.

Kol leaned slightly towards her and said in a soft tone, "I want to hear it from you." Maggie's throat caught slightly at the way he said and he was looking at her.

In truth, while Kol was able to see from the Grill window who was inside and catch a few snippets or words, he hadn't been able to hear the whole thing. But he wasn't going to give that away obviously.

Maggie hesitated as she looked at him. Right now, it was easy to forget just exactly who he was. She had never seen him looking so normal, just relaxing on the bench seat. There was still the air of confidence about him, but he didn't appear as threatening as usual.

"Why would I tell you? You're Klaus' brother," She asked genuinely curious that he seemed to really think that she would tell him.

Kol tore his eyes away from Maggie, looking straight ahead. She could see his face tense slightly as she apparently reminded him of something else. "I spent the last century daggered and lying in a box. Before that Niklaus hunted me down for fifty years. It's not the first time he's daggered me, but it was the longest. So I wouldn't be so quick to assume I'm very fond of my half-brother," Kol sneered the last word.

There was no humor in his face as he spoke and Maggie didn't doubt for a moment he was being serious. "Why did he do that?" She had to ask, unable to fathom how a brother could have the conscious to do that to another brother, but also curious as to the motivation behind it.

Kol's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he picked his words before saying casually, "Oh, he was just upset some of my fun interfered with one of his grand plans a long time ago." Before Maggie could question him further, he turned his head back towards her with an assertive tone, "But enough deflecting, sweetheart. What did Rose have to say?"

Maggie considered her response for a long moment while Kol waited patiently. She didn't doubt the conviction in his voice when he spoke about his brother. She knew if it was up to Damon, he wouldn't tell the Original a thing. But she couldn't help thinking she could take a chance and trust him. Having Kol on her side certainly would be a help.

"She said the curse had something to do with werewolves," Maggie declared a bit nervously. Kol tilted his head to the side slightly but he didn't react to her words. She wasn't sure if it surprised him or he was expecting to hear that. "Also that she was sired by Mary Porter," Maggie added, not exactly being dishonest, but not explaining all the details and it was still up in the air whether or not that was true.

Kol gave a nonchalant nod, "Well I can tell you that will be a dead end."

Maggie cocked her head slightly, "What do you mean?"

Kol smirked slightly, "I killed her a while ago." Seeing Maggie's surprised expression, he went on to explain, "The Salvatores' great ambition to find which Original bloodline they descend from and kill the other three is no secret."

Maggie's head jerked back slightly and she shook it slightly as if the idea was a persistent bug that she wanted to get rid of. "Wait, I thought they were only after Klaus…" She spoke aloud, realizing that would also mean killing every other vampire attached to the bloodlines of the other Originals. A chilling thought came to her, "And if they don't come from Klaus' bloodline, then Carol would die…"

"What would you do if it came to that?" Kol asked pointedly, watching her reaction closely.

Maggie opened her mouth as she thought through the possible scenarios in her mind. Finally, she just gave in an honest whisper, "I don't know." As much as she wanted to get back at Klaus for what he did Carol, costing her life in the process hardly seems like revenge.

Kol let her to her thoughts, sitting quietly next to her as Maggie mulled over her new revelation. Given that piece of information, Maggie could easily see why Kol would cut off the line of descent for the Salvatores. He didn't want to lose any more members of his family than she did. After a bit, she decided that was a line of thought she would have to give serious consideration when she didn't have Kol's presence stealing her attention.

"Can I ask you two questions?" Maggie broke the silence, her curiosity begging to take advantage of the rather peaceful and relaxed state of the Original to get some answers to questions that had been bothering her.

"Depends on what they are," Kol said lightly.

"The other day you were here, why did you…" Maggie frowned a bit as she tried to think of the most appropriate way to word it, "smell me?"

Kol looked down at his lap, running lightly over the fabric of his jeans on his knee. If Maggie didn't know better, she would've guessed that he looked a little anxious. "I've spent centuries with the urge to rip out the throat of every human I'm around. To not feel that urge around you, it's… disconcerting," He struggled with the right word to describe how unsettling it was for him.

"Has it happened before?" Maggie pressed.

Kol thought about all the way some humans made it harder for him to resist and he didn't always. There were also the ones that were less appealing to him for whatever reasons, whether it was age, health or something else. "No," He answered tersely, "That is two questions, while I recognize unintentionally, I will only grant you one more if you drop this subject."

The sudden formality to his voice reminded her in a way that Elijah spoke to her, which attested to what must have been their common upbringing. Not wanting to push her luck, she nodded and let it go.

"Why do you keep beating Damon up with a baseball bat?" She figured this question was a little safer and lighter of a subject, even if Damon wouldn't agree.

Despite his shortness with her a moment ago, a slow wicked smile came across Kol's face, "I used to spend a lot of time in Russia and Germany. An acquaintance of mine was a physiologist. You may have heard of him, Ivan Pavlov."

Maggie immediately recognized the name and her eyes widened, for a moment thinking back to the general psychology course she had taken in college before everything happened. "Of course, he's famous for his work in behaviorism and classical conditioning…" Her voice then trailed as she realized where he was going with this.

Kol smiled deviously and gave a faux innocent shrug, "I figure it if works on a German shepherd, then it should work on a Salvatore."

"Oh, that's _messed_ up," Maggie blurted out behind a hand covering her mouth as she thought about it. At the sudden mental of image of Damon flinching just at the sight of a baseball bat made a giggle start to bubble up her throat, she clamped the hand over her mouth to try to stop it.

Kol snickered at her trying to contain herself before leaning into to whisper in her ear in a conspiratorial tone, "But don't tell the test subject or it'll compromise the experiment."

That set Maggie over the edge and the laughter escaped from her lips. It took her a bit to settle down and she shook her head, feeling partly guilty it was Damon getting beat up that they were talking about, but the ridiculousness of Kol's idea just got to her. She doubted Damon would even believe her if she told him.

"I really shouldn't laugh about that," She chided herself out, still smiling a little immaturely as she said it.

Kol, who had been thoroughly enjoying her reaction, then admitted before he could think better of it, "I think you should laugh more often."

Maggie stopped and turned to face him directly, stunned by the hint of admiration in his eyes and how close he was. The sudden intensity of it caused a blush rise on her cheeks.

Kol swallowed thickly when he realized what he said. Carefully looking down from her face to the hands in her lap, he reached out with took one in his own. His eyes met hers again as he raised it to his lips and kissing her knuckles gently.

"Thank you, Maggie," He murmured gently before letting her hand drop then quickly sitting up straight and rising to his feet. He didn't spare her one more look as he began to walk away.

Maggie stared after him a state of bewilderment as he went down the porch steps. Before his foot could hit the bottom one, he was gone in a blur.

* * *

Glenn walked with his hands stuffed anxiously into his pockets down the gravel road. For the fifth time, he pulled out of the piece of paper and checked the directions that were written in a loopy handwriting. For a while he was concerned he was wandering into the wrong part of Mystic Falls and admittedly rather creepy part as he glanced at the trees around them, still not quite fully blooming in spring yet. He felt a little surer when he spotted the last landmark to his directions which was a couple of stone markers on either side of a dirt driveway.

He followed it up a rising hill and relaxed when he spotted two familiar vehicles parked out in front of the house. They were just typical police issued vehicles to residents but he was becoming more familiar with the particular Bennett one lately. The house itself was rather old and formidable. The stark columns that ran through the second story and the rest of the exterior were clearly freshly painted white. New windows had been installed as well. Scattered around the house was piles of brush and vines that had been pulled from the foundation, waiting to be burned or discarded. Despite the clear signs of renovation, the house still seemed a little creepy to him.

Nervously, he walked up to it and onto the porch before knocking on the heavy front door. A moment later the door opened to reveal Bonnie Bennett. She gave him a small grin, "Hey you made it."

Glenn rubbed the back of his head, "Uh yeah, it's definitely out of the way here."

Bonnie looked past him briefly at the driveway, noticing there was still only two vehicles. "Did you walk here?" She asked in surprise and he could tell that she felt a bit guilty about it.

Glenn nodded sheepishly, "Yeah… it's fine though. I had a lot on my mind."

"I bet… Come inside," Bonnie invited him in and opening the door wide for him. He nodded and followed after her once she shut the door behind them. He glanced around curious to the house. The smell of fresh paint still lingered in the air with herbs and some sort of other incense. Utility lights were strung up in several of the hallways and into rooms that branched off the main hallway. He was willing to bet the lines all led to some generators someplace.

"I should warn you that Seamus is here," Bonnie cautioned him sympathetically, "He can be a bit… much."

"Sure, no problem," Glenn gave noncommittally as he followed Bonnie into what he guessed was the living room. There was a set of two couches and a loveseat circled around a large open fireplace. Several bookcases lined the room and many books were spread open on the floor and the coffee table in the center of the room.

Sitting on one of the couches was a burnet with his feet up on the table. He wore an off centered baseball hat and his Nikes shined rather brightly. Glenn didn't recognize the name of the high school on his football jacket.

"Seamus, this is Glenn," Bonnie announced as they walked into the room. The warlock's green eyes barely flickered from the page he was reading and nodded before he really looked up.

"Hey," Glenn acknowledged, rather awkwardly.

"'sup, Seamus O'Connor… So you're the Atlanta guy Bonnie's been telling me about," Seamus smirked up at him, a thick Boston accent coming from his lips. At the mention of her name, Bonnie just rolled her eyes and went to take a seat, finding the book that she was looking through before Glenn knocked.

"Uh, yeah," Glenn stuffed his hands in his pockets to keep himself from fidgeting too much.

"Be nice, Seamus," Bonnie warned without looking up from her page.

"Aren't I always?" He exclaimed innocently.

Glenn cleared his throat and glanced at the large blue and red B on Seamus' hat, trying to break the tension a bit, "So you're a Red Sox fan?"

"Of course. Don't tell me you're a Yankee," Seamus nearly growled out the rival name.

"No, Braves actually," Glenn said quickly, shaking his head.

Seamus relaxed instantly and reached forward to the table where there was a glass of a clear liquid. He raised it in the air towards Glenn, "My condolences then." He then took a deep gulp of it.

"What is that?" Bonnie asked suspiciously.

"Just a little shine I got from the Lewis brothers," Seamus grinned triumphantly.

Bonnie gave him a slightly alarmed and concerned expression. "I'm pretty sure there's a reason why only Klaus' hybrids drink that," Bonnie warned, doubting the first few batches of that moonshine would be fit for human consumption.

"I'll take my chances, mother," He shrugged and smirked as Bonnie gave up, shaking her head and going back to her grimoire.

Glenn shook his head as he watched the two. He had a hard time believing this guy was a warlock and before he realized it, he was expressing his thoughts out loud, "You are so not what I was expecting…"

"And I take pride in that," Seamus announced cheerily. "My particular branch of the Andover bloodline began with the inappropriate relations of a land owner with the help… Mix in a lot of Irish immigrants along the way and here I am today." As he finished, he threw his hands in the air lightly on either side of him.

Despite himself, Glenn chuckled a bit and he relaxed enough to take a seat on the loveseat between the two couches. He glanced down at all the books, not recognizing any of the languages or the symbols. They all looked considerably old and he had to admit smelled a bit funky too.

"So what are you guys looking for?" Glenn asked after a few minutes.

"The ritual associated with your doppelganger girlfriend," Seamus answered honestly, his accent made the word sound more like 'daww-pel-gang-ah'.

"Which we probably would've found a lot sooner if we had known to look for werewolves and not vampires," Bonnie grumbled aloud, still not too thrilled to have run into Damon earlier.

Glenn didn't get too confused by the mention of werewolves, since that was one of the many things Bonnie had been taken the time to explain to him lately over the past few days. She was quick to get him on vervain when she heard who he was living with. She also explained to him what the servants of nature were and hybrids. The term girlfriend was the one that confused him the most and he furrowed his brows. "Wait, you mean _Maggie_?" He asked.

Bonnie's nod was the only answer he got.

"Okay… A, we broke up and B, what the hell is a doppelganger?" Glenn exclaimed, his eyes darting back and forth between the two.

The humor in Seamus' expression disappeared quickly and he looked up at Glenn, spouting out, "Oh bullshit, please tell me he's feckin' with us."

"Seamus!" Bonnie scowled instantly at the crude language, but even she seemed a bit stunned when she looked at Glenn. She slowly and carefully questioned him in disbelief, "You _really_ don't have any idea?"

* * *

The sun had fallen in the sky less than an hour ago as Maggie and Carl were walking downtown towards the town square. For a long time after Kol left, Maggie remained on the porch thinking about what just happened. She wasn't really sure what to call it. That was the first conversation she had with him that didn't involve death or threats. He actually wasn't completely unbearable if she didn't snap at him. Granted, he was still made his condescending remarks about Damon and she wasn't completely sure if she should trust him or not.

She debated whether or not to tell Damon about what Kol told her regarding Mary Porter. If it was true, she could save him the possibility of a lengthy sure to find this vampire. At the same time though, she would then have to fess up to how she knew. After Damon checked up on her before dinner, she didn't mention anything about Kol dropping by and she decided she wanted to get out this evening.

Glenn was still nowhere in sight and she noticed that the others in the house were beginning to get worried about his constant absence as well. Beth wasn't around as Hershel explained that she went over to the Gilbert house. Based on how calm her father was about it, Maggie had a suspicion that he wasn't aware of the distinct lack of adult supervision, but Maggie certainly wasn't going to rain on Beth's parade. On a spur of the moment decision, Maggie asked Carl if he wanted to go with her to the bon fire that was being held in the town square. He was quick to agree, leaving Rick and Hershel at home with the baby for the evening.

As they arrived at the bonfire, the fire was starting to roar to life. A pile of chopped wood with an axe leaning against it was nearby and several logs were used as benches gathered around it. There was already about fifteen other people around, but Maggie didn't recognize any of them and she was fine with that. She was happy to get a chance to spend some time with Carl since she really hadn't gotten a chance to much lately.

From the distance, she could see some of the Grill lights were on. She recognized the Gilbert car, Damon's Camaro, and Alaric's SUV parked out front with a few other vehicles. She vaguely recalled something about a Council meeting being mentioned the other day.

Grabbing one of the logs to share with Carl, she nodded at him before he sat down, "Hey, do you think you could try to grab a few drinks for us?" She pointed towards the Grill.

"Sure thing," He disappeared quickly, heading off in its direction. She pulled the light long sleeves of her sweater around her hands as she waited for him to come back, offering a few polite smiles to the other people but not necessarily talking to anyone.

Carl came back a few minutes later with two plastic cups. Offering one to her, Maggie took it gratefully and went to take a sip as Carl sat down next to her. She felt a slight burn and nearly coughed as her eyes widened. "Carl! This is alcoholic, how did you get this?" She asked.

Carl shrugged nonchalantly, "What? It's not like they're going to ID me."

Maggie gave him a stern look, wondering even without a governing system who in their right mind would give a fourteen year old boy a drink with hard liquor in it.

Seeing her unconvinced stare, he backed down and admitted, "Fine… Damon got it for me."

"Of course he did," Maggie muttered while rolling her eyes. She apparently couldn't have one evening without him intruding on it in some way adding to her current annoyance with his overprotectiveness.

She kept those thoughts to herself as she talked to Carl, mostly asking how he liked Mystic Falls and what he thought. The young man seemed pretty content with the place, talking a bit how it was going with school, which apparently was a different experience since there was only a few classes in the high school and often times they didn't use power for conservation reasons.

It was because of their conversation that Maggie and most of the other people in the bon fire didn't the notice the walker that approached from the opposite side of Maggie. It was the sudden piercing scream from a young raven haired girl a few years older than Carl that alerted them of the danger. Maggie shot up from her seat, her eyes zeroing in on the form of a curly blonde haired walker grasping at the girl.

Chaos broke out around the fire. Many people backed away from the walker, a few more startled screams masking the snapping and moaning of the walker as it tried to get at its victim. A few others went immediately running towards the Grill, where the Council and a few police officers would be.

"Carl!" Maggie shouted, looking for the youth that disappeared from her side. Knowing what she would be looking for, Carl was already by the pile of wood grabbing the axe. The panic of people who weren't used to dealing with walkers on a daily basis was evident.

The dark haired girl was knocked from her seat and to her back on the ground as the walker loomed over her. She kicked and thrashed at it trying to keep it at bay. Carl handed the axe off quickly to Maggie and she darted around the fire towards the walker. As she moved, she lifted the blade up over her head and let her instincts take over.

The walker was too interested in the girl to even pay attention to Maggie. There were bloodied scratches up and down the length of the girl's arms, inciting the creature even further. In one fell swoop, Maggie brought the axe down from over her head and dug the blade into the walker's skull with a sickening crunch.

Keeping a grasp on the handle, Maggie gave a pull to the right as the body immediately went limp and pushed it off the girl underneath. Tears ran from her baby blue eyes as she shook and scrambled to get away from the corpse.

"April, oh my god!" One of the girl's friends that Maggie didn't recognize exclaimed and April was soon surrounded by two others.

"We have to get her to the hospital," One of them panicked. One glance up at her arms and Maggie knew she would be in trouble if she didn't get vampire blood soon, but that wasn't what she was interested in. There were other shouts and things being said, people approaching the group but Maggie didn't pay them attention.

She reached down and roughly pulled the blade from the back of the walker's head, ignoring a few gasps and whimpers that caused. Rolling the body over from its side so it was one its back and kneeling down on the ground, Maggie examined it quickly, wondering how this could happen in the middle of town square.

Her answer was the bite mark on the young girl's neck. The teeth markings reminded Maggie of the numerous ones she saw from walkers before. Except this one was neat and clean, the flesh wasn't torn away roughly. While she had never seen a vampire bite, Maggie was willing to bet this was one.

"Carl, go home. Now!" She ordered firmly, sensing the youth standing not too far behind her.

Hearing the urgency in her voice, he simply nodded and didn't waste any time sticking around.

Looking around the town square, she tried to figure out what direction the walker had come from. She had a sneaking suspicion who did this and she didn't have to look far to find her confirmation. On the far end of the square, opposite of the Grill, she could make out a familiar silhouette standing under one of the street torches.

Not bothering to answer any questions or let anyone stop her, she stood up with the axe in hand and started marching directly towards him. In frustration, she threw the axe down towards the ground, burying deep into the soil. With each step, she thought about yelling and shouting at him. It was completely unnecessary. Even after this afternoon he was right back to causing more death.

She was about twenty feet away from him when she decided that yelling and being angry at him would be exactly what he would be expecting. Instead, she decided she wanted to get under his skin in a different way.

Kol gave Maggie a lazy smirk as she came over towards him with his hands buried into his jacket pockets. "I hope you're not coming over here just to tell me not to play with my food," He said in a bored tone.

"No, but I got something I need to say," Maggie nearly shouted at him, clenching her fists and continuing before she could doubt herself. She didn't stop until she was right up in his face and challenged him, "_I get it_."

The smirk fell off his face and he narrowed his eyes, not backing down from her, "Get _what_?"

"All of this," She waved a hand back in the direction of the bon fire without taking her eyes of him. "Yeah, I get it… I used to think they were just sick people that needed help. And after just a year, I've already gotten callous about it. I don't even think about each walker, they're just another rotting corpse." She took a step back but was just as riled up.

Maggie had to keep her voice from rising any further, letting out the truth of her frustrations that she didn't voice to anyone else in Mystic Falls. "Now I'm not going to pretend to know how a thousand years changes your view of humans, but I can imagine it… killing humans has no meaning to you anymore and they're just a step below on the food chain, but when it comes down to it, you're no better than I am."

Kol didn't move, his lips were set into a thin line as he studied her with an unreadable expression. Her chest heaved with how worked up she was. When he saw her marching over towards him, particularly when she threw down the axe, he thought for sure she would lecture him about killing just because he was bored. But not her comparing herself to him, and for the first time he didn't know what to do.

"Maggie!" A voice shouted before Kol could come up with a response.

He looked up to see a blur of movement and Damon Salvatore appeared by her side, a hand quickly grasping onto her upper arm.

Maggie let out a groan at the sudden interruption from Damon no less. Of course he would come out right away to see the chaos in the square. "Damon, I'm fine! Leave me alone," She snapped, not wanting to deal with him and shrugging her arm out of his grasp.

"Really? 'cause according to everyone over there, you just split a girl's head open like a piece of firewood," Damon snapped and stepped around in front of her, placing himself between her and Kol. "And now you're over here with him, that doesn't seem fine to me."

"It was just a walker, Damon. Back off with the smothering," Maggie shot hotly back at him, taking a few steps back to put a little distance between her and Damon.

Before Damon could say anything further, Kol blurred in between the two with his back to Maggie. He placed a firm on Damon's shoulder, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. With an arrogant smirk on his face, he suggested, "How about we let the lady decide what she wants, mate?"

Damon clenched his jaw and Maggie saw the flicker of a wince across his features. She was willing to bet that the Original's grip was a little tighter than it needed to be.

Maggie blinked in surprise, her annoyance immediately deflated as she had a hard time believing what she was seeing. Damon seemed just as stunned but mustered up his harshest glare for the young Mikaelson. Neither of them said a word.

"So what have you, Maggie?" Kol didn't turn his head or even take his eyes off Damon, almost daring him to make a move.

"I…" Maggie faltered when the Original was clearly waiting for an actual response. With a sigh, she shook her head as her eyes met Damon's, pleading for him to understand, "Just give me tonight, Damon… I'll come over to the boardinghouse first thing tomorrow, but just give me a little space."

While Damon tried to mask his expression in front of the Original, she could see in his eyes how upset he was and even a bit hurt. He didn't move as he stared at Maggie, as if waiting to see if she would change her mind.

"You heard her," Kol dropped the smirk and said in a threateningly serious tone.

"Fine," Damon bit out and he shrugged his shoulder out from Kol's hand, taking a step back from the two. He shot one more glare at Kol before looking at Maggie finally, repeating her words firmly, "_First_ thing tomorrow morning."

Kol smirked as he watched the Salvatore turn his back on them and start walking away. While he didn't pretend to know what was going on between the two of them, he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to annoy the vampire. He waited a few moments and kept an eye on Damon, to make sure he wouldn't double back and take a shot at him.

Maggie let out a shaky deep breath as what just happened really hit her. She had been simply worked up when she told Damon off, but couldn't find herself to completely regret her actions. She really did just need some space tonight.

"Well, I believe my work here is done," Kol announced and took a step, looking as if he was about to walk away with a satisfied expression.

"That's it?" Maggie blurted out before she could think better of it.

Kol halted and turned back slowly to her, his brows furrowed in confusion, "Excuse me?"

She was sure the next thing she about to say would sound completely crazy, but she squared her shoulders and mustered up in the most assertive voice she could get, "You just got me an evening free of Salvatore supervision… What are we doing?"

By this point, Maggie knew there was very little chance Kol would actually harm her. He's also one of the few people that could get Damon to back down. After this afternoon, Maggie knew now that Kol was no supporter of Klaus either. In some twisted sense, Maggie figured he's probably one of the safest people to be around with Klaus back in town.

A wolfish smile came across his features as he realized what she was asking of him. He took a few steps forward to close the distance between them, gazing at her closely and hearing her heart hammering away. "You want to know what _I _do for fun?" He quirked an eyebrow.

Maggie swallowed thickly and nodded her head, but then stipulated, "No terrorizing the population or anything sexual though."

Kol's eyes flickered at the second part. He pursed his lips and glanced up, as if considering her proposition a moment. How could he really resist some company to alleviate his boredom?

"Deal."

* * *

_Author's Note: Long chapter, but I didn't want to cut anything off. So Maggie's being a bit daring and choosing to hanging out with Kol!_

_I have a question for my readers, would you ship Daggie (Damon/Maggie) or Kolie (Kol/Maggie, the ship name came from wileby)? Please review and let me know, I'm really curious to see what team everyone is on!_

_Review responses:_

_Nethra: Haha I'm glad I can make work a little more interesting for ya! Let me know when you get something up, I'll definitely read it._

_Silently Tearful: Thanks for your review! And I can totally understand what you mean by Rose because you're right, she's not seeing the best of Maggie… But she's also one of the biggest Delena shippers from the show, so I just can't really see her swapping sides._


	27. Chapter 27

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Keane – Somewhere Only We Know_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie_

_Anjulie - Boom  
_

_Scene: Dancing  
_

_Chapter Twenty-seven_

A wolfish smile came across his features as he realized what she was asking of him. He took a few steps forward to close the distance between them, gazing at her closely and hearing her heart hammering away. "You want to know what _I _do for fun?" He quirked an eyebrow.

Maggie swallowed thickly and nodded her head, but then stipulated, "No terrorizing the population or anything sexual though."

Kol's eyes flickered at the second part. He pursed his lips and glanced up, as if considering her proposition a moment. How could he really resist some company to alleviate his boredom?

"Deal."

* * *

As soon as the word passed his lips, Maggie felt herself getting nervous. The rational part of her mind was still questioning whether this was a good idea or not. Despite that there was still a rush of excitement and curiosity of what she had just gotten herself into.

"Try not to squirm too much," Kol grinned down at her.

"Wait, what?" Maggie barely blurted out before Kol wrapped an arm around her waist. He half bent down and his other arm caught the back of her knees. Letting out a startled noise, Maggie grasped at the front of his jacket before her body was slammed against his in a sudden force of wind.

Her hair whipped about her eyes and she struggled to keep them open, tears stinging at the corners. She tried to see what was happening, but everything passed in a whirl of colors and blurs. The wind chilled her straight to the bone through her sweater and jeans. Her stomach lurched this way and that as she felt sudden changes of direction. Her stomach jumped up into her throat for a moment, if she didn't know better they might have been in the air at one point.

Any signs of lights disappeared in the matter of seconds, the moonlight casting shadows that trailed like comets on her vision from the speed. At a slower speed, it may have been fun, but this was completely nauseating. Maggie soon slammed her eyes shut and she clutched onto the jacket tightly even though the arms around her were like a steel vice.

About a minute after her mind processed the fact he was carrying her and running, Kol came to abrupt stop. The sudden halt caused her head to jerk forward and if it wasn't for his hold on her, the momentum probably would've kept her going. The arm on her legs quickly dropped and her feet nearly gave out from underneath her.

"Whoa," Maggie shouted aloud as she opened her eyes. Her head was pounding and vibrating, like a thunderous hum. Her vision was still disoriented and shaking about her, any sense of the horizon teetered back and forth. "Forewarning next time!"

"And miss this reaction? I don't think so," Kol's voice was loud, but seemed dull to her ears. He didn't step away from her and in fact kept his hands at her elbows, to keep her from staggering or falling down. He smirked at her as her senses settled down.

It took Maggie a few moments to realize the pounding and vibrations weren't actually in her head, but coming from around her. A faint cooling mist was also hitting them where they stood. The moonlight shined down on them, unhindered by fires or unnatural light, illuminating their surroundings.

The noise came from the crashing of the waterfall next to them. Kol and Maggie stood on the ledge to the top of the bottom tier of a three tier waterfall. Feeling the power of the falls rumbling through the ground to her feet and through her body was an exhilarating feeling. She turned away from him to properly take in the beauty. Kol's hands fell away from her quietly.

Every thought of the evening and the tension she had been feeling disappeared as Maggie took in the stunning sight before them. The top half of the waterfall loomed above them, but looking out from it she could see the wide river that it dumped down into and the way it meandered through the woods. Wherever this part of Mystic Falls was, it was mostly untouched by mankind and the forests were dark in an ominous beauty.

Kol remained standing next to Maggie as she took in the sight and surroundings. His eyes never left her face. He watched the dizziness slip away from her expression to give away to stunned surprise and finally settle on a sense of admiration he hadn't seen from her before.

"How did you find this place?" Maggie asked after a long silence between them. She had a hard time believing of all the places Kol opted to go to it would be one as beautiful as this. She did have to admit the force of the water added an undercurrent of energy about it that seemed to fit Kol's ever constant presence.

"I used to come here with my brothers when I was young," Kol admitted honestly.

Maggie looked to his face, slightly taken back. It was impossible to tell from his controlled expression whether this place was personal to him or not. She couldn't help but wonder. The idea that these falls had been around for over a thousand years was a humbling one. She tried to picture a younger version of Kol, human and innocent, but undoubtedly still probably causing mischief of some sort.

Seeing it wasn't really a topic for discussion, Maggie took a step forward to the edge of the ledge they stood on and looked down before her. The water cascaded to crashing white foam at the bottom with a wide pool. It was then she realized she was alone with no idea where exactly she was with an Original that has already proven on several occasions how dangerous he was. But if anything, she knew that he wasn't going to harm her and would go as far as to kill anyone that interfered with what he wanted. There was a long list of reasons that made this a bad idea, but she kept thinking about to her pleading with Damon. She just needed one night to distract herself from everything. In that moment, she decided to hell with it all and the water was practically begging her as it rippled against the moonlight.

A thought came across her that she immediately voiced out loud, "How deep do you think the water is?"

Kol smirked and began to shrug off his jacket, laying it gently on a rock next to them. "Deep enough to swim in," He announced cheerily.

Maggie looked back at him a moment with a slight grin, glad to see that he picked up on her line of thinking. She crouched down to loosen up her shoelaces on her sneakers. As she did so, she snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye to see that he kicked his shoes off with ease, leaving them next to his jacket. Her first shoe was off when she noticed his hands fingering the hem of his shirt, his lips pressed together thoughtfully in the obvious mental debate of how much to shed.

His back was partly turned to her as he pulled off the shirt as well and she fumbled with the second shoe. Her staring became less discreet as her eyes widened and traveled up and down him, particularly the muscles along his back. While she knew exactly who stood next to her, she was still human and not resistant to admiring a fine male specimen.

"You're staring," Kol called her out with a side grin as he loosened his belt, dropping it on top of his jacket as the last piece of clothing he would discard.

Maggie stood up stiffly, looking away from him to hide the blush from being caught. "Oh, don't act like it's the first time that's happened," She said with a slight huff and moved to unzip her jeans, shimming them down past her hips. While swimming in jeans may work for someone with vampire strength that wasn't going to happen with her. Leaving the jeans next to her shoes and socks, Maggie opted to leave her sweater on. It was a thin knit and pretty lightweight anyway.

Looking over the edge again, Maggie frowned as she noticed some of the rather large boulders at the bottom. She also wondered how strong of a pull there would be, last thing she wanted was to get pulled and pushed under the force of the water. "Do you think I can clear this?" She asked out loud, not completely sure how far her human ability to jump would carry her.

She barely felt a pair of hands grasp her hips before the ground was stolen away from her. A noise escaped from her lips that were somewhere between a yell and a shriek as the air whirled around her. Her arms flailed a moment and it then she noticed the water below her was quickly approaching. Maggie just had enough mind to tuck her legs and hold her breath before she hit the surface.

The cold was a shock to every one of her senses. It was still spring and perhaps not the best time to be swimming. All coherent thought was erased by the water, along with almost every sound as she was submerged underwater. The world seemed significantly quieter and peaceful in those brief moments while it was just the pounding of her own heart rate resonating through her head.

Her feet brushed the bottom as she sank from the fall before she used them to push up from the river floor. Maggie gasped as she broke the surface and wiped the water away from her eyes, pushing her hair back out of her face.

"Kol!" She shouted, turning around and looking back towards the ledge as she treaded water. "Did you just push me?!" She blinked when she realized that he wasn't standing up there anymore.

"I believe the proper term is _throw_, darling," Kol's voice came from off to her left. He was grinning broadly with his head above the water a few yards away from her. It was then she comprehended he must have jumped in immediately after her and that they were indeed quite a distance from the plummeting curtain of water, much too far for her to ever jump.

"Oh, game on, Mikaelson," Maggie declared and moved to swim after him. She wanted to remove that smug look from his face through the ever classic water sport retaliatory method of dunking him.

Kol's eyebrows rose tauntingly at the sudden competitive look in Maggie's eyes.

When she was close enough, she made her move and lunged forward at him. Only to be met by a splash of water in the face and him completely gone in a blink.

Shaking the water from her face, Maggie muttered in frustration, "Cheating vampire…" Of course she wouldn't stand a chance at catching him.

Kol chuckled lightly from behind her. "Fine, mortal handicap of… no vampire speed," He smirked at her as she whirled around. Where was the fun without a little challenge?

Had it not been for the words passing his lips, Maggie would've guessed at that moment he looked just like any man her age. And for once she decided to push aside everything else and indulge in the simplistic normalcy of the activity, something she hadn't been able to do in a very long time.

Time slipped away as the chase commenced, Maggie constantly trying to get a hold on Kol. Each time it ended with him ducking out from her. Sometimes he would disappear below the surface and she would feel a playful tug at her ankle, pulling her under the water just enough to be submerged without actually harming her. Other times she would feel two hands on her waist, nearly picking her up out of the water before letting her fall again. While he remained true to his word and didn't use vampire speed, he was still an excellent swimmer. She suspected his strength was the reason why the jeans didn't seem to impede him terribly and he could pick her up so easily still.

As the game progressed, he would throw a teasing remark at her and she would fire one right back at him in another attempt. With each time he ended up dunking her, her shrieks of surprise gave way to laughter and a few fleeting smiles. One particular instance he slipped under the water and managed to pick her up in a way that she was on her side across his shoulders before he rather unceremoniously dropped her back in the water.

The ever constant amusement in his eyes kept her stubbornly trying to get him back, especially with the cocky smirks in between a few genuine smiles. It became increasingly challenging when they would try to fake each other or use diversion tactics like splashing. Whether it was her persistence or sheer unwillingness to give up, she would never know. But the game came to an end with a splash fake out and a few tricky maneuverings that enabled Maggie to wrap her arms around his shoulders from behind, throwing her weight into and Kol's head disappeared underwater.

"Finally!" Maggie exclaimed with the broadest smile as Kol spun around while he was under. He came back up close to where he was a moment ago, this time facing her. If the look in her eyes attested to her surprise, it was nothing to the rather stunned expression on Kol.

"How does that defeat taste?" She taunted him playfully.

Kol scoffed with a slightly offended look, "Defeat? What about all those times that I –"

He was suddenly silenced by a finger on his lips. "Shh, let me have my moment of victory," Maggie grinned.

Kol quirked an eyebrow at her. For a moment, Maggie stilled, suddenly realizing who exactly it was that she just shushed. Kol's eyes flickered darkly, she froze, even though she knew she probably should move her finger away from his lips. Nervously, she watched as he raised a hand, gently clasping it over hers before plucking it away from his mouth delicately.

The corners of the mouth she was staring at tugged upwards and she relaxed as he used the captured hand a tug to pull him closer to her. His other arm wrapped loosely around her waist before he let her hand go. "Fine, but tell anyone and I'll completely deny it," Kol smirked at her.

Maggie lightened up when he didn't react badly and mimicked his word from earlier, "Deal."

Her hand came to rest on his shoulder as they fell into a comfortable silence. It gave her a chance for her thoughts to come back to her. She couldn't help but be a bit amazed how different being around him today was from the other times. Especially from the Founder's celebration.

"I'm sorry I slapped you," Maggie blurted out her thoughts. Kol tilted his head slightly and furrowed his brows, but didn't say anything immediately. Maggie blinked and shook her head, "I mean, I still don't like what you said to me." Her voice came out hesitantly, "But maybe I shouldn't have handled it that way…" Thinking about all the people who had witnessed it, she was still amazed she walked away from that unscathed.

Kol dropped the arm from around her waist and picked up the hand on her shoulder. "How about I'll forgive you if you make up that dance to me?" He suggested.

Maggie faltered slightly at the odd request, but figured how harmful could one dance be. "Well, okay…"

Kol grinned and turned his body in the direction of the water's edge, tugging her hand gently with him. Maggie's eyes widened as she caught on to what he was doing. "Wait, you mean right now?"

"Why not? No time like the present… Unless you're afraid?" He challenged her tauntingly looking over his shoulder.

"No, I can dance," Maggie said stubbornly in an instant and started to follow after him.

"Can you?" Kol questioned as he reached the edge.

"Of course, my mother tried to raise me just like every other Southern girl, doing pageants or dance. It may come as a _huge_ shock, but the pageants weren't my choice. I stuck with dance until I was about 12, but mostly for Beth's sake," Maggie explained as they climbed out of the water. It was more of an explanation than necessary, but it helped keep her from staring at Kol as he got out ahead of her. "I also joined the salsa club at my college for a while… but that was because the bars near campus tended to look the other way when it came to ID's on salsa night."

Kol snickered slightly and offered a hand to help her get up. Underage delinquency was a line of thinking that he could support. Maggie took his hand and she got to her feet as they took a few steps away from the water edge.

"Hmm… Salsa. That's something I believe I've largely missed out on," Kol mused out loud, thinking along with the rest of the twentieth century. "Show me how," He requested confidently.

Maggie's hand dropped from his as she faltered a bit. Salsa dancing was definitely a sensual experience in itself and it wasn't lost on her how between the two of them they only had enough clothing on for one outfit. But at the same time, it was rather humbling to think there was anything that she could possibly teach him and that's why she didn't back down completely.

"But we don't have any music…" Maggie glanced around them. The running water and occasional bird call was hardly a tempo. In truth, it seemed a little ridiculous to be standing barefoot in the grass with completely soaked clothing. Her sweater hung heavily on her frame, the sleeves stretched out and the hem almost halfway down her thighs.

Kol gave a nonchalant shrug and said assertively, "We'll make our own rhythm as we go."

Maggie gave a snort and finally relented while shaking her head. Just deciding to go with it, she launched into a basic explanation of the steps and hand placement. Despite his normal teasing behavior, Kol watched and listened to her attentively as she demonstrated the steps and brief explanations of certain moves.

It didn't take much for him to pick up on it, mostly due to the centuries of experience with other dance styles. She was demonstrating the steps a second time when Kol stepped forward to take over the lead, capturing her hands and threading their fingers together. Maggie nearly faltered when their eyes locked, drawn by the depth of his eyes.

At first it was odd without music, but that detail began to matter less as she focused more on his lead and the direction of the dance led by his control and body. His right hand gave hers a slight squeeze, signaling a spin and his left hand dropped. Instead of grasping her hand again when she finished, Kol placed his left hand on her hip, pulling her closer.

A blush rose quickly to her cheeks as her hand came to his shoulder. His gaze dropped to watch the way her hips moved with each step and shift in weight. He didn't let her get complacent, throwing in changes of direction, spins, and turns. A heat began to rise as he resorted to more closed positioning, one hand holding hers with the other on the small of her back, nearly causing her to be flush against him as they moved. He threw in a few extra moves such as raising her hands above her head and half spinning her around, her back against his chest and lowering her arms crossed in front of her. Holding her to him, he guided her through a few side steps and she could feel his breath on her shoulder as he did before lifting her arms back up and turning her around again.

The dance continued with dark stares and touches that lingered longer than necessary. There was less distance between them than there should have been. Even when her steps faltered and her form was lacking, he was there quickly to help her recover. It didn't matter to her though as she noticed the way he was captivated with the sway of her body and she equally entranced by him.

But she was only human and she tired, sooner than normal too from all the swimming. Their dance was brought to an abrupt halt when she overestimated a spin and ending up bumping directly into his chest. Kol wrapped one arm around her lower back quickly to keep her from falling backwards as she grasped onto his shoulders and holding her to him.

Any chance of awkwardly laughing it off died with the way he was looking at her. While her cheeks were flushed and she panted, he barely looked out of breath. Damn vampire. She kept her hands planted on his shoulders, resisting the urge to run them further along his skin. His free hand came up towards her face and slowly cupped her cheek. His cool fingers were soothing to the heat of her skin.

Kol dropped his eyes from hers and down to her mouth. Gently, he brushed his thumb over her lower lip, watching the way it quivered before he murmured, "Time to go, before you turn into a frozen dessert."

Maggie shivered partly from his touch and wondering which predatory sense he was referring to, but also from the truth of the fact she was freezing. She had been cold from the moment they jumped into the water, but she had pushed it away from her mind. Now they were stopped and his words were a whisper of reality, she realized how much her hands were shaking and how numb her feet were against the ground.

She didn't trust herself to speak, especially not when she could identify that emotion in his eyes that she was sure she had in her own. Maggie just gave a simple nod and swallowed thickly. Kol dropped his hand from her face and slowly bent down to her knees. Recognizing what he was doing, Maggie moved her arms to wrap loosely around his neck while he picked her up bridal style once more.

In a blur and a jump, they were back at the ledge where their clothing remained. Maggie quickly peeled herself from Kol, partly embarrassed at the sudden shift in mood and also eager for anything to help with the cold. She kept her back to him as she put her jeans back on, which took some tugging and pulling against her damp skin. After she put her socks and shoes back on, she stood upright and began squeezing out any water she could from her sweater. Then she began to run her hands up and down her arms to help warm herself up a bit.

She didn't turn around to Kol until she felt something being draped across her shoulders. Turning around carefully, Kol was dressed with his shirt and shoes back on, but he was helping her with the sleeves of his jacket. Pulling the second sleeve through, Maggie studied his expression as he tugged the jacket around her and zipped it up. If she didn't know better, he appeared to be concerned and she wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Careful, Kol. Your caring is starting to show," Maggie covered her uncertainty up with a teasing voice of warning.

"We can't have that. I may just have to kill something to uphold my reputation," Kol countered her with a slightly dark grin, but she didn't sense much seriousness to his tone.

Maggie snorted, "Who would believe me anyway?" She doubted she could convince anyone about this night.

"Absolutely no one," Kol answered cheekily before moving to pick her up once more. "Close your eyes," He warned her gently before taking off for the last time.

The trip back into town passed much better than the first one. The warning to close her eyes went a long way with knowing what to expect this time. She kept her eyes clamped shut as she clutched to Kol's shirt. Her knees were shaking from the wind and cold, but she tolerated it knowing they were getting closer to her house. The run came to an end just as abruptly as the last time, but this time Kol set her legs down carefully and helped steady her.

It was then she found themselves standing on the porch of her house. It took a bit for her eyes to adjust to the darkness again. The windows were dark and everything else seemed silent around them. She had no idea how late exactly it was, but she doubted there was anyone up at this point. Kol's hands lingered on her shoulders and she wished for a moment she could understand what was going through his mind. She inhaled nervously, not sure what to say at the conclusion of such an evening.

"Thank you," The words were simple, but bore more meaning than she was able to express.

Kol's hands fell from her shoulders as he nodded simply, the 'you're welcome' not quite coming from his lips but the acknowledgment in his eyes. He took half a step away from her, towards the steps of the porch before halting.

"Next time you're tired of Salvatore treating you like an object to be possessed, come find me," He offered her, while there was a hint of a sneer at the name there was also a surprising level of sincerity to it.

Maggie had to keep her eyebrows from rising too much. "I will," She replied appreciatively, giving him a thoughtful expression before turning to the front door. Carefully opening it, she stepped inside and gave him one last look before closing the door.

From there, Maggie slipped up the stairs and headed straight towards her bedroom. It was then she realized that she still had Kol's jacket on, but knowing the vampire he would probably already be gone before she could get back to the front door. She carefully hung it up in her closet before shedding the rest of her wet clothes and grabbing a towel to run through her hair then wrap around herself.

Maggie stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her, bringing a change of clothes with her. It slammed louder than she intended and she hesitated when she thought she heard an odd echo, but after a still moment she just shrugged and kept going. Fumbling around in the dark, she found a candle they had been using lately and some matches. Once a flicker of a flame was going, she washed her face and stared at her reflection.

A ghost of a smile lingered on her face as she thought about how things had played out. While she got dressed, she thought his last words to her and came to a realization. Kol Mikaelson, the monster with no regard for human life had all but admitted that he enjoyed her company. With that thought, Maggie smirked to herself, since apparently she must have gotten under his skin in some way after all.

And that was the moment she knew she was in trouble.

* * *

For a long while, Kol stared after the door that Maggie disappeared behind. He wanted to decipher that last look on her face and at the same time figure out why it mattered so much to him. His mind wondered where the night would have ended up if she wasn't half frozen while so wondering how it had even gotten to that point at all. There was one distinct direction it could have gone at one point, but his stubborn restraint and their original agreement kept it from so.

Turning away, Kol walked down the porch steps of Maggie's house with a satisfied smirk on his face. Things had certainly become more interesting since the first time he showed up at her house.

The smirk disappeared from his face when he looked up to see a man standing by the front of the Greene's car. To a human, the darkness would've made it impossible to tell who it was. For Kol though, he immediately recognized the signature suited man as his older brother. Elijah stood with one hand in his pocket as he watched Kol walk down the front walkway towards him.

"Elijah," Kol acknowledged tersely, not particularly thrilled to have him intrude upon such a successful evening.

"Kol… What game are you playing?" Elijah didn't need to frown for the disapproval to be heard in his voice as he cut straight to chase.

"I couldn't possibly know what you're talking about," Kol said in a light innocent voice with an arrogant grin, any hint of whatever emotion Maggie had illicit buried behind it. He moved to brush past Elijah and continue on his way.

Having no patience for Kol's childish behavior, Elijah went to raise a hand against him, reaching for his throat. In a blur of a movement however, Elijah was slammed chest forward down against the hood of the vehicle. The hood crumbled loudly around him and sagged under the pressure, leaving an indentation of Elijah's body as he was bent over it. A hand to the back of his neck kept his head down, his cheek pressing against the cool metal and having great difficulty restraining a less than dignified growl as his arm was twisted behind him.

"You forget your place, Kol," Elijah warned as he struggled against Kol, trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder that it caused.

"Oh, I recognize you are the eldest, but we both know I am the better fighter," Kol sneered down at him, there was no playfulness in the deadly serious tone of his voice.

Elijah said nothing and clenched his jaw, glaring coldly up at him from out the corner of his eye. It was no secret that Kol had embraced his vampire nature from the beginning and cultivated those abilities while the rest of his siblings struggled with their humanity at some point or another.

"But now that I have your attention, perhaps you should be asking not what it is that I am doing. But next time you see your precious doppelganger, ask her what she was doing." Kol's smirk came back to his face as he turned the question away from himself.

Elijah stilled a brief moment and that was enough for Kol to know that he struck a nerve. "Elena is irrelevant in this matter, Kol," He stated in a firm, clipped manner.

Kol gave a dark chuckle at the confirmation of the Original's soft spot for the recent Petrova woman, but that wasn't the point he wanted to make. "Wrong doppelganger, brother," He chided.

Elijah stopped fighting against him and there was a hint of uncertainty as he questioned, "Katerina?"

Lifting his hand from the back of Elijah's neck, Kol backed off swiftly and let go of his arm. Elijah stood up right in a blur, but then he took the time to straighten out his jacket and sleeves meticulously while contemplating whether or not to hear what Kol had to say.

Seeing he had captured his brother's full interest now, Kol couldn't help but dangle a bit more in front of him. "Come on, Elijah, don't tell me you never found it the least bit peculiar that Katerina happened to show up in Mystic Falls in 1864, a vampire on the run from our family for centuries appearing in our hometown…" He paused before delivering his final line, "Around the same time that Niklaus began hunting me down."

Kol could see the gears turning in his brother's head, knowing as soon as he planted the idea his brother would certainly begin to put things together. There wasn't much time left before it would come out already.

Having sufficiently made his point, Kol turned his back on Elijah and blurred out of sight. It was no secret that Katerina tried to remain two steps ahead of Klaus and anyone pursuing her. After her discovery, hiding in the hometown of the Original family where Kol wouldn't dare show his face while being hunted by Klaus had been a clever move on her part. Kol smirked to himself at the thought of letting Elijah figure that out for himself.

Elijah frowned as he stared after where his brother disappeared to. He was well aware of Katherine's involvement in Mystic Falls, particularly with the tomb vampires and a certain moonstone that came into the Lockwood's possession because of it. However, any correlation between her and Kol was new to him. He was quite confident Kol had been in Eastern Europe when Katherine had evaded him and Niklaus the first time.

Elijah looked back to the house of the subject that Kol rather effectively just deflected from. While he wanted to pursue that further, he now had others matters to attend to. In a blink, the eldest Original was gone as well.

* * *

_Author's Note: Holy Kolie, we have a lot of fans reading this! So what do you guys think of Kol's intentions? Do you agree with Elijah that he's up to something or was he being genuine?_

_Review responses –_

_LiveHappy: It definitely is a dilemma! When I first started writing this, I was going back and forth constantly between the two pairings (I've made up my mind now, but I'm not going to spoil which one it is :P) Thank you for the kind words! _

_Nethra: I used to read that comic all the time, too! I hope this fulfills some of your curiosity!_

_IrishBeauty: I think it's very interesting that you made that connection to Stefan and Elena. ;) _

_Sorrowangel: Awww, thank you so much! That really means a lot to me and I hope more people will review as they read this story. _


	28. Chapter 28

_**Warning: Due to the graphic nature of this chapter, the author advises reading at your own discretion.**  
_

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Natalie Walker – Waking Dream_

_Scene: Maggie waking up_

_The Fray – Never Say Never_

_Scene: Maggie's room_

_Chapter Twenty-eight_

Elijah frowned as he stared after where his brother disappeared to. He was well aware of Katherine's involvement in Mystic Falls, particularly with the tomb vampires and a certain moonstone that came into the Lockwood's possession because of it. However, any correlation between her and Kol was new to him. He was quite confident Kol had been in Eastern Europe when Katherine had evaded him and Niklaus the first time.

Elijah looked back to the house of the subject that Kol rather effectively just deflected from. While he wanted to pursue that further, he now had others matters to attend to. In a blink, the eldest Original was gone as well.

* * *

Her throat was raw and burning as she laid in bed with the covers wrapped around tightly. She tried not to think about the way she tossed and turned all night long, constantly feeling chilled and the cough that started to develop. Instead her mind was far away from the house and to the night she had with Kol. She tried to keep the light of the day away with the blankets over her head and hold onto what now seemed like some sort of bizarre dream.

In some ways it felt like a cruel mockery to awake in the stark bedroom that had such an empty feeling to it after last night. While she had been so cold the entire time, it was invigorating in a way, especially being able to swim and forget about everything else.

At the same time, she couldn't help but think about Kol and how much it took to keep her hands from getting away from herself. Looking back on it in hindsight, she realized that had actually hardly been the case. The entire night had been filled with it, starting with casual touches that turned into something more heated, especially as they danced together. Now that she thought about it, not once had she shied away from any of them and that was a thought that startled her. Rationally, she knew those hands caused the deaths of six people on her behalf and she shouldn't have reacted the way she did to them.

Another fit of coughing cut through her thoughts as her chest heaved with each one.

"Maggie?" A voice called from outside her bedroom door.

"Go away," She grumbled loudly from under the covers, her voice as hoarse as sandpaper.

Despite her protest, she heard the door being opened and closed gently. A moment later, the side of her bed sagged down as someone clearly sat on the edge of it. "You've been coughing all morning…" Beth's voice rang with concern.

With a heavy sigh, Maggie pulled back the covers from her face and groggily opened her eyes to look up at her sister. Beth frowned at how pale her older sister was. "You don't look so good," She commented and reached up to touch the back of her hand to Maggie's forehead. Had it been anyone but her little sister, she probably would've thrown them straight out of the room.

"And you are definitely warm," Beth fretted as she pulled her hand back, placing it gently in her lap with her other hand.

"Go figure, I'm probably just coming down with something…" Maggie groaned, thinking all the stress from the last couple of days would definitely be enough to knock her immune system down.

Beth sighed and shook her head. She glanced around the room and spotted the wet clothing on the floor not too far from Maggie's bed. Had it been their farmhouse, their mother definitely would have given her a lecture about ruining the hardwood floors. "I bet the late night swim didn't help either," Beth muttered, but she was still very concerned about the possible fever that Maggie could have coming on.

Maggie smirked slightly, but didn't say anything.

Beth shifted seriously, voicing the first thought that had came to her when she heard Maggie coughing, "Carl said there was a walker last night and you killed it, but did it…" Her voice trailed as she looked at Maggie's pale face.

Realizing where she was going with that, Maggie shot upright on her bed, nearly making herself dizzy in the process. "No!" She said quickly and looked Beth firmly in the eye, "You know I wouldn't come home and put everyone at risk if that happened…"

Seeing the visible sigh of relief pass through Beth, Maggie slouched backwards a bit and leaned against the headboard of the bed.

Nodding her head reassuringly, Maggie glanced around the room and then noticed the amount of daylight streaming through the two windows. "Beth, what time is it?" She asked warily, thinking she should probably do something about finding a clock for her room.

"Almost eleven," Beth glanced down at a bracelet watch she had on.

"Shit!" Maggie exclaimed, suddenly pulling back the covers around her and causing Beth's brow to raise at her language. "I have to go right now," She declared while climbing out of the bed.

"Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea. You need to rest," Beth protested as Maggie went to her dresser, diving into the drawers for some fresh clothes.

Maggie shook her head quickly, "No, you don't understand, there'll be a very irate vampire knocking down our door if I don't get to the boardinghouse within an hour."

* * *

She threw on a pair of jeans and an oversized sweater that hung off one shoulder and she had to roll up the sleeves, not particularly caring too much about appearances before taking off. She didn't bother stopping to talk to anyone else in the house and went out the front door. When she came to the front of the Camry, it was then she noticed the rather large dent in the hood.

"What the hell?" She gasped and opened the door to quickly pop the hood to see how bad the damage was. Pulling up the hood, which creaked and took some muscle at the distorted shape, she took a look at the engine. She wasn't a mechanic by any means, but she could identify a few parts. The one that stood out to her the most was the crushed top of the radiator. Just based on that alone, she knew this car would not be going anywhere for a while.

"Damnit, I don't have time for this," She grumbled aloud, ignoring the sound of another car pulling up behind her. She didn't have the slightest idea how this happened and she slammed the hood down roughly with a loud swear.

A low whistle sounded behind her as the driver got out of his vehicle. "You might want to start seeing someone about that," Jeremy Gilbert said in a slightly teasing tone, but also alarmed by the damage to the Toyota.

Maggie turned to him and grumbled, "Oh, I'll show a real anger issue when I figure out who did this."

Jeremy chuckled slightly as he approached her. While he had come around the house to see Beth, he certainly hadn't expected to see the older Greene sister standing on the road with this, "I suggest listing all the supernatural creatures in Mystic Falls and working your way down."

Maggie sighed and shook her head, that was a list a lot longer than she wished it was. She then looked to the Gilbert vehicle. "Hey, can you do me a favor and give me a ride to the boardinghouse?" She asked quickly.

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at the urgency in her voice. "Let me guess… Damon?"

Maggie nodded exasperatedly.

"Get in," Jeremy gave a jerk of head towards the passenger side of his car. "You don't need to tell me how Damon gets…" Lord knows he showed up more than he liked to harass his sister at the Gilbert house.

She didn't get much time to think about what she would say to Damon on the ride over to the boardinghouse. Jeremy went through the same sort of questions she had gotten from Beth, saying that she didn't look so good. That was just another thing she really needed to hear to put her in a good mood was how awful she looked. She insisted she was fine and tried to turn the conversation away from herself by asking how he was doing.

When they pulled up to the boardinghouse, Jeremy didn't stick around and she didn't really blame him but she thanked him for the lift.

Instead of knocking on the door, she just opened it and stepped inside. "Damon?" She called out as she stepped down the main hallway. In a moment, he appeared at the bottom of the stairs and started walking towards her. The way he was dressed told her that he had been very close to leaving the boardinghouse and if she had to guess probably starting a search party at the police station.

She could see the clenched jaw and irritated expression on his face. It loosened up a bit though when he took in the sight of her. "What happened?" He questioned sharply, taking in her tired and pale appearance.

"I think I'm getting sick," Maggie admitted, throwing one hand in the air and moving into the living. The couch that sat in the late morning sunlight was calling towards her. She didn't want to admit, but she was more tired than she let on and her legs were also sore from all the swimming and dancing.

"I can see that… I asked you _what happened_?" Damon said tersely and she could see that he was still pretty upset about last night, but the only thing keeping him from yelling was her state of appearance.

Flopping down on the couch with her back against the armrest, she bit her tongue a moment to think about what to tell him. Somehow, the idea of saying she got thrown over a waterfall and then was dirty dancing with Kol didn't seem like it would go over well with Damon.

"I… went swimming," Maggie gave shortly and clamped her mouth shut. It wasn't a lie, but it was just missing a whole lot of details and explanations in between. Damon stood in front of the couch with his arms folded over his chest, in some ways reminding her of all the times she got reprimanded by her parents.

"Swimming?" Damon deadpanned.

Not trusting herself to speak, she just nodded and "Mhmm."

Damon inhaled sharply and for a moment she thought she could hear his teeth grinding together. "Does the word hypothermia have _any _meaning to you?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I experienced that one first hand," Maggie bit back at him just sarcastically as his tone was.

No appreciation for her tone flashed across his face. "Get up," He snapped at her. "We're going to the hospital."

"What for?" Maggie exclaimed and made no move to get up from the couch.

"To see a doctor, what do you think?" Damon retorted.

"No, it's just a cold, Damon. Don't be ridiculous," Maggie stubbornly remained seated and glared at him.

"Like hell it is… I'm not pissing off Klaus and taking a beating from Kol just for pneumonia to do you in. In case you've forgotten, that's a very real threat again these days," Damon was nearly shouting at her at this point.

She knew it stemmed from his frustration with the way she treated him last night, but that didn't matter. She glared at him harshly, leaning forward with her chin in the air before speaking forcefully, "I said no, Damon."

Damon turned away from her, running his hands through his hair roughly and she could tell it was taking quite a bit for him to control himself. He let out a slight growl as he spoke with his back to her, "Does your stubbornness seriously have no limit?"

"Kettle," Maggie muttered under her breath, looking away from him as she wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

Damon ignored her insult and letting an aggravated sigh before turning back around. "Fine! Then we'll just use the old fashion home remedy," Damon stepped closer to her.

Before she could question what exactly he meant, he picked up his wrist and bit into it. He held it out in front of her, not forcing her to take it, but still a rather forward offer.

Her protest died as soon as she caught a sight of the crimson liquid oozing from his veins. The smell hit her like a wall. It was sweet with a slight metallic scent to it. She knew the smell of blood from walkers and injuries, but this was nothing compared to that. The burning in her throat that she had felt the night of the Founder's celebration came with an intensity that eclipsed any coherent thought.

She needed to sooth that burning and her body knew somehow the only way that could happen was by drinking that red nectar. Without a word, she quickly reached out to his wrist with both hands, grasping one on his forearm and the other on the back of his hand. She nearly crouched over his wrist as she placed her lips over it.

"Well don't get shy about it," Damon commented dryly, his anger and frustration disappeared as soon as she started to drink from him. It alarmed him how quickly she had reached from it. He winced when he felt her pulling from it harshly and even her teeth grinded down into the wound. But then suddenly his hand and forearm went numb.

"What the hell, Maggie?" He snapped and his other hand grasped at his forearm, losing the feeling in his shoulder as well. She was completely oblivious to him. All she could think about was the feeling of the blood going down her throat, soothing it for a brief moment before begging for another swallow. Her hands tightened around his arm.

There was a series of cracks in the air and she didn't notice the way that Damon sank down to his knees. He was trying to rip himself away from her, but his body was paralyzed as he lost the feeling in all of his limps. Horrified, he watched the way several of his fingers were trapped in her grasp, broken at odd angles, also knowing his forearm was crushed underneath her other hand. The completely numb sensation was the only reason he didn't cry out in pain. Her hold on his arm was the only thing keeping him from collapsing completely to the floor.

From his angle, he couldn't see the way that her skin in the sunlight began to glow, turning into an angry red shade. Blisters began to form along the back of her neck and the shoulder exposed to the light as well as her hands. Smoke was beginning to rise from her skin when she suddenly ripped her lips away from him, letting out a screech of pain.

In a blur, Maggie was across the room with her back slamming up against one of the bookcases. The wood creaked and protested under the force as she couched into the corner of the room, away from the sunlight. Damon fell onto his back on the floor next to the couch.

Feeling the pain throughout her skin and her heart pounding out of control, Maggie had to push past seeing mostly red and focus on holding her hand out in front of her. She stared at the blisters of burns covering the surface of her skin. She began to hyperventilate when the blisters began to close up and disappear, the redness fading before her very eyes as she remained in the shade.

"What is wrong with me?!" Maggie gasped, her other hand reaching up to her face. Her fingers touched just underneath her eyes and she could swear the skin was moving, as if worms crawled beneath the very surface. Her fingers smeared against the blood that was covering her chin. Damon's blood.

* * *

Damon's vision blurred, fading in and out. He didn't have the slightest idea how long he was on the ground. His head was pounding and he had to focus on not passing out. It would be so easy to just close his eyes, he could see the darkness clouding around him, begging him just to close his eyes for a bit. His body was numb, he could almost relax.

His head turned from side to side, as if trying to shake alertness into himself. He couldn't rest though, especially when his eyes caught the sight of his arm. The angle of the fractured forearm was nauseating itself and he was pretty sure he could see some of the bone protruding from it. Blood ran down his forearm from where the mangled bite mark was, some loose flesh dangling from Maggie's tearing teeth. His fingers shook as he processed at least three of them were most definitely broken.

What scared him more than the sight of this all was the fact he couldn't feel his arm at all. He stared at it for a long while, waiting for it to heal or do something. But instead it just shook, and even the bite mark didn't heal up.

"What did you do to me?" He questioned weakly out loud, then glancing out of the corner of his eye to see that Maggie was no longer on the couch.

Slowly the feeling was starting to come back to his shoulders, he rolled his head from side to side, trying to find Maggie. He spotted her across the room crouched in the corner, her arms sprawled out against the bookcase, clutching onto the shelves as if to keep herself there. Blinking a few times, it took him a bit to focus and it was then he saw her face. All he saw was black eyes and the veins moving around them.

"Who turned you?" His voice came out as a weak whisper.

Despite how quiet he was, Maggie shook her head back and forth. It was odd to see the black moving veins on such a lost expression. "No one… I don't know what's happening," Maggie spoke and it was then that Damon could see she didn't have any elongated fangs in her mouth. No, she couldn't be a vampire, he reminded himself, he had heard her heartbeat when she came in the door. "But you need to stay away from me, Damon…"

"What?" He muttered he tried to push himself up into a seated position with his good arm as the feeling came back to his elbows. His movements were slow and laborious, feeling incredibly weakened by the blood loss.

"If I get to you, I don't think I'll be able to stop…" Maggie warned, her eyes trailed down to the column of light against the floor from the window. It was acting like the final wall in the triangle of the corner she was trapped in. As she thought about reaching him again, her hand reached out on its own accord. When it hit the light and she felt the burn, she yanked it back with an animalistic hiss completely unbecoming of her.

While he wasn't sure what was happening to Maggie, Damon knew what a fit of bloodlust looked like and he wasn't going to stick around to be its victim. The feeling came back in his arms and he was nearly crippled by it, hitting him harder than anything he had ever recalled in recent history. He rolled over onto his side as he tried to get his legs to work again.

He didn't know how much time passed before he managed to use the couch to help pull himself up. He could hear Maggie snarling and hissing behind him like a newborn vampire. At one point she slammed her fist in frustration against the wall. It distracted her for a few minutes as she then angrily then had to pull out the wood splinters from her hand. The rational part of her mind watched in horror as those wounds closed up as well. No matter what she could tell herself, her body kept fixating on the blood on Damon's arm, begging her to take it again but trapped by the sunlight.

Once Damon was on his feet, he moved out of the living room and headed towards the kitchen. Hopefully there were still some blood bags in there. He tried to move as fast as possible, but his steps ended up being slow and lethargic, bumping into the wall along the way and nearly falling over.

He glanced down at his arm, the wounds still weren't healing and it was beginning to scare him more and more. Getting to the refrigerator, he could feel his throat burning, begging to be sated by something. Opening the door, he groaned when there were no blood bags, meaning he would have to go down to the basement. As he was about to leave the kitchen, he paused by the sink. Without giving it any thought, he pulled down a cup and began filling it with water.

He was downing the third glass of water he realized what he was doing. It helped sooth the burn, but did nothing for the pain radiating from his arm. "What the hell am I doing?" He snarled in frustration at where that sudden urge came from and threw the glass down into the sink.

Looking down at his arm, he knew that he needed blood and to somehow stop the bleeding. The last thing he wanted was Maggie jumping him from behind, which could happen at any moment.

Stumbling into the bathroom, he managed to flick on the lights and it was then he saw himself in the mirror. There was sweat running down his features and his skin was pale, even for his standards and a bit clammy. He reached up with his good hand to his neck, feeling where his pulse should have been. "Nope, still dead," He muttered as his hand shook and he stared at his own mouth, noticing the slight blue hue to his lips. "Since when do vampires go into shock?" He mumbled as his chest heaved.

Looking away, he found a towel and wrapped it tightly around his wrist. That was the only coherent thought he could form for bandaging before he left the bathroom and went for the basement stairs. He had to grasp and lean heavily as he went down the railing, stumbling and faltering frequently.

He eventually made it to the cooler. Roughly, he yanked open the top, but the action didn't have nearly as much force as it should have. He pulled up the first bag of blood he could reach and it actually took a bit of tearing with his teeth to get it open. The first taste of the blood was absolutely revolting and he nearly choked on it. Not wanting to waste any more time, he forced himself to swallow down each mouthful of the foul metallic liquid.

About half way through the bag, each gulp began to get better and the blood turned back into that familiar taste he was used to. Once the first bag was empty he threw it against the ground, pausing a moment to open the towel and look at his arm. Finally, he could see the bite mark beginning to close, but it was a long way from healing.

Grabbing several blood bags in his arm, Damon turned around and sank into a seat with his back against the machine. He drank through two more blood bags before he could hear some of his bones beginning to crack back into place.

After the third bag, his eyes got heavy as he looked around him, trying to focus on the light in the room. Before he could rationally stop himself, his eyes shut and his head slumped to the side.

* * *

Maggie's eyes fluttered open slowly and she found herself to be staring into a pillow. Her body felt heavy and she made no attempt to move around as she tried to recall the last thing she could remember. She remembered seeing Damon stumble out of the living room and hearing him in the kitchen. She could literally hear him opening and closing the refrigerator, talking to himself in the bathroom and almost falling down the stairs in the basement.

At some point, the hyperventilating and the shock of everything must have gotten to her because she could only remember the living room before her mind went blank. Nervously, Maggie slid a hand up from under the covers of the bed she was lying in and touched her face. She relaxed a little when she noticed the veins under her eyes were gone and her skin seemed unharmed.

She barely lifted her head as she spotted the familiar walls of her bedroom, she laid curled up on her side in her bed. It was then she noticed the chair pulled up by her bed and the form of her sister reading a book. Sensing she was awake, she carefully closed to the book and offered her a weak, "Hey…" The concern was written plainly across her features and she failed to give a convincing smile.

"What happened?" Maggie croaked out feebly.

Beth shifted uncomfortably as she looked at her sister. She looked a little more human without the blood on her face that had been there when she was first brought to the house. "Stefan found you and Damon passed out at the boardinghouse… covered in blood. He said you need to rest and be careful until the vampire blood passes out of your system," She explained and Maggie could see in her eyes she was looking for just as much of an explanation as she was.

It didn't do much to relief her fears. At least she knew how she had ended up here, but there was another concern tearing at her heart. "And Damon?" She asked fearfully.

Beth gave in a reassuring tone, "He's fine."

Her tone did nothing to soothe her though. Tears started to form at her eyes at the last image of him lying on the ground, barely moving and injured so badly. "Beth… I think I almost killed him," She whispered helplessly, making no attempt to stifle the tears.

"You're going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me," A voice answered her from the doorway.

Startled at its familiarity, Maggie rolled over and looked up at the sight of Damon leaning against in the doorframe. His hands were in his pockets of fresh jeans and a simple t-shirt, wearing a faint smirk as if nothing had happened to him.

Realizing he looked back to his normal self and that fact he was standing in her house, Maggie gasped aloud, barely forming a "How?"

Beth grinned broadly, even though neither of them were looking at her, and informed her, "I invited him in… he literally wouldn't leave, but don't tell Daddy or Rick."

Maggie didn't take her eyes off of him as he pushed off the frame and crossed the room to her. She pushed herself up to a seat slowly, still very fatigued. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. Maggie held him tightly to her as one hand buried into his hair at the back of his head. He tucked his face into her neck a moment inhaling deeply before letting out a relieved sigh.

To say he wouldn't leave wasn't far from the truth. As soon as he had been able to, he was over at the house, pacing back and forth across the porch until Beth had been tired of seeing him pass by the windows.

Beth smiled quietly at the two before rising from her seat, placing the book down and slipping from the room. She carefully shut the door behind her to leave them in peace.

"I'm so sorry," Maggie sobbed into his neck as he rubbed a hand up and down her back. "I don't know what happened," She whispered, feeling as if it had been some sort of sick nightmare.

"Shhh, I know," Damon murmured gently as she cried against him. "It's okay, I'm fine now." While he was physically fine, thanks to many blood bags and his brother's help – not that he would ever tell him that – he still didn't know what to think of what happened.

Evening was beginning to settle in. It had taken him several hours to get his strength back and his speed, which for being a vampire for the past century and a half was a very alarming experience. There was no explanation that he knew of for being nearly drained by a human, even if it was safe to say using the term human around Maggie now was a rather loose definition of it.

He let her cry as he held her, gradually shifting his body and pulling the covers back to lie in the bed with her. She muttered apology after apology and he just let her get out. As he laid back on the bed, she wrapped herself quickly around him, refusing to move her face from his chest. To say he enjoyed being able to hold her again after fighting so much lately was quite the understatement. He just wished it didn't a near death experience to do it, but that seemed to be the way they functioned.

Maggie made him promise to stay as she began to settle down, the exhaustion of the emotional and physical turmoil of the day taking its toll. It was never really a question for him whether or not he was staying, but he didn't say that out loud.

* * *

A few hours after Maggie nodded off, Damon carefully peeled himself away from her. While he promised to stick around until she woke up, he couldn't help but be a little curious now that he was actually in her house. She was sound asleep and he doubted that she would be waking up any time. He tucked the blankets carefully around her after he climbed out of the bed.

Glancing around the room, he took the time to inspect her bedroom a little more closely. On the walls he could see the faint outlines and nail holes where pictures had been hung at one point. She must have removed them from the previous owner when they moved in. Maggie didn't have anything hung in their place and Damon suspected all their personal possessions were back at the house he had seen in her dream. The walls were painted a soft pastel green color and framed with white trim.

The furniture was made a stained maple and showed years of abuse with scuff marks along the edges. Looking around, the room was rather bland and lacked personality to it, which was ironic considering the woman sleeping in the bed. Damon supposed she didn't really have much time to do anything with it with all the other things going on. He would probably guess things like decorations and photographs were trivial to Maggie after everything she's been through.

Walking around the room, he spotted some of the clothing on the floor. She certainly wasn't a neat freak. Some of the clothes were still wet and thanks to his vampire senses he could smell the river water in them. Coming to her dresser, he took a peek in each of the drawers to only find clothing. He smirked slightly when he came across her underwear, but left it alone.

Wandering over to the closet, he opened the door to find it only half full with just some clothing. He found it interesting how much different her closet was than Elena's. There was only one dress, the one she wore from the Founder's celebration, compared to all the flashy ones that Elena had from the numerous school and town events. Most of the rest of the clothing was jeans, sweaters, and a few casual tops. A couple lines of sneakers and a few boots were on the floor.

He spotted a black jacket on the end of the rack that seemed rather masculine, too much so even for Maggie's tomboyish tastes. Damon mused over it a moment and almost turned away from it, thinking it was probably just one of Glenn's. Before he completely dismissed it, he caught a whiff of it and froze at the distinctly vampire scent lingering within the fabric. It took him a moment of studying the jacket with a renewed interest to realize why it struck him as being familiar.

His eyes widened as he looked back to Maggie sleeping in the bed, wondering what in the hell Kol's jacket was doing in her closet. His eyes darted from her to the wet clothing on the floor and back to the jacket several times while he tried to piece together and make sense of the three. While it was easy to think of what it could mean, at the same time Damon also didn't want to put it together and know if it was true.

Footsteps were coming down the hallway, heading towards Maggie's bedroom, which caused Damon to swiftly closed the closet door and turn around. Beth appeared in the doorway, she called out as she came into sight, "Maggie?"

Maggie stirred from her sleep, rolling over onto her side and opening her eyes wearily. "Yeah?" She grumbled out, rubbing her eyes a bit.

Beth glanced at her sister in concern and over to Damon in the corner of the room, offering a brief polite smile before clearing her throat. "Alaric's here, looking for you…" Beth paused and looked to Damon as well, as if to say 'and you too' before continuing with a slightly confused expression. "He said something about Rose being back?"

Maggie and Damon perked up at the mention of the ghost's name. They exchanged a look and Damon nodded, apparently it was time to go. Damon wasn't thrilled at the idea of her being up and about with vampire blood in her system, but figured this was more pressing and he was around to protect her anyway.

Damon slipped out of the window after that to avoid her family. At some point later, Maggie would have to remember to tease him endlessly about that, but she was more distracted by changing into decent clothes and heading downstairs. Alaric met her in the foyer and she learned then everyone was meeting at the Gilbert house.

When she got to Alaric's SUV, she found Damon was already sitting in the passenger seat. It went unspoken between her and Damon that they would discuss what happened later, keeping the details of it for now to themselves since the bloodline matter was now at hand.

Arriving at the Gilbert house, Maggie noticed two other vehicles parked outside of it. One of them was Damon's Camaro, which had probably been left earlier for some other reason. While Maggie knew that Damon saw Elena while she wasn't around, she couldn't explain the uncomfortable feeling she got in her stomach at seeing the evidence of it in front of her.

Alaric led the way into the house, followed by Damon and her bringing up the rear. Stefan caught them in the foyer. His eyes lingered her as she passed, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," She answered curtly, despite the imploring look from him. She had noticed that Damon was being short with him as well. Even after everything, she was still wary about trusting the youngest Salvatore. It was clear based on the body language between Damon and Stefan that the eldest hadn't given a proper explanation of what happened and she wasn't about to be that person.

Walking into the kitchen and informal dining area, Maggie stopped in hesitation. Sitting at the far end of the table was Jeremy and Elena to his left. The seat to his right and the opposite one was still open. Matt was obviously missing, probably at the Grill. She was least thrilled to see Elena.

"What happened to this being my curse to deal with?" Maggie said aloud, suspiciously doing a head count. What had started with just Jeremy, her and Damon now included Stefan, Elena and Alaric.

"That changed as soon as it started involving our bloodline," Elena was the one to answer her and the edge in her voice told Maggie that she hadn't forgotten their last confrontation. The young vampire tried to muster assertive eye contact as she did, but given the caliber of the vampires Maggie normally dealt with she wasn't too impressed.

The four men in the room knew better than to comment on the obvious tension between the females. "Right then," Maggie muttered dryly. "Let's get this over with." She moved into the room and took the seat directly across from Elena. She gave her a cool stare that was almost challenging while Damon took the last seat.

He leaned back, relaxing easily as his eyes darted back and forth between the two with a hint of amusement. Stefan and Alaric opted to remain standing, leaning against the island next to each other.

"Well now that is sufficiently awkward… What did Rose have to say?" Damon was the one to break the silence, looking across from him at Jeremy. Maggie's eyes darted to each face in the room. Elena she didn't trust and quite frankly didn't like at this point. Jeremy and Alaric were sweet, but she didn't particularly want them in this mess. Stefan seemed to mean well, but she still didn't trust him. Damon she trusted, but also knew his viewpoints could potentially be problematic for her at times.

Jeremy cleared his throat slightly, as if just remembering he was the reason they were all here. "Uh, right… So Rose said she talked to Mary Porter."

This caught Maggie's attention immediately, looking to the youngest Gilbert and blurting out her thought before she thought better of it, "So she's dead."

This startled Jeremy slightly and he furrowed his brows, "Uh, yeah. How'd you know?"

Maggie stilled when she felt several pairs of eyes on her and she quickly tried to recover herself, "I mean, ghosts can't talk to vampires… So she must be, right?" She chanced a glance between the four vampires in the room and didn't see anyone object with her.

That seemed to be enough to convince them and Jeremy carried on. Maggie didn't see the way Damon's eyes narrowed slightly on her as she looked back to Jeremy, "Right… Anyway, she said that Mary was a bit of an Original groupie or something like that, but she was sired by Klaus."

"Well, that solves that mystery," Stefan declared out loud.

"Puts a damper on Operation Kill Klaus though," Damon muttered with a rather dejected look on his face while staring at the table.

"Not quite, actually," Jeremy cut in before he lost the attention of the group, "There's more."

"Rose says that Mary didn't sire her after all. Mary didn't recognize her, but knew who she was," Jeremy declared. Maggie frowned in confusion and she could also see the deflation pass through the vampires in room in various ways at their hunch apparently being a bust. "Because Mary said she wasn't the first one to come asking about her bloodline."

Jeremy hesitated and tilted his head to the side, as if someone was whispering in her ear. For a moment, Maggie was sure that her, Jeremy and Alaric were the only three in the room breathing.

"Enough with the dramatic pauses, Gilbert," Damon snapped impatiently, even though he knew the youth was listening and relaying.

Jeremy shook his head but ignored him before clearing his throat and continuing. "Katherine came to her about a century and a half ago, asking about her bloodline and Rose… but Mary had no idea what she was talking about." Everyone tensed in the room at the mention of the first Petrova doppelganger. Even Maggie schooled her expression into a stern thoughtful one, but for a different reason than the rest.

Damon muttered something about Katherine always being one step ahead under his breath while looking away, as if he wanted to strangle something.

"She says she was compelled to forget… but shortly after Katherine left, Klaus came following and interrogated her for anything she knew about English werewolf rituals. Again, Rose says that Mary had no idea what he was talking," Jeremy finished, many eyes moved to Maggie at the mention of werewolf rituals.

Based on the look from Stefan, Maggie was willing to bet that he had been informed from either Elena or Damon about what little they knew.

"Sounds like Rose's mother was either compelled or lying about who gave her the vampire blood," Jeremy shrugged, tossing a hand lightly in the air and apparently at the end of the information he was given.

The table was quiet for a few minutes before Stefan was the first one to speak up, "Well, I think it's safe to say that Klaus didn't sire our bloodline."

"At least not directly," Elena corrected him as she leaned her cheek against her hand with her elbow on the table.

"She's right," Damon cut in and his eyes flickered a bit as he spoke, "Grey and ashy is not a look I'm willing to risk."

"And for all we know, it could've been a vampire that betrayed Elijah too," Elena admitted, looking down at the table.

Maggie noticed Damon's eyes light up a bit with amusement and she narrowed hers slightly at him. The irony of Elena talking about betraying Elijah wasn't lost on Damon. As Elena was looking down, he mouthed to Maggie the word 'Kettle' and the corner of Maggie's lip tugged upward slightly.

"So why don't we find Katherine? She must know something," Maggie suggested before anyone could catch her looking at Damon.

This brought the table to an abrupt silence that Maggie would've thought she ripped all their tongues out. Alaric bowed his head slightly, clearly not wanting to say anything. Elena stiffened in her seat and Jeremy shifted uncomfortably in his. Even Damon looked as if he sucked on something sour for a moment.

Stefan recovered first, "Yeah… I think I'm just going to speak for everyone and say no one wants to do that."

"I second that," Damon piped up and Elena's eyebrows rose briefly as she nodded. "Even if we did, she's kind of the _Where's Waldo?_ of vampires."

"And a manipulative bitch," Alaric was the one to grumble from behind a hand over his mouth.

Maggie inclined her head slightly at the strong response, "Fair enough." While she knew about the history with Katherine, Stefan and Damon, she wasn't going to ask what she did to get such unanimous reaction.

Instead, she dropped her gaze and suddenly became very interested in the grain of the wood in the table. She didn't pay much attention to the other five as they started swapping theories, but ultimately not settling on much of anything. Maggie's thoughts fixated on one piece of chronological information that she had heard before.

Her fingers ran over the wood as she thought. After everything that happened in the last few days, she wasn't sure how she felt about the piece of knowledge she had that no one else in the room had. Until she was sure, she was going to keep it that way.

* * *

_Author's Note: Another long chapter, but a lot of action that I want to hear your feedback on! What do you think of Maggie's reaction to vampire blood? Also, what do you think she was thinking about at the meeting?_

_Just the heads up, originally I was planning to only have two chapters left in this and then start a sequel, but I'm going to leave it all in one fanfic. So chapter 30 is the halfway point of the story, think of it as a mid-season finale without the long break._

_Review responses –_

_Nethra: Haha yes, I know it's mean, but I'm glad to see people are torn between Damon and Kol at this point. It makes it fun! But yes, those vampires are sneaky, especially ones like Kol who tend to strut around like he knows something everyone else doesn't. _

_I listened to that song and I liked it a lot, it definitely could fit. That whole scene with the music is open for interpretation since there wasn't any designated music (just my suggestion). _

_IrishBeauty: I know exactly what you mean and I think it's a very good connection to make. __ I try to make connections between the actual show and my story… Like in this chapter with them consulting Rose twice. _

_Anyway, looking forward to reviews!_


	29. Chapter 29

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Jack Savoretti & Sienna Miller – Hate and Love_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie _

_Aidan Hawken and Carina Round – Walking Blind_

_Scene: Glenn moving out_

_Chapter Twenty-nine_

Instead, she dropped her gaze and suddenly became very interested in the grain of the wood in the table. She didn't pay much attention to the other five as they started swapping theories, but ultimately not settling on much of anything. Maggie's thoughts fixated on one piece of chronological information that she had heard before.

Her fingers ran over the wood as she thought. After everything that happened in the last few days, she wasn't sure how she felt about the piece of knowledge she had that no one else in the room had. Until she was sure, she was going to keep it that way.

* * *

Maggie struggled to stay awake in the car ride back to her house. The meeting had dragged on for a bit afterwards, but she remained quiet through the rest of it. Occasionally she looked up to get a suspicious look from Elena or Damon. She didn't answer the latter one, but every now and then mustered up a cold stare for Elena. She knew it wasn't entirely called for, but a dark part of her just couldn't help it. The young vampire still showed the immaturity of her age and Maggie smirked when she got even the slightest reactions from Elena. Maggie briefly wondered if she intimidated Elena.

Damon decided to drive Maggie home and she didn't object really. The idea of crawling back into bed and sleeping off the rest of the vampire blood in her system was highly appealing. It was bizarre how amped up she had been when she first drank it, but now it was like she was going through some sort of a crash, like a junkie. When she asked Damon about it, he said it was likely because she had consumed so much vampire blood, more than she needed, that her body was having a hard time handling it.

They pulled up to Maggie's house and she could see a couple of lights from within the house. They were coming from a few lanterns and she could even see one in her bedroom window. It was likely from Beth. Maggie smiled to herself at the thoughtfulness of her little sister. As she climbed out of the car and walked up towards the house, Damon followed after her and in his silence she could tell something was bothering him. Well, aside from the obvious situation.

"Maggie, I need you to tell me something," Damon stopped her as she stood by the front door.

Her hand halted on the doorknob and she turned to face him. Damon stepped closer to her, but there was a considerable distance between the two of them. "Why is Kol's jacket in your closet?" He questioned bluntly.

Maggie's eyes widened, having not expected that at all. "Seriously, Damon?" She spat out when she realized what that meant. "The first chance you got, you went snooping through my room?"

She couldn't believe it. He had just gotten the invitation into her house this afternoon and he already went through her belongings.

Damon sighed and clenched his jaw. "It was a little hard to miss, considering it reeked of vampire," He snapped out, not being entirely dishonest.

"That doesn't give you the right to go through my stuff, Damon," Maggie bit back at him and began to open the front door.

Damon rolled his eyes with an aggravated groan. "Oh, quit trying to deflect from yourself by acting like what I did is more important than the fact you were off with a psychopathic Original all night."

Maggie bristled at the accusation, but didn't say anything. She knew that he was right and she always tried to deflect from herself when there was something she didn't want to answer.

"Did you invite him into your house too, Maggie?" Damon pressed her further.

"No!" Maggie replied instantly, raising her voice a bit. While she wasn't sure if he was trying to insinuate more happened by that question, it flared a sense of anger from all the arguments she had with Glenn and she wasn't going to put up with it anymore. She could just tell him that he had given it to her when she was cold, but she didn't owe him that explanation and it angered her that he felt he deserved it.

"You know, Damon, when I dumped one jealous boyfriend… I didn't sign up for another one," Maggie hissed at him venomously.

That stunned Damon long enough for her to step inside the house and slam the door loudly in his face.

Maggie was fuming when she went into the kitchen. She wasn't sure how what her family heard, but for a moment she thought she saw Carl visibly shrink back from her. She distracted herself by getting some food in her system. Hershel and Beth were home. Rick seemed to be out doing something that was another thing she would have to figure out later. Thanks to Beth's quick thinking, her father was under the impression that she had a bad stomach and that was why she was resting so much.

By the time she ate food, she was nearly dead on her feet. It had helped settle her down a bit as she talked with her siblings, at this point Carl was a little brother to her even if not by blood.

Ready to call it an evening, Maggie went to head upstairs. Briefly her eyes passed by the living room, where the impromptu coach bed was setup for Glenn. His clothes and stuff were strewn out across it as well. Now that she thought about it, she had hardly been paying attention to his coming and goings lately too.

Too tired to think about it, Maggie headed upstairs and went into her room. She jumped quite a bit and let out a loud swear.

"Damnit, you can do that now," Maggie groaned as she tried to calm herself. She hadn't been expecting to see Damon sitting on her bed. For a brief moment she wondered if there was any possible way to recede an invitation into a house.

Damon's lips quirked up slightly, but it was just a ghost of a grin at the comment. He was much more subdued than when he was outside on her porch.

Maggie closed the bedroom door behind her and crossed her arms as she came to stand in front of him. She didn't need to say it out loud because her body language was enough to demand what he was doing in her room. "The jacket wasn't what I had meant to ask you about…" Damon admitted somberly as he got up to his feet to stand.

Maggie frowned at his demeanor and her curiosity got the best of her. "Then what was?"

Damon inhaled deeply before looking her directly in the eyes. "I know I can never make up taking you in the first place, what that has caused and I'll keep trying to fix it." He reached up with both hands to her face and Maggie's arms dropped as he gently cupped her cheeks, stunned by the sudden vulnerability in his voice.

"But I _need _to know after everything that has happened between us," His thumbs stroked gently over her cheeks as he finally asked, "Do you feel _any_thing for me?"

As he stared into Maggie's wide green eyes, he wondered if each spat and fight they had was truly driving her further away from him. Was he just trying to hold onto something he couldn't have again?

Maggie gasped as she froze, trying to think of what to say. She knew this time she couldn't deflect or run away. It looked like if Damon might break before her if she couldn't give him an answer and it caused a pain in her heart. This was the conversation she had been putting off since the morning after the incident at the county line and she could see in his eyes it had been driving him insane.

"I should hate you," Maggie whispered as she stared at the catalyst for Carol being turned into a vampire and her relationship with Glenn falling apart. Damon's face fell and she had to reach up and grasp at his elbows to keep him from pulling his hands away. "You make me _so _angry at times, but those times you don't…" Her voice trailed a bit.

She moved her hands up along his forearms to his wrists, gently pulling his hands away from her face. The contact made it harder for her to voice her next thought, "But when I saw you today, I was _scared _that I was going to lose you." Admitting she was scared about anything wasn't something that came easy for her. Damon watched her with a sense of nervous wonder, almost afraid to hear what she would say next.

"So yes, I do feel _something_ for you. I'm not sure what and it scares me," Maggie finally admitted, feeling a bit small at confessing any weakness.

She watched as Damon took in her words. His features relaxed into a sense of awe as he looked at her. While it wasn't a confession of undying love, which he would never expect from her, it was something and that was good enough for him for now. He had hoped to hear say she felt something towards him and actually hearing it brought a faint smile to his lips.

His only response came as he stepped forward, closing the distance that remained between them and his came crashing down on hers. She could feel the raw tension in them mixed with the relief as she relaxed into him, loosely wrapping her arms around his neck. The kiss was sweet and demanding, not pushing for more physically, but demanding for the feeling that Damon was struggling to express to her as he held her by the hips.

Slowly he eased back when she needed to breathe, only just enough to lean his forehead against hers. Opening her eyes, she was captivated by the deep of his blue eyes for a moment before she recovered. A smile that lacked any arrogance or sarcasm graced his face.

"Now, will you let me sleep?" Maggie teased him lightly as she let her hands fall from his shoulders.

Damon grinned and wiggled his eyebrows a bit, "I'll even use the door this time." He dropped his hands from her hips and moved towards the door of the bedroom.

Despite herself, she smirked and shook her head as he gave her one last look before slipping from her bedroom.

She stared after the closed door for a long while, letting out a shaky deep breath. Her hands were a little jittery from the moment and the fact she had let her walls down for a moment to be honest with him. The idea of it was absolutely terrifying, especially how everything ended with Glenn. At the same time, she couldn't help but think of the hopeful look in his eyes as he left and wondering if she had done the right thing.

Needing to distract herself, she looked around the room and her eyes caught on the closet door. For a brief moment, she was worried the jacket wouldn't be there anymore. Going to the door, she opened it quickly and relaxed she spotted Kol's jacket still hanging on the hanger that she left it on. Maybe it was a silly reaction, but she didn't care.

Thinking about what Damon said, she didn't stop herself as she picked it up and inhaled the fabric deeply. Sure enough, it did smell exactly like Kol and she smiled unknowingly while thinking back to the previous night.

Putting the jacket back on the rack, that line of thinking also brought her back to her conversation with him earlier and what it made her think of at the Gilbert house.

"_I spent the last century daggered and lying in a box. Before that Niklaus hunted me down for fifty years." _

That seemed like an awfully coincidental piece of timing when she heard that Katherine had sought out Mary Porter around the same time and all but led Klaus to her too. At first, she didn't think they had much to do with each other, but another thing that Kol said stood out in her mind when she had asked him why.

_"Oh, he was just upset some of my fun interfered with one of his grand plans a long time ago."_

While the Salvatores and Elena had been fixating so much on Elijah and Klaus being the possible bloodline candidates, Maggie had been thinking back to the Founder's celebration and what Kol had said about Katherine using Rose's blood to avoid being used in the ritual for the sun and moon curse.

As Maggie got ready for bed and climbed into the covers, she couldn't help but wonder what exact fun Kol had been referring to and if the grand plan of Klaus' had been thwarted by an earlier ritual dealing with werewolves.

* * *

The next day Maggie got up for the morning shift at the Grill, feeling much better once the vampire blood had passed through her system. She ended up walking downtown to the Grill, past the car she would have to ask Damon if he knew anything about. Given the fact he hadn't mention it before, she didn't think he did.

She worked with Matt during the breakfast shift and the cleanup afterwards. It was during the course of that she learned from him that the following night there would be a supply run celebration. Apparently every so often when they had a successful supply run, which usually meant getting a rather large stash of alcohol, they opened the Grill for one night and the bar in celebration. She could tell that Matt was nervous about it because he also explained that the vampires and hybrids usually showed up for these sorts of events.

Knowing that Jeremy was going and with his ring he would likely be fine, Maggie was worried about how uncomfortable Matt seemed at working that night. She offered to switch with him, which he was weary about at first and warned her there was a good chance Klaus could be there. She told him she refused to be afraid of him and insisted on taking the shift from him, as long as he didn't tell Damon. She doubted the Salvatore would be too thrilled.

Matt conceded and she could tell he was a little glad to get out of it, but he didn't want to say so.

After Matt left, Maggie was alone for only a little while until Damon showed up around noon. It didn't really surprise her all that much and she wasn't as annoyed with him this time. It was hard to be mad at him after how last night ended. A part of her was starting to see how Damon could wear down on someone too with his protectiveness.

He sat the bar counter and they took the time to discuss her reaction to his vampire blood. They mostly swapped back and forth their understanding of what happened as she worked. It was then she understood that somehow, by drinking his blood she ended up with some characteristics of a vampire for a while. The speed, which caused her to launch across the room impossibly fast. The reaction to the sunlight, which was probably what saved Damon because if she hadn't been burnt she doubted she would've pulled away. The bloodlust, which was alarming to experience as a human. The veins that moved under her eyes, but Damon insisted she didn't have fangs and she didn't feel those either. While she had some vampire characteristics, she still retained a few human ones through it all like her heart beat and the fact the lack of oxygen from hyperventilating resulted in her passing out.

Maggie was shocked to hear about Damon's reactions, she hadn't been a clear state of mind to fully process what was happening to him. He talked about how numb he went, saying in some ways it reminded him of the way spiders have venom that paralyze their prey. He explained how blurry and poor his vision was, which wasn't normal for vampires. There was also the lack of coordination and how slow he moved, he couldn't blur. His strength was weakened and he described how he went into shock. The sudden craving for water perplexed them the most, but neither of them had an answer. While he seemed to take on many human characteristics, he had still retained his vampire nature in the end.

"You're like some freaky vampire leech," Damon declared as he took a sip from the glass of whiskey he had snitched as soon as Maggie's back was turned.

"Thank you for that lovely mental image," Maggie groaned sarcastically as she carried a box into the store room. Damon smirked as she went.

"For the record, if I ever tell you to bite me in the future, I'm being _entirely _facetious," He called after her and her response was a middle finger in the air.

Hearing the front door of the Grill open, Damon turned in his seat to see who was walking in. He furrowed his brow in confusion at the two people.

"Rick Grimes and Sheriff Forbes," Damon acknowledged out loud as Maggie came back out from the store room. While Damon had noticed seeing the two of them around town, this was the first time he saw Rick dressed this way.

Maggie tilted her head slightly to the side as she stood behind the counter next to Damon. Sheriff Forbes walked in first and nodded towards the vampire, "Damon."

Maggie was distracted by the blue Mystic Falls police uniform that Rick Grimes was wearing. It was a startling difference from the pieces of the tan Sheriff uniform he had brought with him to the farmhouse, but it many ways this new one just seemed to fit him.

"I hope you're not here to bust me for serving minors," Damon smirked at Liz as he raised the glass to his lips while she approached him, thinking of the liquor he had slipped to Carl during the Council meeting.

"Maggie," Rick gave a slight grin at the stunned expression on the eldest Greene daughter as he came to stand next to Forbes.

"No," Liz sighed at Damon's usual sarcasm. "Actually, I'm showing our new officer around."

"Officer Grimes, huh?" Maggie finally recovered and teased Rick a bit, "I better not have a curfew now."

Rick chuckled and shook his head, "No, I'm just looking to do my part around here." Maggie nodded in understanding, it was really hard to imagine Rick doing anything other than law enforcement and being a leader. It was good to see him starting to recover from losing Lori.

"Which is why we're here," Liz said and looked to Damon unsurely as she spoke, "I don't think you two have formally met with everything that's been going on…" As far as she knew, Damon had never gone over to the hospital when Rick and his children arrived. They may have crossed paths since then but never really talked.

Realizing why Liz was doing this, Damon smirked and put down his glass. He held out his hand to Rick. "Damon Salvatore, resident Council vampire," He declared, amused by the whole situation.

"And persistent pain in the ass," Maggie mumbled under her breath while watching the three. Rick's hands remained on his hips.

He glanced down at Damon's hand and made no move to take it. "Yeah, we've met," Rick said slowly, earning an odd uncomfortable look from Liz. "Heading to Florida, was it?" He said rhetorically, still remembering the first impression of Damon showing up at the prison and the apparently bogus backstory he fed them.

Damon stared at Rick a moment, he dropped his hand but not the arrogant expression. "Oh, I get it. You're still upset that I compelled you," He taunted lightly.

Rick clenched his jaw, but didn't say anything. He gave Damon a cold glare and not humoring him with a response. He looked to Liz, "Are we done here?"

"Yeah, we can go to the Lockwood's now," Liz gave a slightly scathing look to Damon for antagonizing Rick before nodding towards the door.

"Don't take it personal, being compelled is like a rite of passage for police around here," Damon said after Rick as he turned away from the vampire. Liz shook her head slightly, partly reminded of her experience with being compelled to forget things.

Maggie reached out and smacked Damon in the back of his head.

"Hey!" Damon ducked slightly, even though it didn't really hurt him. "Domestic violence over here. Aren't you supposed to arrest her?" He whined a little.

"Sorry, Damon," Liz called back to him unsympathetically as she pushed the door open. "Those laws only apply to humans."

"But you might be able to get PETA to make some flyers on your behalf," Rick added on dryly before disappearing out the door behind her.

Damon raised an eyebrow at the comeback and shrugged, he's heard worse ones. He turned back around in his seat to his glass and Maggie shaking her head at him.

"I guess I won't be scoring any points with the rest of your family," Damon muttered while knocking back the rest of his drink.

"I can't imagine why… I think Beth is your only supporter," Maggie sighed, frustrated by his behavior but at the same time she didn't expect anything less from him.

"And what about you?" Damon asked with mock hurt.

Maggie just rolled her eyes as she finished up what she was doing and ignored him. "Come on, let's get out of here…"

* * *

Damon ended up giving her a lift back to her house, which was fine with her after moving boxes the idea of walking wasn't as appealing. When they pulled up to the house, she was surprised to see it wasn't quiet as it typically was.

Instead there was another vehicle parked next to the wrecked Camry, which Maggie didn't recognize at all, and neither the young woman standing next to it. She leaned back against the driver's side door with her arms folded over her chest. She had long black hair that was straightened and dark skin as she was looking towards the house. She was dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a fashion cardigan over her blouse.

There was one box on the top of the issued vehicle next to her. Walking down the front walkway was Glenn, rolling a suitcase behind him and a backpack over his shoulder. Gathered on the porch was Hershel with his crutches along with Beth and Carl.

"Well this looks ominous," Damon muttered as he stopped the car. Everyone stopped at the arrival of the blue Camaro.

"Yeah…" Maggie didn't like the look on Glenn's expression, never mind wondering what was going on. "You don't have to stay," She said as she opened the door to climb out of the passenger seat.

"Wasn't planning on it," Damon said quickly, eying the Bennett witch and knowing her presence probably wasn't a good thing.

"Glenn, what's going on?" Maggie called out as she approached her ex-boyfriend. She could hear the Camaro pulling away from the side of the road and taking off behind her.

"Funny you should say that, Maggie, because that's what I've been asking since we got here," Glenn said bitterly as he rolled the suitcase up to the backseat of the car.

"I'm going to wait in the car," Bonnie mumbled to no one in particular when she noticed the obvious tension between the two. She quickly opened the driver door and slipped inside as Glenn opened the rear door to put the suitcase in.

Maggie shook her head, "What are you talking about?"

Tossing the backpack in with it, Glenn closed the door forcefully. He took a moment before turning around to face her. "I'm moving out. I am so _sick _of all the secrets. I could almost deal with thinking it was just someone else, but then I saw you with Damon _and_ that other guy at the Founder's celebration…"

Maggie felt her blood run cold as she saw the fury and hurt in Glenn's eyes.

Based on the way he said it, she doubted that she saw her slap Kol. There was no excuse for how things may have looked with her and Damon either.

"And that's not even the best part," Glenn's voice took a hint of hysteric sarcasm to it, barely keeping it below a shout. "I know all about your doppelganger status and what's going on around here with Klaus. Bonnie filled me in on _all _of it." He gestured roughly with one hand towards the driver seat.

Maggie paled and she struggled to come up with words. All of her effort to keep Glenn from the supernatural mess was literally being thrown in her face.

"I…" Maggie looked to the young woman, who had one hand covering her face as she leaned against the door, clearly wanting to be anywhere but there. "I've never even met her before…"

"Oh, even better!" Glenn threw his hands in the air. "A complete stranger knows you better than I do," He snarled out and moved to walk around the other side of the car, but he stopped as another frustration hit him.

"And Damon Salvatore, seriously Maggie? Do you have _any_ idea the things he's done and amount of people he's killed?" Glenn hissed at her, clearly having been informed quite a bit about Mystic Falls thanks to the young witch.

At the attack on Damon, Maggie's shock wore off and she flared up at Glenn. "He's a century and a half year old vampire, what do you expect? Killing to survive is in their nature," She shouted back at him, not caring about the spectacle being put on in front of her family anymore. "It's what they do!"

Glenn shook her head at Maggie, while they were only a few feet apart from each other, it was clear they would never come together again. "That doesn't make it right, Maggie!" He yelled back at her.

Maggie took a step back in disbelief. Her hands shook as she watched Glenn march around to the passenger side of Bonnie's car.

She took a deep breath to keep herself from shouting again when she recovered. She half turned away from Glenn, but not before saying in the coldest tone, "If you can't see that there's blood on all of our hands, then you're just another self-righteous fool."

She wanted to tell him that she had lied to protect him, to keep him from being dragged into this. But in that moment, she knew that wouldn't have made a difference.

Glenn stopped a moment by the open door, staring at her with a dark unreadable expression before finally saying, "Goodbye, Maggie."

Glenn got into the car and closed it without another word. Bonnie quickly put the car into drive and pulled away, avoiding looking at any members of the Greene family. As the car disappeared out of sight, Maggie knew it wasn't just any chance of friendship that Glenn was saying goodbye to. She had broken his heart and his trust. Because of her, he was cutting any ties to the Atlanta group.

With a heavy heart, Maggie turned away from the road and to the house. Her family was still standing on the porch. Carl was sitting in one of the steps while Beth hugged the post.

Maggie approached them carefully, her eyes passing through their expressions. Beth had been clearly crying one point. Carl's face was much too serious for a boy his age to be. Hershel's alarmed her the most. The disapproval was written all over it along with imploringness behind his eyes.

She came to stand in front of them and that was when it hit her. "He told you too, didn't he?" She asked in a resigned voice.

Hershel gave a slow nod.

Maggie's stomach knotted as she sighed and realized it was time to come clean about everything, "Let's go inside… I have a lot to explain."

* * *

Bonnie sat in the living room sported a rather large headache as she sat in the living room of the old witch house that night. Part of it was from the immensely awkward confrontation outside of the Greene house. Seeing how distressed Glenn had been the past couple of days, she offered up the witch house if he needed a new place to stay. She just wished they had been successful in completely avoiding his ex-girlfriend.

The headache was made worse by the racket that blared out of the stereo in the corner of the room, courtesy of Seamus. It didn't take him long to figure out how to spell an iPod so the battery wouldn't die and then next came the stereo system. At first she had been hopeful that he could actually help with something productive, like say cell phones. But he said he wasn't interested in draining his magic to maintain the constant energy needed for a network, even if he was a supporter of teenage sexting.

According to Seamus, the music helped him focus through the ever boring werewolf research. Bonnie just found herself rubbing her temples as she hunched over a grimoire, staring at the same symbol for the fifth time.

The music in the room stopped as the front door of the house slammed.

Seamus looked up from the book in his hand. His feet were propped up on the table, on top of a couple of other books, much to Bonnie's annoyance.

"Ah, why isn't it the foxiest Bennett lady," Seamus greeted as the older woman marched determinedly into the room, carrying a book and a natural sashay in her hips.

"I missed you too, Seamus," Lucy smirked slightly as she looked to Bonnie, who seemed just as surprised to see her older cousin there.

Before Bonnie could ask her what she was doing, Lucy came to stand in front of the coffee table in front of the two. "I found it," She announced proudly and let the book in her hand drop to the table.

Bonnie jumped slightly from the noise before looking down at the grimoire and frowning at the name of the witch it had belonged to. It certainly wasn't one that she recognized before. "I've never heard of this family name before…" Bonnie commented as her fingers ran over the lettering.

"That's because it's an old English line of witches wiped out by a certain hybrid," Lucy explained as Bonnie inspected the binding, taking in just how old the book really was. Unfortunately, Bonnie knew with the bloodline being wiped out, there was little chance they would be able to tamper with the curse then depending on the nature of it.

Bonnie's eyebrows rose slightly, "How did you get it?"

"Klaus stole it from the family, Katherine stole it from him, and I stole it from Katherine… I just wish I knew the world was going to end or I would've hidden it somewhere a little more convenient than Wisconsin," Lucy shrugged and leaned over the table to open the book to a certain page. At this point, even Seamus had perked up and came to lean over the book next to Bonnie.

"But that's not the point," Lucy continued and then found the page she was looking for. "I found the ritual involving werewolves and the Leavey family."

Bonnie couldn't help but be a little excited, this was the break they had been waiting for. She frowned thoughtfully as she tried to work through some of the translating, but most of it was much too old for her to understand. Then she noticed only the preparations and the first half of the ritual was there.

"There are pages missing," Bonnie pointed out, fingering the place where they had been removed from the binding.

Lucy nodded, but didn't seem too deterred, "Yeah, whatever had gone wrong with the ritual was removed, but that doesn't matter."

Bonnie looked up at her cousin and asked, "Why is that?"

"Because if I'm translating this correctly," Lucy placed her hands against the table, leaning forward, "Even if the results were even remotely similar to the original ritual, we're going to want to make sure that Maggie stays alive."

* * *

_Author's Note: Revelations galore here! What do you think about Maggie's reservations with Damon, justified or no? Also the cat's out of the bag for the Greene family._

_Next chapter is my mini-mid-season finale I guess haha, in case you couldn't tell this chapter was building up to it._

_Review responses –_

_Nethra: Hopefully it's a little clearer what she was thinking of after this chapter!_

_Haha, I'm glad you liked that scene with Maggie going all vampire-badass. It was a lot of fun to write and yes, she can totally be scary. _

_I listened to that song and I love it! It totally fits the Mean Girl stare down they had. _

_Feel free to plug away! :D I would love more readers, thank you so much._


	30. Chapter 30

_**Warning: This chapter contains content suitable for mature audiences only. Read at your own discretion. If you or someone you know experiences similar thoughts and feelings, please help and reach out to your community's resources.**_

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs_

_Emily and the Woods – Steal His Heart_

_Scene: The Grill rooftop _

_Placebo – Running Up That Hill_

_Scene: Fleeing the Grill_

_Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars – Safe and Sound_

_Scene: Waterfall through the end_

_Chapter Thirty_

Lucy nodded, but didn't seem too deterred, "Yeah, whatever had gone wrong with the ritual was removed, but that doesn't matter."

Bonnie looked up at her cousin and asked, "Why is that?"

"Because if I'm translating this correctly," Lucy placed her hands against the table, leaning forward, "Even if the results were even remotely similar to the original ritual, we're going to want to make sure that Maggie stays alive."

* * *

"So let me guess this straight… unwillingly taken it's fatal," Seamus scrunched up his face as he got out of the vehicle with the two witches the following evening. None of them had been particularly thrilled about attending the booze run celebration, except for Seamus for his typical immature reasons.

"That's the way it's supposed to work," Lucy was the one to answer them as they started walking towards the Grill. The lights were already on and people were heading inside. Bonnie folded her arms as she walked along side of them. This was the first time she was going to one of these nights, having long since decided avoiding most vampires and hybrids were the best thing for her. Lucy and Seamus were the ones that insisted on attending.

Despite the proverbial lion's den they were walking into, Lucy swayed her hips with a confident strut that made Bonnie a little envious. If nothing else, Bonnie hoped their presence could help prevent a bunch of drunken hybrids from blowing up half the town tonight.

"I love nature, I do," Seamus exclaimed loudly, "But all this balance shit gets a bit feckin' ridiculous at times."

Bonnie winced at the profanities while Lucy just gave a sly smirk.

"I pity the descendants that have to read through the vulgarities in your grimoire someday," Bonnie said to Seamus as they got to the door. Seamus just gave her a cheeky grin as he held the door open for the two ladies.

They stopped when they stepped inside, glancing around the Grill. Some music was playing from a stereo hooked up in one corner of the diner. There were actually several humans, but it definitely wasn't packed. Most of the residing population didn't know about these celebrations, or they knew better. Bonnie spotted Jeremy behind the bar counter along with Stefan and Elena sitting at one end of the bar.

"So, a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf walk into the bar…" Seamus began muttering.

"Seamus, seriously?" Bonnie hissed at him and smacked him in the shoulder lightly.

"What?" He exclaimed innocently, "You can't tell me you haven't thought about it at least once."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and the two went to claim the pool table while Lucy walked over to the bar to get some drinks.

* * *

The sit down talk with her family had proven to be a rather long and strain nous one at that. Despite what Glenn had told them, Maggie just started from the beginning while they sat around the dining room table. She explained why it was that Damon had kidnapped her in the first place, the similarity to Rose. She had to explain how Rose was a five hundred year old vampire and the reason behind the similarity in their appearances.

At first Hershel was rather dubious about any supposed ancestral connection to Rose, but after Maggie explained the involvement of the Leavey family name and England he grew silent. She explained how Damon and Stefan had arranged for them being picked up as part of an agreement with Klaus to figure out what was so special about her blood.

She didn't get into what happened with Damon at the boardinghouse the previous day. While her family was on vervain now, she just didn't believe that was information that should be shared easily.

She made a lot of apologies. She had to apology so many times for all the lying she had been doing. She could see the hurt on their faces as she tried to make them understand. In turn, they asked her a lot of questions and she could see that they were trying. It was difficult since Glenn had apparently painted not the most attractive picture of the situation.

At one point it was Carl that asked her a question which startled her. "If vampires are such monsters, why do you hang around them?" The young boy asked with a bluntness that almost made her wince.

It took her a long time to come up with an answer.

"Vampires can do monstrous things, but so can people," Maggie said carefully, looking around at her family. "We've all seen what people can do and we've done some of things are ourselves. Who am I to judge them when they're no less human than we are."

The rest of the day was awkward and tense. While it was relief to have the truth come out, Maggie could tell it came at a price. Looking around the house, which especially on this day never felt like a home to her, she could see what had happened. The Atlanta group was broken. Daryl and Carol were the first ones to go, coping with Carol's vampirism and Maggie felt guilty there was nothing she could do to help with it. Carl had a similar mistrustful attitude towards the situation as Rick did in the Grill. Beth at least seemed to be supportive of her. She didn't quite know where Hershel stood, but she had a feeling it wasn't in her favor and it reminded her of the way he dealt with the walkers.

In an eerie way, it reminded her of the Randall situation. She remembered Dale and how hard he tried to plead with the group before saying to Daryl the group was broken. The thought of how many more people there had been and how many of them they had lost since then was a saddening one.

Maggie had mixed feelings about the bar celebration when she arrived at the Grill. She had been partly relieved to get out of the house and have a distraction. Unfortunately, the said distraction related directly back to the cause of all her problems to begin with. She showed up at the Grill wearing a simple pair of jeans and a black v-neck shirt, it was comfortable and she figured she would be on her feet a lot.

Setting up with Jeremy managed to help get her mind off of things for a little bit. At least until he asked her what was bothering her and then she explained what happened outside her house. While he was sympathetic towards her, she could sense the subtle 'I told you so' in his mannerisms.

Maggie was serving a couple of patrons at the bar when the two Bennett witches and the Andover warlock came into the grill. While she didn't recognize the other two, she casted a less than discreet glare towards Bonnie. She wasn't quite sure what exactly was going on with her and Glenn, but definitely did not appreciate her meddling.

Maggie let Jeremy do most of the lifting and running into the store room while she kept an eye on drinks. For the most part, she avoided Stefan and Elena's end of the bar. Taking in the crowd, Maggie was surprised to see that Damon hadn't arrived yet. Unbeknownst to her, Matt had apparently decided that telling Stefan and Elena was fair game. Stefan just didn't feel the need to getting around to tell his brother.

* * *

Stefan and Elena sat the bar with two drinks in front of them. Stefan was more leisurely drinking his while Elena's was sitting awkwardly full in front of her. She fidgeted frequently in her seat and it was obvious she was anxious. Stefan meanwhile had his slightly bored expression that seemed to be constant ever since he came back from his ripper binge.

Jeremy stood in front of them and he refilled Stefan's glass while Maggie stood only a few seats away from them. She took a moment to relax, but didn't directly go over to the two vampires.

"I'm surprised Bonnie is here," Elena commented, chancing a glance over her shoulder at Bonnie and Seamus where she could overhear them bickering over whether or not he cheated. Elena wasn't quite sure how someone could cheat in billiards.

"Me too," Stefan agreed simply as he took a sip of his new drink. He didn't admit it, but he was a little on edge as well.

Looking past the bar area, he could see four hybrids gathered around one of the tables. The only reason he recognized them was because they were in the same group that had delivered the Atlanta survivors to the boardinghouse.

"Where's Damon?" Elena frowned as she looked around, worried she didn't see his black leather jacketed figure in his usual spot.

Stefan sighed and his eyes rolled to the top of his head a moment, muttering sarcastically, "Thank you for once again confirming you're thinking of my brother when you're with me."

Her head whipped around to Stefan and gave him a pointed look, "You know I didn't mean it like that."

Jeremy shifted uncomfortably on his feet, having heard their remarks. He chose then to pipe up in his sister's defense, "Alaric said something about him going over to his apartment. They probably just lost track of time."

"Thank you, Jer," Elena said stiffly before giving Stefan a slight glare with her obviously worried expression.

The youngest Salvatore didn't say anything, knowing if maybe he had mentioned to Damon that Elena and Maggie were going to be here, he probably would've been a lot more punctual. He looked away to the front door, in time to catch the arrival of two more people to the Grill.

They were most definitely not Alaric and Damon.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry so much," Stefan said with a sudden sarcastic tone to his voice. "We got four hybrids, three witches, and two Originals in one place… What could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

Maggie had spotted the two Originals almost as soon as they walked in the door. She didn't see the way that Bonnie gave Seamus an elbow and nodded her head in their direction because she fixated on the two brothers. She stiffened at the distinct curly hair of Klaus that was in some ways like a lion's mane. He walked into the Grill with the linger of a smug expression that seemed to a common trait among the Mikaelsons.

What startled her more was to see Kol by his side. While she always knew they were brothers and would have some sort of connection because of that, it was still the first time she saw them standing side by side. If she didn't know what Kol had told her, she never would've guessed they were at odds based on their appearance. Now that she looked at the two of them, she honestly didn't see the same resemblance between the two as she did with Elijah and Kol.

She watched the two as they crossed the room and took up a few empty stools on the opposite end from the Stefan and Elena.

It was then she looked over to the three, noticing all their heads were turned and seeing the same thing she was. Jeremy's mouth was open with uncertainty and she could see that he was struggling with what to do.

"I got this," Maggie said to him firmly and took a deep breath. She knew when she took this shift from Matt there was a risk of this.

"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked her hesitantly.

She nodded before muttering, "Yeah, I better get over there before they start snapping necks over slow service."

As she moved down to their end of the bar, Klaus' back was turned slightly towards her while he was saying something to his brother. Kol's eyes flickered up as she approached and a smirk graced his face, for a moment she wondered if he heard what she had said.

At her arrival, the Hybrid turned in his seat to face her. "Maggie, sweetheart," Klaus acknowledged her with a pet name that caused her teeth to grind a little. While they sounded soothing from Kol, they seemed like poison coming from Klaus.

"Klaus," Maggie said tersely, placing her hands against the bar as she stood between the two brothers, but kept her gaze fixed on the hybrid. "What do you want?"

"No need to be rude. I'm only here to have a drink with my brother," Klaus chided and then glanced at Kol with a faint grin. He slapped a hand lightly on Kol's shoulder as he spoke.

Kol's smirk remained on his features and Maggie couldn't read anything from his dark eyes, which made the situation even more unnerving.

"Right," Maggie said finally before reaching under the counter and pulling up two fresh glasses. She tried not to let her hand shake at all as she poured them.

"How's Carol doing?" Klaus asked in a casual tone with a malicious glint in his eyes.

Maggie stilled as she set the bottle down on the counter, they could pour the rest for themselves. She took a moment to control her reaction before saying through gritted teeth, "Thriving."

"Good to hear," Klaus replied tauntingly as he raised the glass to his lips.

Looking down at the counter, it was then she decided she wasn't going to give Klaus the satisfaction of getting to her. She took a deep breath to loosen herself up a bit before shifting her attention to Kol by leaning her elbows on the counter and saying his name, "Kol…"

"Hello darling," He greeted her as he took a drink, his eyebrows raising slightly at the sudden interest.

Maggie opted to change the subject to something that actually had been bothering her since the Founder's celebration. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened to Damon's car keys, would you?" She questioned, focusing on Kol's face and ignoring the cool stare she was getting from Klaus.

"I would," Kol said confidently, "But I have no interest in returning them to Damon, if that's what you want."

Maggie didn't react to the bite in his tone at Damon's name. "Oh, actually I want them," Maggie said honestly before offering a sly grin as she explained, "You see before I could steal his car and take it for a joy ride whenever I wanted…"

Kol's eyes narrowed on her slightly as he considered her and the legitimacy behind her claim. A slow grin came across his lips, "Ah, yes. I do remember a particular instance of that happening…" Kol turned his head to his brother, adding on cheerily, "Right after she stabbed Salvatore with a machete, I might add."

Klaus' lips flickered briefly upwards in response, but he said nothing to his brother.

"Well, we all know I'm a supporter of delinquency," Kol announced, unperturbed by Klaus' lack of response and turned back to Maggie. "The keys are here," Kol gave with a smirk.

Maggie tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion. "No, I've searched this place inside and out," She shook her head slightly, she knew the layout of the Grill and where everything was like the back of her hand by this point.

Kol's eyes flickered briefly up towards the ceiling before saying in a knowing tone, "Oh I doubt that."

Seeing Maggie's remaining confusion, Kol took one more sip of his drink before placing it down on the counter decisively as he stood up. "Come, I'll show you," He jerked his head towards the front door.

Frowning slightly, Maggie stood up straight and looked down the bar in Jeremy's direction, who was already staring at her. Beside him, she could see Stefan and Elena were sneaking frequent glances as well.

"Hey, I'll be right back," She said to him and didn't wait for a response. Jeremy opened his mouth to protest but she was already slipping out from behind the bar and following after Kol towards the door. Maggie didn't miss the way she had several eyes on her from the pool table as Kol led the way outside.

Klaus knocked back the rest of his drink as he watched the two go. He had been watching the entire interaction with a calculated stare. Right then and there he decided he didn't like what he saw. While it may not have been obvious to anyone else, he didn't like the apparent interest his brother was taking in the doppelganger on top of being largely ignored by the two.

He got up from his seat at the bar and made his way over to the table with the four hybrids. He leaned down and began whispering in the ear of the closest one.

"Just a taste," He finished with a dark smile before leaning away.

Meanwhile at the bar, Elena was about ready to jump out of her seat when she saw Maggie leave with Kol and then Klaus get up from his spot. "Should we do something?" She whispered anxiously to Stefan.

"I'm not sure," He answered her as he watched the hybrid finish whatever he had to say before returning to his spot at the bar. While Stefan was certainly weary of the youngest Mikaelson that still left Klaus in the bar with them.

* * *

While Maggie was relieved to get away from Klaus and all the staring eyes of the Grill, she stopped when they stepped outside. Given what happened the last time she was alone with Kol, she jumped at the opportunity to get away, even if just for a few minutes. At the same time she wondered if it would be like that night or he would be back to his usual intimidating behavior.

"I thought you said the keys were in the Grill," Maggie said uncertainly to Kol.

He turned to face her with a knowing grin and corrected her, "Actually, I didn't."

"What do you –" Her question fell short when he took a step towards her and placed his hands on her hips. Instinctively, her hands went on top of his forearms, but she didn't push him away. She had just a moment to stare into his amused dark eyes before everything blurred around her quickly.

The ground disappeared from under her feet and she felt a rush upwards. As her feet hit the something solid again, he gripped onto his arms a little tighter and steadied herself. Kol grinned broadly at her slightly frazzled expression before she recovered. She stared back at him nervously a moment. It wasn't that she was scared of him, but she wasn't sure to what to expect from him now.

Tearing her eyes away from him, she looked around them and realized then they weren't standing in front of the Grill anymore. Rather, they were standing on the top of the Grill. She gasped slightly and Kol's hands fell away from her hips, allowing her to step closer to the edge and take in the sight of the town square from their new vantage point. The clock tower attached to the police station stood out brightly and she could see much more of Mystic Falls from where they stood.

"Now, they should be around here somewhere…" Kol muttered mostly to himself, letting her be as his eyes started searching through the gravel rooftop for a glint of silver.

"Here we go," Kol announced and Maggie looked over in his direction to see him bending over a few yards away from her. The familiar sight of Damon's keys laid in his hand as he stood. Despite herself, Maggie chuckled silently. She should have known that he would do something like throwing the keys up here.

Kol smirked as a thought came to him, he tossed the keys lightly in his hand a bit as he took a few steps towards Maggie, "You know, I think I deserve an award of some sort… Isn't that how these lost and found things usually work?"

Maggie raised an eyebrow and shook her head slightly, trying to fight down a smile at his playful tone, "I don't think so when you're the one that put them up here in the first place."

"Well, let's not get hung up on the details," Kol dismissed with a nonchalant shrug as he came to stand directly in front of her.

A slow smile came to his face with a slightly predatory look as he stared down at her. "I deserve something in return and I know what I want," He spoke to her gently.

Maggie's expression softened as she gazed back at him. She could feel her heart quicken as she recognized the look in his eyes, she had seen it before not too long ago. "And what's that?" She found herself asking aloud and her rational thoughts nowhere in sight.

"A kiss," Kol requested confidently.

Maggie swallowed thickly at the demand. Kol quietly slipped the keys in his pocket as he placed his hands on her hips once more and pulled her closer to him. Immediately, her hands went to his shoulders to catch herself. In some ways, it mirrored their body positioning of the other night, except there was a lot less clothes that time. That thought brought a heat to her face as she was also drawn in by the depth of his eyes.

She didn't reject him, because she honestly couldn't say she hadn't thought about it more than once. The temptation had been there throughout the night and particularly at the end of their dance, she thought she was going to give into it.

Kol tilted his head slightly as he began to lean in, his eyes boring into hers and watching her carefully. He listened to the way her heart picked up, but noticed the way she didn't shy away. Her scent filled his senses and he felt her palms flattened out along his shoulders, moving slightly along his collarbones, but not pushing him away.

When he was close enough to feel her breath on his lips, he hesitated a little and his eyes dropped down to her lips. Getting impatient from the anticipation, Maggie tilted her head up slightly and pressed her lips to his as she closed her eyes. He responded immediately with a gentle, heady pressure. What she thought would be a simple kiss, turned into anything but as she felt a burn begin to rise from her core as she melted into him.

Her lips parted as she felt his tongue run along her lower lip before sliding inside her mouth. Between the sensation against her tongue and his taste, she nearly moaned as one hand on her hip slide around and up her spine. Maybe she actually did, she didn't really know or really care.

One hand reached up behind his neck and knotted in his hair as she held him to her. His hair was softer and smoother than she had expected it to be. Kol gave a slight guttural growl when she gave it a slight tug, causing his lips to vibrate a little against her as she delighted in the reaction. His hands were more demanding, the lower one slipping just under the hem of her shirt to feel her skin as she pressed himself against him.

Slowly, she felt herself getting a bit lightheaded as the need for oxygen began to outweigh her need for more of Kol. Kol began easing back gently, sensing her need as her fingers loosened on his hair. His lips lingered on hers a while yet more as her mouth closed, debating whether or not to reclaim it once more, but he couldn't let himself get carried away with her any more than this.

There was a rush of air around them and in an instant Kol was gone.

Maggie nearly let out a whimper at the sudden loss of contact and she stumbled slightly as she opened her eyes. It was then she realized she was no longer on top of the Grill. Her back was to one of the large front windows as she faced the town square.

She looked down to her right hand and noticed she was clutching onto Damon's car keys. Kol was nowhere in immediate sight.

Taking shaky deep breaths, Maggie reached up with her other hand and touched her lips, which were swollen and still had the taste of Kol on them. She wondered at the way he nearly made her unravel from one kiss and apparently how she had been so caught up she barely noticed him moving her.

Staring at the car keys in her hand, she tried to calm the twisted knot in her stomach. Not wanting to read into it too much, she quickly shoved Damon's keys into her pocket and out of sight while she took a few more minutes to compose herself.

Remembering that she left Jeremy with a bar half full of supernatural creatures, Maggie turned towards the door to head back inside. Instead, she bumped straight into the chest of a stranger.

"Oh, I'm sorry," She apologized quickly, mentally berating herself for not noticing he was there.

The stranger didn't say anything and it was then she looked up at this face. Maggie froze. While she didn't know his name, she recognized the scruff and brutish features of the dark haired man. He had been one of the hybrids with Klaus the night they delivered her family to the boardinghouse. This was the one that held Rick if she remembered correctly.

Any further words died in her throat as she saw the gleam of unnatural gold eyes and he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. Maggie struggled to push away and barely caught the sight of elongated fangs as he swiftly bit down into her neck. She cried out from the piercing pain and furthermore from the fiery burn as he drew blood from her forcefully.

She tried to push him off and knee him in the stomach, but her attempts were useless. Her vision was interrupted by the blare of lights, blinding her. A screeching noise of tires against the pavement followed suit and the teeth were yanked roughly from her neck.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kol had left Maggie outside of the Grill in a blur of vampire speed and strutted back inside the bar. He left her to have a moment to herself and let her dwell in what had just happened. Kol shoved his hands in his pockets as he smirked while he walked inside, heading back towards the bar where his brother was seated.

While he had a feeling that the doppelganger would be receptive to his advances, he certainly hadn't expected such a strong reaction from her. And he didn't want to admit it, he was surprised it wasn't an entirely one-sided reaction. He buried these thoughts behind a masked expression of smugness as Klaus looked up to see him returning. There was two new glasses of whiskey set in front of them.

Klaus greeted his brother with a smile. His eyes noted the slightly disheveled appearance of his hair and he was willing to bet there was another reason for the look on his face. He didn't give away his suspicions though. He was in a much better mood now that he decided to take some action.

"Kol, there you are! Just in time for a celebratory toast," Klaus said cheerily as he picked up the glasses and offered one out to his brother.

Without faltering, Kol accepted the glass and tilted his head to the side slightly as he asked, "And what exactly are we celebrating?"

Klaus grinned and raised his glass before answering, "Here's to finally getting_ results_."

Kol's smirk dropped from his face at his tone and he narrowed his eyes at the hybrid, wondering what exactly he meant. Klaus took a deep sip of the whiskey while watching Kol coolly. Kol's hand didn't move.

Before he could ask him what he meant, there was a loud crash of breaking glass.

Turning their heads in the direction of the noise, the two brothers put their glasses and stepped closer to the dining area of the Grill. The music was cut abruptly and a sudden silence fell upon the establishment.

The two witches and the warlock at the pool table stopped their game, looking up the direction of where several tables had been knocked over by a flying body and the large front window was shattered mess on the floor.

Stefan and Elena rose from their seats at the other end of the bar, coming around to the opposite side of the dining area from Kol and Klaus. They stared down at the hybrid on the floor, rolling onto his side slowly as the others gathered around him, but didn't touch him.

Standing in the front window was Maggie, a hand clutched to her bloodied neck with a wide frightened expression. Next to her was a rather murderous looking Damon Salvatore.

Behind the pair was Alaric's black SUV, which smelled of melted rubber from slamming to a halt. Damon had shot out of the passenger seat before the vehicle even stopped when he spotted the hybrid attacking Maggie. Alaric stood half way out of the driver's seat at the sight before them, unsure whether or not to cut the engine.

"Klaus, tell your hybrids to find a different juice box," Damon snarled loudly as the few humans in the place began trying to slip out of front and side doors.

Off to the side, Seamus muttered quietly to the two Bennett witches. "I think we're about to get a real bar brawl on our hands…" He had a mischievous grin on his face.

Klaus bristled at the demand, but his attention as well as everyone else's was stolen by the sudden coughing fit from the hybrid that had bitten Maggie. He struggled to stand up, despite only being thrown through a window, as he leaned heavily against a table top. What alarmed everyone was the black bile that came with each cough, splattering the floor in a dark mess.

"What the hell?" One of the other hybrids exclaimed as the three took a step back away from him. Maggie's attacker collapsed to the ground and rolled over onto his back. He began to shake violently in a fit that was almost similar to a seizure. His skin began to grey up suddenly and the dark veins protruded underneath his skin before stilling.

An uneasy silence filled the Grill a moment before one of the other hybrids nearly shouted, "Shit! He's dead."

Klaus, who had been staring at the scene unfolded with a sense of curious fascination, was even slightly stunned by the quick reaction to Maggie's blood.

Elena covered her mouth instinctively as everyone stared at the vamped out hybrid corpse.

"Her blood is a poison," Kol stated in a slightly numb voice, his eyes looking up from the hybrid to Maggie. Now it made sense why her blood never appealed to him and even as Damon stood right next to her, the vampire didn't seem bothered by the blood on her neck.

Klaus was the first one to recover and declared in a dark tone, "Well now, _that_ we simply cannot allow."

Seeing the heads of the hybrids turn in the direction of Damon and Maggie, the vampire took a slight step back. The dark stares from Kol and Klaus also told him this was about to get ugly real fast.

"Ric, get her out of here. _Now_!" Damon said without turning around.

"Got it!" Alaric didn't need to be told twice and neither did Maggie. Already wounded and one of the few humans left around, this was not a fight she wanted to stick around for.

He slid back down into the driver's seat, slamming the door closed after him. As Maggie darted for the open passenger door, Damon caught the body of a hybrid launching after her and slamming him to the ground.

She threw herself into the seat and barely caught the sight of a second hybrid being impaled by a pool cue, having been thrown from the direction of the witches.

* * *

Alaric quickly slammed on the gas and Maggie was thrown back against the seat. She could hear more glass breaking behind them and Maggie turned around in her seat to see people running from the Grill. From inside the car, she could hear screaming and shattering noises.

Then there was an explosion in the parking lot and for a moment she was blinded by the flare of flames rising in the sky from another vehicle.

Alaric gave a rough jerk on the wheel and the SUV served off down a side street. Panting, Maggie turned around in her seat, reaching one hand up to her neck again. Some of the skin was torn from the teeth and she could feel the blood. Despite the pain, she tried to press down on it, causing a large wince.

"Where are we going?" Maggie asked Alaric as she shifted to put the seatbelt on. Maybe it was a silly instinct at this point, but her mind was struggling with processing all that just happened in the matter of seconds.

"I don't know!" Alaric frantically ran a hand through his hair. When he signed up for a night at the Grill, he thought the worst he would have to deal with was a slightly belligerent drunk Damon. "Any house we go to Klaus is just going to burn down to get to you even without an invitation."

Maggie's hands shook as she watched the trees and houses whirl by them. The image of the hybrid seizing before his death lay directly in front of her eyes. "_Her blood is a poison."_ Klaus wasn't going to stop until he spills all of hers she then realized. She had to get somewhere that he couldn't reach her.

"The county line!" Maggie nearly shouted, causing Alaric to give her a glance from the road as he white knuckled the steering wheel. It took him a second to process what she meant.

Alaric nodded repeatedly, "That'll slow him down a while… just enough we can get out of Mystic Falls and form a plan."

Maggie nodded and sank back in the seat. For just a moment, she listened to the roaring of the SUV's engine while Alaric was pushing the speed and turning down streets, fast enough to feel the pull from side to side without losing control.

A pair of headlights came up quickly behind them. Maggie turned her head in her seat, restrained by the seatbelt and she shuddered, wondering if they were friendly or foe. In the darkness, it was impossible to make out what type of vehicle it was from the glaring lights.

It didn't matter because in the next moment the SUV was slammed roughly from the side.

The force knocked it straight off the road and into the adjacent ravine.

Metal screeched and glass broke. The cabin of the vehicle crunched and tightened as the SUV rolled repeatedly.

It finally settled with the tires still spinning in the air and the engine running angrily. It hissed and groaned. The body was crinkled like if it had been made of paper that was balled up in a fit. Alaric's form was a haphazard mess on the ceiling of the SUV, which was now against the ground.

Maggie stirred from her seat, coughing against the seatbelt that was constricted against her chest now. Her vision blurred as she looked around her, seeing the spider web effect of shattering in what remained of the windshield. In a moment of panic, she realized she was hanging upside down in the seat, but otherwise somehow was still alive.

Looking next to her, a cry rose in her throat at seeing Alaric. "Please don't be dead," She murmured over and over, noting the blood running down the side of his face that she could see and the fact he hadn't moved an inch.

Breathing heavily, Maggie could feel the blood rushing to her head and knew she didn't have long before passing out. Reaching with her hands, she fumbled with the seatbelt buckle. Before releasing it, she leaned forward into her lap as much as possible, which was leaning upwards now. The click released and she fell down roughly onto her shoulder, rolling over to her side with a loud gasp of pain.

Broken glass sliced into her arm as she crawled towards the window. She tried to blink away the tears of pain and see clearer in front of her. With some straining and wiggling, Maggie pulled herself out from the vehicle. Her fingers knotted in the tall grass she tried to pull herself up onto her knees.

Don't think about it, she told herself, just keep moving.

As soon as she stopped to think, she knew she would be in trouble and the pain would be even worse. Her eyes darted around her, not having the slightest clue where they were. She could see the road at the top of the ravine and the ripped up soil from the path the SUV had tumbled down.

Forcing herself up on her feet, she hobbled in the direction of the woods next to the road. At least the trees would be able to provide her some cover, she thought. She only made it a few yards past the first few trees before she collapsed down on her knees from the pain in her right leg.

Clenching her teeth with an anguish expression, the dirt smeared with the blood on her arms as she rolled onto her side to look down at her leg. The horror settled in next when she saw that her right foot was pointing at a completely unnatural angle.

The peripheral of her vision was interrupted by a pair of shoes coming to stand in front of her. Her eyes followed the sneakers up the jean clad legs to the silhouette of a man wearing a black jacket. He crouched down in front of her, his features were only half illuminated by the remnants of the SUV headlights.

He raised a finger and slowly pressed it against his lips as he stared down at her with dark eyes.

Against her better judgment, she faintly nodded her head. Keeping quiet was a struggle though, she could feel the cold sweat down her face as her body shook. He pulled the sleeve back on his jacket while his head turned away from her, looking back at the road as if watching for someone.

Kol raised his wrist to his mouth and bit into it quickly. Without waiting for any protests, he then pressed it against Maggie's lips while the other hand went to hold the back of her head.

While the blood tasted delicious to her, Maggie barely had any chance to enjoy it. Her body was too focused on the pain and the need to get away from Klaus. She took several deep pulls from Kol's vein, having no time to ask why he was doing this or what was going on. A sickening crack echoed through the air as Maggie's foot snapped back into place. The sensation didn't hurt, but it was absolutely jarring, like if the bone vibrated all the way up to her knee.

Another loud impact sounded in the distant, followed by the shuddering noise and rumblings of a tree falling. It ripped through the branches around it in a way that would cause just about anyone to cringe.

Kol ripped his hand away from her mouth, partly tugging on her hair in the process to keep her from taking more. He flexed the hand of the wrist that had been bitten into. He didn't have time to worry about why most of his arm had gone numb. The sounds in the distant were getting closer.

For the first time he looked down at Maggie's blood smeared face, some of his on her chin and her own all down her neck, but lacking any bite marks now. Carefully, he mouthed the single word, "_Run_."

In a blink, he was gone.

Maggie reached up and wiped the remains of the blood away from her lips. At this point she wasn't sure if she was hallucinating, it had happened so fast and it didn't make any sense to her. Repeating the way his lips moved in her mind and the single word formed by them that was enough to stir her to life again.

Rolling onto her knees again, she pushed herself up with an ease that she didn't have before. Without looking back, she took off into the woods.

* * *

The only sense of time she had was her own heartbeat. It pounded furiously, echoing all the way up into her temples. She ran and pushed her legs, letting the instinct and months of running from walkers take off. She didn't let herself think, she just focused on what was ahead of her and getting there was soon as possible.

The darkness made it difficult to see. While she could largely avoid tree trunks, branches whipped at her unprotected face and arms. New scratches littered her forearms and splinters as she shoved thickets out of the way. Occasionally she tripped on a low root or fallen log, but she pushed herself up and kept going.

As it dragged on, her panting increased and her chest burned, searing from the oxygen it was demanding. She didn't know where she was going. She was just running, like all the months they had spent running from walkers and just surviving. This time was completely different though. She was utterly alone and her family likely miles away.

It was running for the sheer sack of surviving. But was surviving really living?

Her path began to rise as she realized she was climbing higher and higher gradually over time. At this point she wasn't sure if anyone was still coming after her, but she was only human and she had to keep going. Klaus could catch her in a matter of seconds and every footstep counted at this point.

In the distance she could hear the noise of smooth rumbling. It was different from the piercing noises of glass breaking and metal being ripped. Maggie pushed herself in the direction of the noise, anything was better than these endless trees.

She broke out into a clearing and spotted the source. It was a fast flowing river. The depth and width of it quickly told her it wasn't anything that she was going to swim across, especially given how the current was moving. Turning to her right, she began running along the length of it until she noticed a sudden drop off.

Her legs slowed down as she came to a halt, her whole frame shuddering from the exertion. Any hope of getting away died as soon as she recognized the waterfall.

It was the same one that Kol had taken her to, except now she stood at the very top of it as she looked down at the three tiers of nature's force. She could double back and go the other way, she thought, but that just proved exactly how lost she was. She had no idea where she was going.

Even if she did managed to get past the county line, what then? A life of running from walkers and Klaus? The reality of just how little chance of her surviving that settled in on her as she stared out across the landscape and the shadows lit by the moon. Her family would be left behind as well, subject to Klaus' punishments for evading him. After seeing what happened to Carol, she shuddered at the thought of what would happen to them.

Maggie stepped closer to the edge, only a few feet away as she climbed onto a rock, staring down at the water and thinking through her options. There were fewer and fewer with every moment.

With a sense of dread, she acknowledged there was one that couldn't be avoided. A few tears passed down her cheeks, whether they were from pain or something else she wasn't sure, as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was only just beginning to learn to live again and now that was being ripped away. How could she go back to just running for the sake of it?

Beth would be so disappointed with her, she thought to herself, now knowing what she needed to do. The angry redness was only just beginning to fade away from the scars on her sister's wrist. Maggie reached up to touch her neck, feeling the smooth skin that was tainted with her blood over it. She kept a hand clasped over where she had been bitten while she stared down at the pool of water. Her knees shook while her stomach knotted.

She was absolutely scared.

* * *

Klaus blurred into the clearing, trying to follow the scent of Maggie's blood and her heart rate. The first was rather difficult since it didn't call to him anything like a human would, or even a basic wild animal would either. He heard her heart rate though, it was fluttering like a hummingbird, waiting to be crushed.

Seeing her standing at the edge of the waterfall, he grinned darkly as he started to walk towards her. There was still a good fifty feet between them. Her back was turned to him as she looked out ahead of her. One hand was clutched to her neck, stopping the flow of blood from her bite wound. Her arms and legs were scrapped up too from the car accident.

"While I admire your instincts to run," Klaus called out tauntingly to her, "Your sense of direction is rather lacking."

He noticed her ridged stance as she heard his voice. While she appeared to be calm and collected, her heart gave away the truth. She refused to turn around and face him, which was no matter for Klaus since she had nowhere to go.

"Your Damon won't be able to save you, last I saw he was helping his precious Elena with a little bit of a splinter," Klaus smirked at the image of the tree branch protruding from the doppelganger's abdomen. It wasn't fatal, but that certainly would hurt.

Klaus approached Maggie further, standing only ten yards away from her now. She still refused to move, but he knew that she was listening to him.

"And Stefan is rather incapacitated at the moment," Klaus added on, knowing it would be a little bit before the youngest Salvatore woke up from that snapped neck. Klaus considered it merciful that was all he had done to his old friend.

Maggie grew impatient with the intimidation tactics. She hissed out as the hand by her side shook in a fist, turning her head slightly towards him but not fully, "Would you let me have one last moment of peace? I have done no wrong by you other than merely existing."

Klaus' eyebrows rose slightly at the tenacious tone in her voice. It was then he understood she was one of those resigned types, trying to accept the fate that stared her in the eyes. He always believed you saw someone's true nature during some of their last moments and these types always fascinated him in a way.

"Alright then, have your moment," Klaus conceded with a smug grin and he tugged his hands behind his back.

Maggie turned her head back at the view before her. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, but that did nothing. There wasn't anything that could prepare someone for dying. A sorrowful sense of resignation passed over her as she stared up at the moon and then back down at the river again. It wasn't a calming feeling. Her body still shook and the adrenaline coursed through her veins, but her mind began to slip away to thoughts and memories of different times.

"I've never seen this place in the daylight," Maggie voiced her thoughts out loud, even though Klaus was the only one to hear them. She needed someone to hear it. "I don't suppose I ever will now," She admitted softly.

Klaus' smug expression softened as he stared at Maggie's backside. For a moment, he wondered what was truly going through her mind to say such things. He supposed she was just reminiscing in her last thoughts. "You've been here before?" There was a slight sense of awe in his voice as he questioned.

"Just once," Maggie answered honestly and a sad smile came to her lips as she thought about how for such a brief period of time she had been happy. Her worries over surviving and all the supernatural problems had faded away that night. "It was beautiful," She whispered faintly.

Klaus remained silent behind her. He was past the point of being moved by simple words, but he did have to admit she was a sight to behold at the moment.

"I'm going to die tonight," Maggie stated as her voice took on a steady calm. It was more of a statement than a question. A declaration of the truth that faced her.

"Yes you are," Klaus confirmed with a faint upward turn at the corners of his mouth.

Maggie steadied her shoulders and turned to face him, looking at the hybrid for the first time in their conversation. While his clothing had been torn at and there appeared to be blood smeared on some of his hands, which were still tucked behind his back, he seemed completely at ease with the whole situation.

Keeping the hand to her neck, Maggie nodded her slowly before saying, "Then if I'm going to die, it will not be by your hand."

Klaus tilted his head slightly and then Maggie took a step back on the rock, her heels left with no more room to spare. While she couldn't control the fact she had to die, she could control at least this.

His eyes widened slightly as understanding hit him. "You wouldn't," He dared her, knowing how many times he's heard someone threaten to do the act versus actually having the nerve to carry it out.

"Oh, I would," Maggie pointed her chin out and glared at the hybrid coldly, "and I am."

In Maggie Greene's last act of defiance against him, she jumped.

* * *

The last thing she saw was the stars as her head fell back and the air rushed around her. The water hit her face after that, blinding her before her head cracked against a boulder.

Klaus stood at the edge, quickly following after where she disappeared from. Slightly stunned, he looked down to see her body rolling through the waters, smacking against rocks as it went over the second tier. At times it disappeared from his sight before resurfacing again briefly. There was without a doubt, she was dead. Going down a fall would be quite unfortunate even for more resilient creatures.

Another figure blurred into the clearing, quickly approaching the hybrid standing at the ledge.

"Salvatore and that Bennett bitch aren't far behind," Kol sneered, his eyes dark with rage. His hair was rather disheveled and his clothes torn at, holes in several places. He adjusted the sleeves of his jacket, staring at his brother's backside.

Klaus didn't stir from his spot, instead he watched Maggie's body bubbling up from the bottom of the fall.

"Though, I rather enjoyed ripping that Andover warlock's heart out," Kol admitted with a dark smile. His right hand was smeared almost black in the light.

He was a few feet behind Klaus when he realized that his brother was completely alone. He didn't even hear a heartbeat or smell anyone close by. "Where is she?" He asked bluntly, looking around them.

"The situation has been resolved," Klaus declared with a light tone.

Kol stilled when he noticed the direction of Klaus' gaze. He took a few slow steps to stand next to his brother by the edge. "Thrown over a waterfall… that's a bit overdramatic even for your tastes, Niklaus," Kol's eyes were narrow on the hybrid as the mask of the dark grin remained on his face.

"On the contrary, brother, she chose the route of the coward," Klaus corrected him, looking up to his brother's face with a smile.

Kol's eyes widened slightly and darted down to the bottom of the falls. It took only a second for him to spot Maggie's body, caught up on some rocks by the water's edge. She was face down, from there he could see her arm pointed at an odd angle and completely unmoving. His jaw was set firmly as he studied it a moment, feeling his brother's gaze watching closely.

He gave a nonchalant shrug, "No matter, dead is dead."

"That it is," Klaus agreed, "And so are those four hybrids… which is why I must leave immediately to find some more werewolves for when I get that cure." With Maggie's death taken care of, it was onto the next order of business. It was a shame to lose more hybrids, but it was a necessary sacrifice in his eyes for anything that could threaten any vampire or hybrids existence.

He stepped away from the ledge and began walking back in the direction they came from. Kol remained by the edge, his lips set into a thin line as he stared down.

"But how about a celebratory drink before I go?" Klaus suggested with a slight fondness in his voice, pausing with his hands behind his back and looking back at his youngest brother.

"No thanks, brother," Kol declined before explaining with a wicked smirk, "There's some fun to be had with a doppelganger walker."

Klaus studied him thoughtfully a moment. While he had been concerned from his behavior in the bar about Kol growing a soft spot for the woman, those fears diminished with what he saw before him. It was unnerving and relieving at the same time.

"Try not to make too much of a mess," Klaus cautioned before turning away and disappearing from sight completely.

Once Kol was absolutely sure that Klaus was gone, he looked back down the waterfall. The smirk on his face fell immediately. In a blur of several jumps and a step, he was at the bottom and he jumped into the water.

He made no time of pulling Maggie's body from the water and onto the shore, very near the same spot they had been dancing the other night. He laid her down on her back as he kneeled on the ground next to her, picking her head up and holding it gently in his lap.

Her body was cold from the water at first touch. The blood on her face and neck was washed away. Her arms were still a little smeared with it and he could see some of the scraps. He didn't breathe as he took in her pale expression and closed eyes. Her lips were too dark and the heart beat wasn't there for it to be convincing that she was just unconscious.

Holding her head up by his left arm, his right hand moved down to her leg to inspect it quickly. Her right foot hung just as limply as the rest of her, but it didn't seem out of place. Looking back to her neck, he noticed the lack of bite mark there as well. His right hand slide up to her shirt and underneath to her rib cage.

He paused as he pressed against the skin and waited a moment. Something moved against his fingertips. Kol could feel the ribs adjusting underneath after having been smashed against several rocks on the way down the falls.

He let out a deep relieved sigh and closed his eyes as he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers. She actually managed to do it. His lips pulled up into a smile, his nose almost touching hers as he began to whisper, "Rise, my little firecracker. You are going to be magnificent."

He pulled the hand under her shirt out at the sound of her elbow cracking back into place. His hand reached up to touch her cheek, stroking it gently as he opened his eyes, taking in the lifeless expression.

"Maggie!" A shout came from the top of the waterfall.

Kol looked up from her body to see Damon Salvatore blurring down in his direction. The dark smile never left Kol's face as Damon caught a sight of him.

In a blink, Kol left, leaving a stunned Damon behind.

Damon didn't make any move to stop him as his eyes fixated at Maggie's still body. Not too far behind Damon came Bonnie, stumbling and climbing down the winding path along the side of the waterfall.

"No, no, _no_…" He began muttering helplessly as he fell down to his knees next to her. He bit into his wrist quickly and tried pressing it up against her lips, but they didn't move.

He groaned as he bent down and placed his ear against her chest, not hearing a heartbeat next to. His face tore as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

Bonnie caught up to Damon to see him moaning incoherently into Maggie's hair as he held her head against his chest. Bonnie's hands covered her mouth, which still had the remains of a nosebleed over it, and sank to her knees, realizing their efforts had failed.

* * *

_Author's Note: So who's as speechless as I am? (Is it okay if I make myself speechless?)_

_Now, gimme your reactions, PLEASE! This chapter was a lot of work and fun to write, so I really want to hear what you have to say._

_Thoughts about Maggie's blood? What do you think of Kol? Hate him or love him more in this chapter?_

_I wanna hear it all!_

_Review response –_

_Nethra: Thanks for the plug, that made my day. __ I'm not going to comment too much on the last chapter with so much that happened in this one, but I definitely look forward to hear your opinion and analyze of it! It's awesome to read when people pick up on small details I like to put a lot of thought into, like the interactions of not just the major, but the minor characters too._


	31. Chapter 31

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: Natalie Walker – My Skin_

_(If I had to pick a theme song for Maggie's character in this story, this would be it)_

_Chapter Thirty-one_

"No, no, _no_…" He began muttering helplessly as he fell down to his knees next to her. He bit into his wrist quickly and tried pressing it up against her lips, but they didn't move.

He groaned as he bent down and placed his ear against her chest, not hearing a heartbeat next to. His face tore as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him.

Bonnie caught up to Damon to see him moaning incoherently into Maggie's hair as he held her head against his chest. Bonnie's hands covered her mouth, which still had the remains of a nosebleed over it, and sank to her knees, realizing their efforts had failed.

* * *

Dim lights illuminated the hallway of Mystic Fall's hospital. Usually the hospital took on an eerie sense of quiet, reminiscent of the ones outside of Mystic Falls, long since devoid of human life. On this evening, the silence remained as people lingered in the hallway. At one end stood Sheriff Forbes, talking in hushed voices with one of the officers as they put together what happened.

There were many people injured from the explosions at the Grill. They were being kept in a separate wing of the hospital than this one. This section of the building was for the ones that didn't make it out alive.

Standing outside the door to the hospital morgue leaning against the opposite wall was Stefan. His arms were crossed and his head bowed somberly. Next to the closed door, sitting on the floor against the wall was Damon. His legs were curled upwards, his elbows leaning against them with his hands buried into his hair. No noises stopped the silent tears that rolled down his cheeks as he stared down at the cold linoleum flooring.

He didn't care that Elena sat right next to him, trying to offer silent support without actually touching him. He didn't care that his brother and anyone would clearly see his moment of weakness. He didn't have it in him to run away this time. There was no lashing out. Ripping open the throat of an innocent wouldn't sate the empty feeling in his chest this time.

Stefan frowned as no one said anything. There weren't appropriate words at this time. It actually alarmed him too how still his brother was compared to his usual explosive behavior when something like this happened.

Tears stung at Elena's eyes. While she hadn't seen eye to eye with the woman, she never once wished for Maggie's fate. Being a young vampire didn't help her heightened emotions either. No, for all the things people have done to her, there were very few that Elena actually wished death upon and Maggie was not one of them.

Footsteps sounded down the hallway and Elena looked up to see Alaric heading towards them. He moved a bit stiffly and clutched an ice pack to a forehead as he moved. He still wore the same clothing from the accident, slightly soiled and torn up. Elena shot up from her seat and immediately caught him up in a hug that nearly knocked him back.

"Ric! Are you okay?" Elena sighed as she held him. He lifted one arm to wrap around the young vampire before nodding.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," He grunted out and with an awkward chuckle added, "I never thought I would be happy to hear Klaus hit my car." There had been a while where it was pretty touch and go, no one was completely sure what had happened to the SUV until Damon came forward and explained what he saw. They weren't sure if the ring would apply to the car accident.

"Just not so tight, please," Alaric winced slightly.

Elena pulled back, mumbling a sheepish apology. At times it was easy to forget how much strength the young woman had now.

At the sight of his friend, Damon wiped away the moisture from his cheeks quietly and slowly rose to his feet, but hung back.

"Where's Bonnie?" Alaric asked, looking around. He could have sworn he saw her peek into his room at one point while he was still recovering.

"She left when Lucy woke up," Elena dropped her gaze solemnly, thinking of her once close friend and how her cousin had collapsed at the Grill trying to slow down Klaus. Seamus was even more unfortunate.

Alaric shifted on his feet as he listened, his eyes weren't on Elena but looking at the three of them. Stefan kept his head bowed down, clearly listening. What worried him more was how quiet Damon remained since their arrival at the hospital. Damon didn't look at anyone in particular. His gaze was aimless at the wall and a rawness in his expression that was completely unbefitting of him. His hands were buried in his jacket pockets and his chest didn't even rise and fall as he stood still.

"And Maggie?" Alaric's hesitated at a quieter level.

"She didn't…" Elena voice choked and she shook her head, fresh tears threatening at the corners of her eyes. She took a deep breath before repeating what Bonnie had described to her that appeared to happen when her and Damon found Maggie. "Kol drowned her in the river."

Alaric's face fell and his free hand ran through his hair. He felt as if someone had just punched him in the stomach. His eyes went over to Damon, who had yet to remove or respond to Elena's words. Alaric had been the one that Damon trusted Maggie with to get her out of her. He should have been able to keep her safe. He shouldn't be the one walking away from it just after a couple of hours.

"Her family's inside waiting to see if she'll turn into a walker," Damon finally spoke up in a flat and detached tone.

Alaric stepped forward to his friend. While he hadn't been particularly close to Maggie, he knew she was important to Damon and no one could deny the influence she had over him. Maggie was the one that could take his abrasive personality and she dished it right back at him. He saw the way she could get completely under his skin and fed up with her stubbornness, but he kept going back to her.

"Damon, I'm so…" Alaric began, but didn't have the proper words. He placed a hand against Damon's shoulder sympathetically.

"Don't," Damon hissed sharply all of the sudden and Alaric dropped his hand. He could see in his expression the way the vampire was shutting down.

The seconds were ticking by and getting closer to the point they were all familiar with where he would lash out afterwards. It was then Alaric realized Elena and Stefan were with him not just for support, but to also make sure he didn't go out after Kol. Not because they wanted to keep Kol safe, but they knew that Damon wouldn't come back if he went after that Original.

* * *

Just inside the door Alaric, Elena, Stefan and Damon stood outside from, there was a small crowd gathered around an examination table of the hospital morgue. The table was a stainless steel, cold and as unmoving as the body the laid on it.

Jeremy Gilbert stood closest to the door with his arms wrapped around Beth as she cried against his shoulder. He didn't care about the wet stain on his shirt. His eyes were red as well as he stared down at the table.

Silence hung in the air among the rest of them.

On the table next to Maggie's body, Carl sat on the edge with his feet dangling off the edge. His hands rested in his lap as he stared her pale face. There was a deep worry line set in the boy's forehead and a somber focus to him as he waited.

Next to him on the table sat a black .9mm pistol, the one that belonged in the holster on Rick Grimes' police belt. He leaned against the wall, a short distance away from the gun. It sat there, gleaming in the light from the hallway that strayed through the blinds. It was there, ready to be used but no one wanted to take it.

A pair of crutches leaned against the wall as Hershel sat in a chair at the end of the table by Maggie's head. Rick leaned against the wall on the opposite side. Hershel's eyes were downcast and he didn't move. Even under the wisps of his white beard, there were only the signs of a broken man. In just a short year, he had lost his wife, his step-son, and now his eldest daughter. All he had left was Beth.

Rick rubbed at the scruff on his chin while his shoulders sagged. He had failed them again. He always tried so hard to keep everyone alive, to help them survive and now they had lost someone that had become a daughter to him.

It was like Amy all over again, except this time everyone was Andrea. No one wanted to pick up the gun, but they knew what would happen. No one wanted to face the fact one more piece of them had died. While Damon had told them there was a chance she wouldn't turn into a walker because she had drank his blood a few days ago, none of them were willing to believe that until they saw it.

Even then they hoped a little by waiting.

Carl sat attentively as the young boy's eyes passed over Maggie's body. Her hair was still damp from the river water, but some of the ends were beginning to dry with frizz to them. Her dark jeans and the black shirt she wore appeared as if she had dressed for her own mourning. Her skin contrasted the color brightly, pale and lifeless. The dark hue to her lips had faded away, but lacked any rosy color of life in its place. Her eyelashes didn't flutter nor did her eyelids flicker from a dream.

Carl's eyes traveled down from her face to her neck, imagining the way Kol must have held her by the back of the neck as she gasped for air, only to swallow water instead. He titled his head to the side as another thought occurred to him, thinking back to the explanation Stefan had given the family when they first arrived to the hospital.

"I thought she was bit…" Carl's brow scrunched in confusion as he voiced his concern out loud.

Jeremy, who held Beth's head against his shoulder as he gently ran his hand through her in a reassuring manner, just nodded his head. He didn't get a clear sight of Maggie at the time it happened from his vantage point, but Elena and Stefan confirmed what happened they arrived at the hospital with Damon carrying Maggie's body.

"Then where is it?" Carl asked, looking at Maggie's arms and neck. Her exposed skin seemed to be unmarred from what he could see.

This caused Beth to lift her head from Jeremy's shoulder, wounded red eyes giving Carl an odd look. Jeremy carefully pulled himself away from her as he looked to Maggie's neck and stepped closer. "I could've sworn Elena said she was bit in the neck," Jeremy muttered as he leaned over Maggie.

There was a cough and a sputter.

Carl was the first one to reach for the gun.

* * *

"_I could've sworn Elena said she was bit in the neck."_

The voice seemed so far away, like someone speaking just above the water. It was distorted and unclear, but it gave her something to reach for. It was a lifeline, she pushed for it, reaching for it. The darkness had been so consuming and she was so cold, drenched to the bone in dread.

The rush came from her throat, once it began the control was completely gone. Maggie's chest heaved forward all of the sudden and a mouthful of water erupted from her lips, dripping down the side of her face. Her eyes squeezed tighter as she began to cough up more water.

Maggie rolled over onto her side as the last of the water bubbled out from her lips. She felt her cheek pressed against cool metal and her hand reached out, gripping the side of the table. Wearily, she opened her blurry eyes. Her nose was hit with a barrage of senses, metallic and chemical were the first ones that processed.

The room was dimly lit, but the first thing she noticed was a black circular barrel pointed between her eyes. Her face grimaced as she tried to look past it and saw the blue eyes of a young boy with freckles on his light cheeks. She recognized the messy brown hair and noticed the way the gun shook unsteadily.

"Carl?" She forced out in a hoarse whisper, her throat burned so badly from the water.

The gun dropped to the floor with a clatter and several gasps. The moment Maggie had moved, everyone took a step back, except for Carl. He reached for the gun and jumped down from the edge of the table. Hearing his name, the gun slipped and he stepped back, bumping into the table behind him.

Maggie rolled back over onto her back, her hands clutching at her stomach. It felt like if someone had hit her in the chest with a cinderblock. She took several deep breaths, trying to alleviate the pressure. The burning in her throat continued on as if it had been scrapped raw. Looking up above her, she noticed the ceiling tiles, each detail and dimple in the cheap material stood out in her eyes.

The sterile smell around her was sharp and unpleasant on her nose. Looking to her left, she squinted a moment before her eyes settled on the person standing next to her, staring down in wonder at her. "Jeremy?" She guessed tiredly.

"Damon!" Jeremy raised his voice only slightly, knowing the three vampires outside the door would hear him immediately. His wide eyes didn't leave Maggie, stunned at how this was possible. When they said there was a risk of her turning, this wasn't the kind of turning he was expecting.

Maggie closed her eyes, reaching her hands up to touch her face. She could hear the door opening and several sets of footsteps enter the room. It sounded like a thundering herd to her though. What made it worse was the constant pounding noise that had been there since the moment she awoke. It was like fingers tapping against in a rhythmic steady beat against her temple, except there were several of them. And they just wouldn't go away.

"How is she alive?" She heard a voice behind her head, off to her right shoulder say. It sounded a lot like Rick Grimes.

"She's not. She's in transition," Another voice answered. The sound of it caused the hands to slide off her face and her eyes to open immediately. They were met by deep blue ones staring back at her. There was a hint of red irritation in them, but she was more taken by the awe and if she could guess hope in them.

"Damon," Maggie sighed gently, letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She studied his face, seeing it for the first time again. She took in each one of his features, the line of his jaw, the cut of his cheeks and nose. The slight imperfections in his skin that she had never noticed before, but only seemed to add to him. She reached up with one hand to his cheek.

"Transition to what?" Someone else questioned that sounded a little like Hershel, but she didn't care. She was focused on face in front of her. Her palm flattened out against his cheek, feeling the hint of warmth from it. Her fingertips brushed against his hairline as her thumb stroked just under his eye. The corners of his lips tugged upwards as Damon reached up to clasp his hand over hers, holding it to him.

"A vampire," Someone gave. It sounded like Stefan. No, it was Stefan. She sensed out of the periphery of her vision the other Salvatore coming around the table and stepping in front of Carl. What she didn't realize at the time was the two oldest vampires in the room positioned themselves between her and all the beating hearts.

"How are you feeling?" Damon's voice lacked any humor or sarcasm. There was something naked about his expression and the way it reflected uninhibited concern for her.

Maggie swallowed thickly, thinking about it honestly a moment. It took an effort to block out the sounds around her, the breathing and scuffing of the people around them. "Tired and thirsty mostly… But not too bad for taking a tumble down a waterfall," She tried to grin with a weak but light tone, wanting to get rid of how grave Damon's face was.

The humor didn't do much to relieve Damon.

"Kol pushed you over the waterfall?" Stefan was the one question in disbelief.

Maggie's hand dropped slowly as her face scrunched up at that. "What? No," She muttered, frowning and thinking about to what she could last remember. Carefully, she placed her hands against the table and pushed herself up to a sitting position. Damon kept by her side, placing one hand gently on her upper arm, but not grasping it tightly by any means. She moved her legs over the edge of the table, keeping her hands clutching the edge as she sat.

Her head pounded even more from the movement, worse than any hangover she ever experienced. "No, he wasn't even there," Maggie rubbed her eyes a bit as they adjusted to the light coming in from the windows of the hallway. Her mind shifted through the last vivid memories that she had, "Klaus was… but I jumped." She admitted.

Damon's mouth hung open, unsure of what shocked him more, seeing Maggie moving and speaking in front of him or what just came out of her mouth.

Beth was the first one to find her voice, "You _killed _yourself?"

Maggie's head whipped in the direction of it and she froze, staring at her little sister. Beth now stood beside her father, grasping one hand gently onto his forearm and his hers, as if they were literally holding each other up. The hurt and sorrow that had consumed her expression as not being dominated by a greater one of betrayal.

"Beth, I…" Maggie choked on the words, what could she possibly say to her? There was no denying she was the biggest hypocrite after trying to talk her sister down from the same thing she had just done.

Beth shook her head and turned away from Maggie, quickly darting for the door and out of the room.

"I got it," Jeremy quickly spoke up and moved to follow after Beth.

Inadvertently, Maggie sighed a little at the removal of two people from the room. It was less smells acting her senses and even the pounding in her head began to relent a bit. The burning in her throat was still ferocious though.

It was then Maggie finally got a good look around the room, realizing just how many people were there. Alaric and Elena still stood by the door, sharing the same mixed feeling of shock as everyone else. The members of the Atlanta group struggled with seeing Maggie sitting up and talking, as if she had not just been dead cold a moment ago. Hershel stood uneasily on his crutches with a thoughtful hard expression that she couldn't decipher. On the other side of the table she could just make out Carl and Rick, who had a hand on his son's shoulder. It was then she could focus on the pounding in her head, each person had their own beat and rhythm.

Both of the Salvatores noticed the way she seemed to fixate on the humans in the room all of the sudden. Damon reached out with his other hand, now placing both on her upper arms as he stepped directly in front of her.

"Anyone with a heartbeat should probably leave," Stefan declared, counting the fact there was still four live humans in the room.

"He's right," Damon agreed, not sparing the time to humor actually agreeing with Stefan, "She's in transition to a newborn vampire. I'll give you one stereotypical, unpleasant guess what she needs. So unless you're offering…"

Rick stood up straighter as if he was about to protest, but hesitated at Damon's contribution. Neither Grimes nor Greene member wanted to leave Maggie, but they couldn't dispute the fact this wasn't their area of expertise.

"Hey, look at me," Damon coaxed softly to Maggie, noticing her gaze was still largely on the Grimes. Her eyes were drawn to the veins of their necks. At Damon's voice, she slowly turned her head towards him and stopped by the way his eyes seemed to want to trap her.

"That's right, focus on me," Damon murmured reassuringly while Alaric tried to convince the others to leave. "Just breathe in and out." Maggie nodded and tried to focus on her breaths while her family slowly left the room, one by one. She tried not to look at the longing and worried expressions sent her way. Instead, she stared at the ocean and tried to imagine rolling waves.

It was a few minutes before she settled down. With her family gone, the room didn't feel so small. The pounding in her head subsided too. Unfortunately, the burning and scrapping feeling in her lungs continued. It was like she was so dehydrated the very air irritated her body.

"How is this possible?" Damon's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, full of wonder and uncertainty.

Maggie's eyes dropped from Damon's face, almost instantly muttering, "I don't know." In truth, she knew exactly how it was possible, but she didn't understand why it had happened.

"Who the hell gave you vampire blood?" Damon recovered some of his usual tactless tone. For a moment he stopped to look at Stefan and Elena. Stefan just shrugged with a blank expression. Damon wasn't sure if he was being honest or not, but he had to take it for what it was worth at the moment. Elena shook her head with her arms folded over her chest.

"I don't remember," Maggie lied. She only had a moment to think about her answer while Damon's head was turned before he looked back at her. She needed more time to think about what happened, but she couldn't do so clearly with her body feeling all out of sorts. Her skin crawled, like if it was chilled, but she knew she wasn't actually cold.

Damon's face scrunched up slightly as he studied her, wondering how she wouldn't remember something like that.

"Right, as informative as this has been," Stefan cut in with a callous tone and looked to Damon, "We only have a few hours until the sunrise, so unless you want her stuck in a hospital all day…" His voice trailed as he clearly made his point.

Damon returned Stefan's gaze and clenched his jaw a bit. As much as he wanted answers right then and there, a blood thirsty vampire stuck in a hospital was not going to end well.

"Stefan has a point. We should go. I'll see if Sheriff Forbes can keep anyone out of the hallway on our way out," Elena piped up, uncrossing her arms and moving towards the door of the room.

"First, I need blood," Maggie spoke up, causing the three vampires to stop suddenly.

Damon quirked an eyebrow, but didn't protest against her.

Elena's hand halted on the doorknob, she turned back around with a gasp. "Maggie, you don't have to decide this now…" She tried to say in a reassuring tone.

Maggie shook her head in one terse movement, keeping her eyes on Damon as she spoke firmly in a tone that rose with irritation as she went, "There's nothing to decide. We're in a hospital, how hard is it to find a blood bag?"

"That's not a reason to rush this though," Elena tried to reason, remembering how appealing the blood had been to her when she first woke up. "There's plenty back at the boardinghouse. This isn't just something you should –"

Maybe it was because Maggie was on edge already, but hearing Elena's voice seemed exceptionally grating on her, especially with her disagreeing. "Were you not listening, Elena?" Maggie suddenly spat out, shooting a harsh glare at the doe-eyed brunette, "Klaus didn't kill me, I jumped. I already made my decision. Now I'm not going to risk permanently dying in some car accident on the way home or waste my time pretending my mind hasn't already been made up just to keep _your_ self-righteous conscious clear."

Damon's eyes widened a bit, darting frantically between Elena and Maggie. Even Stefan's jaw went a little slack at the outburst.

Elena sucked in a sharp breath, as if someone had just punched her in the stomach. She blinked several times, clearly trying to fight away the emotion the words illicit.

After an awkward moment of tense silence, she stiff muttered, "I think I'll just go find Sheriff Forbes…" Elena hoped it was only the heightened nerves of the transition speaking, but even then, the words still stung sharply. Not wasting another breath, she ducked out of the room and closed the door sharply behind her.

Stefan cleared his throat after Elena was gone and shifted on his feet, "Yeah… I think I'll go find some blood bags." Not hearing any protests from Damon or Maggie, the young Salvatore was the next one to disappear from the room.

Damon stared after them a long while, partly amazed at how quickly Maggie could clear a room apparently.

Maggie shivered, from what she wasn't sure. She didn't know where it came from, but the irritation flared up almost out of nowhere and she nearly jumped down from the table. Damon's hands on her arms kept her grounded though.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that probably was a poor choice of words," Damon said slowly, thinking that was a low blow that usually came from someone like him.

Maggie gave him a slightly confused expression, her gaze softening when she looked back at him.

"Car accidents…" Damon pointed out and then gave a nonchalant half shrug, "Only most of her family, including herself, died in them…"

Maggie's eyes widened and her face fell. The irritation died immediately as it fell into her stomach in the form of cold guilt. "Oh god, I don't even know where _that_ came from," Maggie gasped and bowed her head, thinking how it felt like someone else was saying those words for a moment… but part of her didn't exactly disagree with them. No, she felt that way, but she shouldn't have said it like that.

"Hey, it's okay," Damon bent down slightly, trying to get her to look him in the eye and offering a half smirk, "You just died. I think you're entitled to be a little irrational." He began rubbing his hands gently up and down his arms, trying to soothe her.

His humor didn't get the reaction he wanted. Instead, Maggie began to shiver more. She was acutely aware of his touch on her arms. She could feel it in every nerve the way his skin brushed against hers, bringing a fiery warmth to it even though she knew that his body didn't actually bring any.

Damon continued to speak, ignorant his simple touch was the cause of her reaction, "Just blame it on the heightened vampire emotions." He offered a conspiring quirk of his eyebrows, "I know Elena still does."

The coaxing managed to settle down the guilt as Maggie fixated on his words and the touch of his hands. At his jest, her sorrowful expression managed to twist slightly as a grin tried to fight against it halfheartedly.

Maggie let a gentle sigh as she sat in silence and Damon let her calm down. She thought of her family's faces, all the emotions. Horror, shock, betrayal, hurt, anguish. This was one of the few times she felt so small and alone.

"What do you think of me transitioning?" Maggie asked loud, finally looking back up to Damon's eyes.

Damon hesitated with his response. Most people, certainly ones like Elena, would give some well-rehearsed speech about it being her choice and don't let anyone else influence it. She didn't have to do anything she didn't want to and it wasn't fair for other people to force this upon her. But he knew that wouldn't be the way he honestly felt.

"I'm not sure if I'm the right person to be asking that… I tend to be pretty selfish," Damon's face lacked a smirk this time and if anything, Maggie sensed a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"I don't care about what's right. I want to know what _you_ think," Maggie answered him stubbornly. Dying wasn't going to suddenly give her a moral compass to go by and she wasn't going to seek one out in other people.

Damon took a deep breath before giving in honestly, "I would be a lying idiot if I said I wasn't relieved. I thought I had lost you forever."

Maggie leaned forward to him and picked up her arms to embrace him. His hands slide from her arms and pulled her close as she buried her face into his neck. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, clutching to him. She thought to herself, at least she had one anchor to help her through this.

Damon frowned faintly as he held her, enjoying having her close to him again, but also wondering how much of what he thought was influencing her decision. His eyes flickered to the windows of the room when he noticed Stefan and Elena returning. They hesitated outside the door as they whispered to each other. It was clear from where Damon was that Elena had been crying a bit. He didn't move from Maggie though, nothing could pull him away from her right now.

Maggie held onto Damon, feeling a hand running up and down along her back reassuringly. The sensation was much more vivid than she ever remembered it before. Being so close to him, she took in his scent and cologne, which she seemed to savor notes that she never knew were there before. So close to his neck, her lips were barely a brush away from his skin. The more she thought about the smell of him, she felt her throat begin to burn more and the idea of needing to taste that deliciousness entered her thoughts.

She pressed her lips lightly to his neck. It was only the slightest of movements and Damon didn't pay it any mind. She found feel the blood, just a few beneath the skin, calling out to her.

"Damnit!" Damon snarled suddenly and Maggie was pushed back at an arm's length from him in a blink.

Her eyes snapped open to see Damon clutching a hand to his neck.

Damon jerked back in surprise the moment he felt the teeth pierce his skin, rather roughly at that. When Maggie reached out to hug him, he didn't for once think to worry about his own blood. He never heard of a human completing a transition off of vampire blood.

Maggie eyed him with bewilderment at what just happened. She hadn't even realized what was she doing until it already happened. Her mouth hung open and Damon could see the smearing of red on her teeth and lips.

While the bite mark on his neck healed in seconds, the same seconds seemed to tick by slowly as Damon watched Maggie' s tongue run along her lips reflexively before she swallowed.

As her eyes darkened and the black veins began to appear underneath them, Damon also remembered he had never seen a human feed off of vampire blood before Maggie either. She let out a startled gasp as the fangs sank through her gums for the first time.

* * *

_Author's Note: Bring on Vampire Maggie! What do you guys think of her hasty decision? A bit of a polar opposite to Elena (referring to the TV show with her waiting all day until the last minute)._

_Next chapter, Maggie coping with her change, which will be interesting giving how dark and volatile her emotions were as a human._

_Now, I just want to send a huge thank you out to everyone that took the time to review last chapter! It really means the world to me and reading reviews just motivates me to get right into writing more._

_Review responses –_

_Wasitora: How scandalous! That comment made me smile haha. If there was a way to put Damon and Kol together without ripping each other's heads off… Oh if only._

_Nethra: Feel free to read into any words and the writing, especially when it comes to Kol since he's my favorite character to write for in this fic (aside from Maggie, of course)! He's a tricky one with a lot of masks, like you said. I promise most of what I write has a purpose for being there. But thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. :D_

_LiveHappy: YES SHE DID! YAY. And I've procrastinated so much on my college courses writing for this fic, so you're not alone haha!_

_IrishBeauty: THANK YOU! The last scene with him was a favorite of mine too with it being such a dark and twisted, but sweet line. _

_Haha yeah, unfortunately Maggie was only human and definitely not strong enough to throw off a hybrid, but at least Damon was there to save her… for the time being. _

_No sire bonds in this story though, I think they're a lame cop out for a plot twist. BUT, things will definitely get interesting and Kol will be back soon, especially as Maggie struggles with adjusting._

_Thesummersky: That's a huge relief to hear it lived up the anticipation I was building there. I was really hoping it wouldn't fall flat after building it up the last couple of chapters! _

_So you've gone over to shipping Kolie too, huh? ;D He is pretty hard to resist. It'll definitely get interesting with Damon helping Maggie with being a vampire (and possibly Kol as well.)_


	32. Chapter 32

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: Breaking Benjamin – Forget It_

_Chapter Thirty-two_

While the bite mark on his neck healed in seconds, the same seconds seemed to tick by slowly as Damon watched Maggie' s tongue run along her lips reflexively before she swallowed.

As her eyes darkened and the black veins began to appear underneath them, Damon also remembered he had never seen a human feed off of vampire blood before Maggie either. She let out a startled gasp as the fangs sank through her gums for the first time.

* * *

Maggie was slammed up against the wall, with two pairs of hands holding her back. Each had one on her shoulder and the other pinning her wrist against the wall. She snarled and hissed against the restraints, trying to buckle against the grasp. The hands were steel and unmoving.

"Maggie, breathe!" A voice shouted at her and it took her a moment to realize it came from Stefan. Maggie opened her eyes, black and with thick veins around them. The fangs were bared as she arched her neck forward, trying to get at the smell of Damon's blood.

Two pairs of brown eyes stared back at her. Stefan and Elena kept a firm hold on her struggle as she slowly processed the fact the two vampires were restraining her.

Damon was on the other side of the room, by the door, wiping what was left of the blood away from his neck.

Maggie took several short pants before forcing herself to inhale more deeply and slowly, the tension in her limps slowly easing. Her vampire features didn't recede, but she did visible relax a bit. Stefan and Elena didn't remove their hands though, not trustful of the newborn.

"Did she just transition off of _your _blood?" Stefan asked in disbelief, casting a look over his shoulder at Damon.

"I think so," Damon said uncertainly.

Stefan shook his head looking back at Maggie, "I didn't think that was possible…"

"You and me both, baby bro," Damon grumbled in slight irritation. Being Maggie's blood bag was starting to become an unpleasant habit that he really didn't care for.

Maggie barely listened to them as they were talking, her eyes fixated on the blood bags that had been dropped on the table in the haste to pull her off Damon. There were two of them. While her urges told her she would've preferred to have another go at Damon, blood was blood at this point and this was in plain sight.

"I'm okay," Maggie finally managed to speak, seeing past the blood directly in front of her and to the two vampires holding her back. Her features still remained the same. She kept trying to tell herself that she was fine, but she knew this was anything but.

"She needs to feed before we go anywhere," Damon pointed out. Just a little taste certainly wasn't enough to satisfy and keep her from taking off at the first smell of a human. Damon stepped forward to the table and picked up one of the blood bags.

Giving a reassuring nod to his brother and Elena, the two vampires slowly lifted their hands from Maggie, edging away a bit. They didn't go too far though, ready to pounce back on her just in case.

Damon tossed the bag in the air in Maggie's direction. Without even thinking, she snagged it greedily and sank her teeth down into the plastic, not even bothering with the cap. Elena grimaced slightly as the newborn drank from the bag hurriedly. She wasn't sure if Damon's sink or swim method of things was the best way to go about this, but she knew her protests wouldn't be welcomed at this point.

Maggie didn't notice the content moans that she let out as she closed her eyes and drank. The blood was cold and even had a bit of a slimy texture to it as it slid down her throat. It wasn't the most pleasant thing she had tasted. The metallic hint was heavy, but there was enough of a sweetness that she couldn't properly describe that kept her going. It soothed the burn as it went down.

Her hands gripped the bag tightly, too tightly so that some of the blood dripping out of the side of her mouth and down her chin. Too soon the bag was empty and she pulled her mouth from it. Not giving it another thought, she tossed it on the ground and looked at the second one in Damon's hands.

"The other one," Maggie demanded in a short, ravenous tone.

"Are you sure? Blood bloat is really unattractive," Damon said with the edge of his usual teasing while watching her. Despite the frenzied manner she consumed the first bag so quickly, Maggie hadn't immediately lunged at him for the second one, which he thought was interesting.

"It's the bag or your throat, your choice," Maggie snarled out in a dark tone, uncharacteristic of her.

Damon's nostrils flared slightly at the threat, but he knew it was mostly the blood talking. "Fine," He snapped and tossed the second bag in the air.

Maggie caught it quickly and again sank her fangs into the second bag, gulping down the red wine. The metallic taste was getting stronger the more she drank and the blood seemed to turn thicker. It coated her throat and the burning faded away.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Elena questioned nervously, watching the way Maggie was gorging herself. The blood made the young vampire uneasy, but she was managing. "What happened to moderation?"

"She'll be fine. Let me handle it, Elena," Damon dismissed her quickly. He wanted to make sure Maggie had her fill before putting her in a confined space like a vehicle. Damon wasn't too interested in risking a chance of getting another bite taken out of him.

Maggie was half way through the second bag when she couldn't take any more of the blood. It filled her stomach and her throat tightened up. With a slight hiss, she pulled her fangs out of the bag and tossed it down against the ground. Elena stepped back slightly in surprise to avoid it and watched as the remaining blood began to spill out on the floor.

Taking a few deep breaths, the fangs began retrace back into her gums as the bloodlust faded. The feeling of the fangs sliding back into her gums caused her to gasp and roll her jaw a few times at the jarring feeling. The angry veins under her eyes stopped moving and faded away as the green hue of her eyes returned.

The other three didn't say anything as they watched Maggie return to her normal self, or the new version of it rather. Damon's eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the way she had stopped herself without any prompting or restraint from anyone. Stefan shared a similar interested expression, partly unnerved by her lack of regard for the blood bags. Maggie didn't even hesitate at the idea of drinking human blood. If anything, she was quite the polar opposite to Elena so far.

"Can we go now?" Maggie broke the silence, not bothering to wipe the blood from her chin, which had dribbled down her neck and to her collarbones.

Damon nodded simply.

"I'll get the car," Stefan volunteered, sensing the immediate risk of her losing complete control passing.

Very little was said after they left the hospital. Maggie's expression fell into a controlled calm mask as they climbed into Damon's Camaro. Maggie sat in the passenger seat while Stefan and Elena sat in the back. She didn't even bother asking what happened to their car, figuring it may have been one of the ones that got destroyed.

The sole reason Maggie remained quiet through the ride was because of the way her body reacted to the blood. It was sitting heavy in her stomach. At the time, she felt like she was dying in a desert and had been gifted with the coldest water. She drank it so fast and quickly, now it was almost like she could feel it rolling around in her stomach. She hid her discomfort, figuring it was just part of the adjustment period.

Nothing about her body felt normal. She was tired and sluggish, the idea of a bed calling to her. At the same time, her eyes darted frantically taking in the sights of everything in the last few hours of darkness. Everything was much sharper and more vivid than she could remember. She could pick up certain scents wafting through the air vents.

It was completely overwhelming, exhausting and energizing at the same time.

When they got back to the boardinghouse, Maggie gave a short explanation of just wanting to go to sleep. No one protested against it. She slipped up to the one of the guestrooms. Stepping into the bathroom, she paused in the mirror at the sight of herself. While her vampire features weren't out then, she could imagine what they might have looked like. Her eyes lingered on the blood covering her chin and neck. No matter how she thought about it, the sight didn't draw much of a reaction from her. She had seen herself covered in blood before.

She dismissed it uninterestedly and went about washing herself up mechanically before crawling into the bed. She locked the bedroom door behind her, making it clear that she just wanted to be left alone for a while. With the sun coming up, it wasn't like she could go anywhere anyway. She was aware of Damon lurking nearby though.

The next five days passed in a haze as Maggie tried to adjust to her new life. Damon found it increasingly unnerving with each passing day as they fell into a routine. Maggie slept through most of the daylight hours, only rising in the evening or spending most of the day alone. While she spoke and conversed with him, she didn't give away much of her emotions and that worried him. She didn't start yelling and screaming like every other emotion driven newborn he had seen. She didn't burst out into spontaneous tears like Elena seemed to do at any given moment when she first turned.

Maggie went through mechanical motions, on the outside looking as if she was on autopilot. Whatever was going through her mind was constantly masked behind a dark stare, the green hues of her eyes turning into a venomous shade. They made a routine of going out once the sun went down, trying to teach her the basics of being a vampire. Stefan and Elena came by the boardinghouse frequently to help out. If Maggie had any distrust towards either vampire, she didn't outwardly show until questioned or prodded.

She refused to drink with anyone else in the room. When pressed for why, Maggie said she wanted to learn the control on her own without someone holding her back or coddling her. The logic was hard for Damon to argue against and even harder for him to carry out. Maggie drank from the blood bags, knowing that Damon was only just on the other side of the wall, listening and waiting for the moment he needed to intervene.

The truth was she didn't want them to witness the increasing discomfort she was experiencing from the blood bags. While three blood bags throughout the day seemed to sate the thirst, Maggie found herself sitting alone in the basement cell not too far away from the cooler afterwards, sometimes in agony. Her stomach would cramp up and the chills ran through her. Each time, she clutched her head and just waited to ride out the feeling. Anyone that tried to interrupt her while she was in the cell was subject to a harsh verbal and sometimes physical assault.

After a while, the Salvatores figured out that the basement cell was the one time-out corner of the house they had to leave her alone when she was there.

Sometimes the basement cell was where she sank into her darkest thoughts. While there was a distinct lack of emotion on the outside, she was at war with herself internally. The emotions and memories constantly coursing through her mind were maddening. The basement cell reminded her of when she first came to Mystic Falls and the pure unadulterated rage she felt.

The rage was the worst part.

It boiled up out of nowhere and from so many things. There were so many sources of her fury that only amplified by the transition. At times she contemplated the different ways of ripping Damon's head off when he made a snarky comment too many or hovered about her too much. She thought of all the times she had lashed out against him and the frustration tenfold.

Night times were the only reprieve she had from being stuck in the boardinghouse all day. They always took her out far away from any chance of crossing paths with humans in the woods. The first two nights Damon and Stefan spent showing her how to run and control her reflexes. They ended up being very long nights as she struggled with the finesse of running without plowing into anything. They didn't comment on the animalistic hisses and snarls of frustration she gave when she had trouble. Her strength and reflexives were easier for her to control, Damon chalked that up to how much fighting she had done before her transition.

The third night, Stefan and Elena took her out to hunt. The idea of being taught how to hunt from Elena was laughable, but Maggie just gave her the cold shoulder most of the time. Maggie didn't feel any desire to prey on animals, but even Damon admitted it would be helpful if she was caught without a human blood supply. In this world, that was a real possibility.

That night she felt a brief moment of thrill. Once she had gotten the basics of tracking down, she picked up on the scent of a deer towards the end of the night hours. Stefan and Elena hung back, letting her following the trail and close in on the creature. She would never admit to it, but purposely stepped on a twig once the animal was within sight, appearing to be a mistake on her part. In truth, she enjoyed the way it took off and she chased it down a bit before tackling the creature to the ground.

It thrashed underneath her. Maggie' s fangs descended with the rush of the moment and feeling the power of the deer struggle helplessly underneath her, dominated by the greater predator. She quickly sank her teeth down into its neck, but hated what she found.

The blood was completely and utterly foul to her. Worse than the cold blood bags in the basement. She ripped her mouth back from it quickly and in a fit of frustration snapped the neck of the flailing animal.

Wordlessly, she got up from the animal, knowing Stefan and Elena were watching her a short distance away. She didn't say anything to them as she quietly returned to the boardinghouse, the same cold mask on her features. Stefan and Elena exchanged a deeply worried look when they got closer to the deer, noticing the head was nearly torn off and the neck completely spilling onto the ground.

It was back to blood bags after that. She only asked once why she couldn't drink from a live human. Luckily, Elena had been around to hear that question. Damon said the agreement with the Council involved no drinking from humans. She didn't need to give them reason to come after her.

The second day she had overheard Damon and Elena talking in the house about trying to get Bonnie to make her a daylight ring. It was never mentioned again after that. She was willing to bet since Bonnie refused to make a ring for Carol, she wasn't likely to get one either.

After the second day of Damon constantly hanging around during the light hours, Maggie kicked him out of the house. They got in one of their usual yelling matches before Damon conceded to leave her alone for a bit during the day. She only got him to back down by pointing out the fact it wasn't like she could go anywhere and no human was dumb enough to come to the boardinghouse anyway.

She wasn't angry the entire time, she tried to hold onto some of the good feelings she still had. No matter how furious she got with Damon, she still craved the comforting feeling she used to get from him.

The third day she tried to sleep in Damon's room again, in his bed. He stayed with her, sensing the insecurity from her that she didn't talk about. It felt good at first, being close to him again as he held her gently against him. But each little touch and inhale of his scent, slowly started to build within her. It began to drive her senses wild. She wasn't sure if the way he smelled made her wanted to kiss or bite him. Each touch and brush of his fingers against her arms and along her back burned her.

Maggie ended up flying out of the bed, throwing herself across the room and fighting the lust she felt. Before he could stop her, she darted out of the room to take a cold shower in one of the guestrooms. After that, she stayed in the guestroom from then on. While she knew her body physically craved him in more than one way, she didn't want that to happen simply to fulfill that desire. She didn't let herself get physically close to Damon again after that.

When she was awake during the day, she managed to keep herself occupied with books while the others were in the house. It was her way of shutting out everything and giving her something to fixate on other than the bloodlust and the turmoil of emotions running through her.

When she was alone, that's when she went stir crazy. She didn't have to contain her emotions and could think freely without having someone asking how she was coping and what she was doing. All of it still felt like some sort of sick nightmare that she would wake up. With each day, reality began to sit in and she knew she wasn't escaping this.

She spent a lot of time literally pacing through the house, going from room to room while her emotions consumed her. She was like a captive feline, constantly wandering the boundaries of their cage.

The first episode happened on the third day after Damon left, before sunset. She was pacing through the dining room, her fists clenched as she thought about Klaus. All of this was his fault as she thought. It was because that disgusting hybrid wanted her dead was the reason why she had to kill herself. His obsession with breaking the sun and moon curse was the reason that Katherine fled from him and turned. Then that bitch was the reason why the Salvatores' existed today at all and why she had been taken away from her family in the first place.

The last thing Maggie remembered was picking up one of the dining room chairs at that thought and throwing it against the wall. It shattered into many splintered pieces.

It wasn't until about an hour later when she was pacing through the house again did she walk into the dining room. She had no recollection of the table being smashed, along the seven other chairs that had been thrown and torn apart along with the first one.

As the evening was falling that night, Maggie lounged on the couch in the living room, reading a book. Damon had arrived a little while earlier and they were going to go out and run, just to help her burn off some energy.

He came wandering into to the living room with his hands stuffed in his pockets. His lips were pressed together, while he tried to appear nonchalant, the flicker of his eyes told her he was definitely thinking of something.

"So care to tell me what happened in the dining room?" Damon broke the silence, deciding not to beat around the bush.

"It got in my way," Maggie comment shortly without looking up from the page of her book. Her expression remained neutral and her tone flat.

Damon's eyes narrowed slightly and he waited a minute. When it was clear he wasn't going to get a further explanation, he muttered sarcastically, "Right, 'cause tables sneak up on me all the time, too."

Maggie didn't respond to him, she turned a page in her book.

Damon sighed and stepped closer to her in the room, changing his approach a bit. "Maggie, tell me what's going on," He tried to coax from her. It was driving him mad how little he could read her. She was difficult before she transitioned, but now it was increasingly impossible.

Maggie inhaled sharply before she answered him in a condescending tone, "You're beginning to sound like her, as well as reek of her… if I wanted to have a Dr. Phil moment, I would go directly to Elena Gilbert myself, thank you."

Being able to smell Elena on Damon wasn't making her particularly thrilled to open up about anything. She was sure it wasn't jealous that she felt, but it was unsettling to remember that he had forced her to confess she felt something for him while knowing he was still pining over Elena.

Damon clenched his jaw and didn't say anything. When Maggie finally looked up, he was gone from the room.

Stefan or Elena must have replaced the dining room set while they were out that night. Maggie knew because the next day she had another episode. It started with throwing the blood bag in her hands against the wall, splattering the mess everywhere. She came around in the basement cell, clutching her head again. This time it was the nausea from the blood bags that brought it on. She hated the way she felt so shaky and weak. While she knew she was stronger from being a vampire, her body was telling her something was wrong.

Damon didn't say anything about the dining set that night and they didn't bother replacing it. At first he had been alarmed to come home to the strong smell of blood in the basement, but he found Maggie taking a shower upstairs as if nothing had happened.

Maggie was sitting the basement cell on her cot on the fifth day, her thoughts thinking about to the last time she saw Glenn. All she could think of was the way he shouted at her and the cold unfeeling way they parted each other. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't stir up any feelings of warmth that she used to carry for him. She wasn't sure if it scared or angered her to feel that way, but her hands were shaking as she pulled at her hair.

"Maggie?" A voice called to her and she nearly growled in irritation, at first thinking it was Damon. It was much too low to be him though. She didn't look up from her hands.

She could feel her muscles tensing and twitching from the anger in her veins. Her fingers drew taunt, pulling at her hair a moment before relaxing a brief moment and repeating the process.

"Are you still with us?" The question yanked her from her mental prison. It was different from all the other questions. She got the constant 'How are you?'s from Elena, which was so laughable it was almost insulting to be asked that. Damon always tried to get her to tell him what she was thinking, trying to peer into her like if she was some sort of crystal ball.

This question was different. It knew that there was something deeply wrong with her and it implored whether or not they had lost her already.

It caused the hands to slowly slip from her hair and down her face, exposing the silent trail of tears on either side of her cheeks. The tears she refused to show since she transitioned and she answered honestly in a hoarse whisper, "Barely."

Stefan stood in the doorway of the basement cell. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and an old Mystic Falls Timberwolves hoodie. He looked at her with concern and hesitancy as he took in her appearance. She seemed fragile, curled up on the cot in the corner of the room, but he knew the creature that really lied underneath that could lash out at any moment. Especially when someone encroached on this private space.

They stared at each other a long while before he cleared his throat and glanced to the empty space on the cot next to with enough room for someone to sit. "May I?" He asked.

Maggie didn't have the humor to point out how ridiculous it was for him to be asking for a seat in his own home. She was more surprised to see the youngest Salvatore coming to her at all. She never openly expressed her mistrust of him and didn't have a particular reason to dislike him. At the same time, neither one of them ever really tried to engage in any sort of relationship beyond that one day she half-drunkenly thanked him.

She gave a simple short nod and Stefan slowly walked into the room. He didn't say anything as he took a seat next to her, careful not to actually touch her. He leaned his back and head against the wall, as if he was just taking a load off his feet for a bit. Her eyes silently questioned why he was there for a long time, but he never said anything.

Eventually, her eyes tore away from him and she let her thoughts wander. Stefan didn't come into the room looking to say anything or try to cheer her up. He only came in so she wouldn't have to be alone in this dark place she was experiencing.

They sat in silence for about a half hour before Maggie interrupted it with a quiet question, "How did you come back from being a ripper?" She couldn't help but think about her new silent companion and the story Damon had told him about massacring an entire town. She wondered if the control he lost then was anything like what she was experiencing. Even if it was just a fraction, she couldn't fathom how anyone would recover from that.

"Damon and Lexi," Stefan answered her, thinking about his only connection to his human life then and his long time best friend that really helped him the most.

He then sighed gently before adding, "But you don't ever completely come back… It's a part of who you are."

That was the extent of their conversation in the basement cell and despite it Maggie had another episode later that day before Damon got home. The remains of the destroyed dining set were now buried in shattered pieces of china and the cabinets that had lined the walls.

The sun was setting in the sky and Maggie came down the stairs, having changed into a pair of fresh jeans and comfortable long-sleeve top when she spotted Damon in the main hallway.

He had a duffle bag in his hand, which he carefully dropped to the ground with a serious expression.

"Hey, I see the china seemed to offend you somehow…" Damon greeted her in his teasing tone, but lacking the smirk that usually went with it. He couldn't recall a time he had seen her genuinely smiling in the last five days.

Maggie shrugged as she came down the last step, "It's ridiculous to have them anyway in a house full of vampires that don't even eat off them."

Damon frowned again at her lack of direct answer. Just like when she was human, she was back to deflecting from answering anything she felt uncomfortable with. He sighed and nodded down to the duffle bag, "I brought some more clothes over from your house."

It was the second time he went to the Greene house, getting more personal items to hold her over for her stay this time. They never got into an argument about Maggie seeing her family. She already knew how dangerous she was to them and especially with the episodes she was starting to experience, she knew it would be a while before she could be near them. It still hurt her deeply to be removed from her only connections to her human life and her family.

"And how are they doing?" She had to ask, her expression softened up and it was one of the few times Damon could read anything from her. The concern was evident in her eyes and the worry for her family was one sign his Maggie was still in there.

Damon hesitated in his answer. He thought to the way the family was going through their steps of mourning. He had spent the better part of an hour consoling her little sister before she was okay enough to pack a bag for Maggie. In some ways, it reminded him of the how well Liz Forbes took the news about her daughter the first time. "They're coping," He gave shortly.

Maggie nodded, knowing it was much news, but it was at least something to keep her going. She then took a deep breath before throwing out an idea that came to her mind recently, "I want to go see Carol."

* * *

It actually didn't take much convincing for Damon to agree that seeing Carol was probably a good idea. He knew that she was staying with Daryl in a cabin at the edge of town, away from people. Daryl has been taking heavy doses of vervain since they moved in there. So he would be the only human around and Maggie would drop in a moment if she tried to take a bite of him. Maggie made sure to drink plenty of blood before leaving, hoping that would stem the urge to take a chomp out of Carol too, but she didn't tell Damon about that worry.

The only stipulation that Damon made was waiting until the sun was about to rise. It went without say that Maggie would probably be there a while and likely alone with Carol. At least by waiting for during the day, that would literally keep her from running off and she would have to wait until he returned at night fall to pick her up.

So the following morning before the sun rose in the sky, Damon and Maggie piled into the Camaro and he drove her across town out to the edges. They pulled off a dirt road and down a windy path before coming across a small log cabin style home. It was a single story house with only a few bedrooms and a small porch out front. There were plenty of woods around it, which Maggie was willing to bet that Daryl took full of advantage of.

Maggie's excitement took the form of nervous tears at her eyes and her hand shaking as she knocked at the front door. Damon stood a few steps behind her, respectfully giving her some space. A moment later the door opened to reveal the older woman. She still had the same short, spiky grey hair cut and her cheeks seemed a little rounder with better health. Her skin was rather pale, but she seemed to look well.

Carol gasped at the sight of Maggie on her doorstep, never expecting for a moment to see her. "Maggie?" She questioned, also startled by the tears that were forming on the young woman's cheeks.

Maggie nodded and went to take a step forward, the strong urge to hug the maternal woman overcame her. Just as she did though, she was stopped by the threshold of the doorway. She bumped into the invisible barrier with a stunned expression.

Carol's hands went to her mouth in horror as she realized what that meant. "No," She choked out a whisper before quickly raising her voice and looking over her shoulder. "Daryl, let her in!"

A moment later, Daryl's familiar form appeared behind Carol. His hair was slightly longer and the scruff on his face filled out a bit. He seemed to put on some healthy weight, but still bore that ruggedness that would likely never leave him. His eyes flickered up and down Maggie real quick before grunting and invitation.

Maggie wasted no time stepping inside and Carol quickly caught her in her arms. A sob ripped through Maggie as she leaned against her shoulder. Carol reached with one hand to stroke the back of her head gently, "Oh baby, tell me what happened…"

* * *

While Maggie remained at Carol and Daryl's cabin, Damon went back to the boardinghouse for a meeting with Stefan and Elena. Even though it was early in the morning, he was pouring himself a drink in the living room when the front door opened and the two of them appeared in the room shortly afterwards.

"We got a problem," Damon declared bluntly, skipping any pleasantries and the obvious tension between his brother and Elena at the moment.

"Which problem exactly?" Stefan asked casually. It was Mystic Falls, on any given day they could have a problem with Klaus, Rebekah, the Council and whatever else cropped up along the way. Take your pick.

Stefan remained standing while Elena moved to take a seat on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"Maggie," Damon clarified as he took a sip of his drink.

"Ah," Stefan gave simply with a nod. Elena didn't exactly speak up to disagree with Damon either. While each vampire in the room had noticed their concerns with Maggie over the last few days, this was the first time they were openly coming together to discuss it.

"What exactly do you mean?" Elena questioned carefully as she looked at Damon. Elena had her concerns already, especially with what she saw in the woods and how detached Maggie seemed to be acting, but that was just her perspective on it. A transition wasn't easy on everyone and she hadn't killed anyone, so that was better than most.

"I mean, she's on a nice balanced diet of three blood bags a day and reading through half of our library with all her spare time, _that's_ the problem," Damon snapped impatiently.

Stefan furrowed his brows at his brother's point. The way he made it sound that wasn't the same Maggie he had seen out at night and the one he found in the basement. "And what would you expect her to do?"

Damon sighed slightly in frustration that he seemed to have to point out the obvious, "What every newborn vampire does when they're left alone for most of the day with a cooler full of blood in the basement… binge, fingerpaint the walls with it, destroy the house." He waved a hand in the air to emphasize his point.

Elena frowned and shook her head slightly in confusion, "But she has been destroying the house, the dining room…" Someone still had to pick up the mess of the dining ware.

"No, that's neurotic, not destroying the house," Damon corrected her immediately as he went to take a seat on the other end of the couch. "It's been the same room every single time. _No_where else in the house, like clockwork every day for the past three days. It's freaky."

Stefan sighed, looking down as he placed his hands against the back of the couch Elena and Damon sat at, leaning forward slightly. When it came to Maggie, there was no disputing that Damon knew her better than anyone else in the room and he made a valid point. "So what do you suggest we do?" Stefan shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm not sure," Damon admitted, hoping that dropping Maggie off at Carol's would help alleviate the obvious pressure building within her.

"As a human, she bottled everything up and now everything is amplified," Damon explained, thinking how impossible it was at times to read anything from her and the way she shut him out. Now she was shutting down with such a force, it was driving him crazy the past five days.

"She lashed out in small ways at first." All the times she stabbed him with various objects came to mind.

Damon frowned as he took a thoughtful deep gulp of his drink, thinking about how that had reached a boiling point and he wasn't able to pull her back from it. She nearly killed him in the process. "And it reaches a level where she just…" Damon thought of the carnage at the county line and her stabbing him, "_explodes_."

If that's the potential she had as a human, what would being a vampire bring?

* * *

_Author's Note: Yikes, what do you think of Maggie's struggles? Anyone think she has the potential to be a ripper? And it looks like she's about to snap, who do you think will be the one to keep her from going over the edge? Damon or Kol?_

_No Kol in this chapter, I'm super sorry my Kolie fans! In good time, as in next chapter, I would count on seeing him and appearing more regularly after that. ;D_

_I'm stoked for next chapter, there'll be some interesting confessions and revelations to be made, I promise!_

_Review responses – _

_Nethra: You're right, I made a mistake on the song last chapter. It is supposed to be Natalie Merchant – My Skin. _

_Here's your mood swings for ya! While Maggie made the decision quickly to turn into a vampire, that doesn't necessarily mean she was ready for it and now we're starting to see her unravel a bit as it's really beginning to settle in. _

_Haha, don't worry, I plan on Elena redeeming herself at some point in this story (not completely though, just less hate-able?). There's just not a lot that her and Maggie are on the same page with right now._

_I'm sorry, no Kol this time! BUT, he'll be back soon. _

_Thank you, I love reading your feedback on everything. :D It makes my day._

_Thesummersky: Awww, well I hope I don't torture you too much with the struggle between Maggie/Damon and Maggie/Kol. (If it was me, I would take them both!) And the cat isn't going to stay in the bag for long about who sired Maggie, it'll come up pretty soon. _

_For anyone who hasn't seen TWD, their reaction would definitely be surprising – but the big take away from TWD, their main goal was to survive no matter what and at one point Beth tried to kill herself too, so to hear Maggie opted out like that and they don't know the exact circumstances of the situation, yeah that's rough on them._

_But to answer your question, yes Maggie did know the blood was going to turn her when she jumped and that's why she kept the hand over her neck to hide where the bite mark should have been. It was just not an easy thing for her to actually do (you know, there's always that small irrational fear of things not going to the way they should) and she had to make it seem convincing to Klaus._

_I love your take on Kol and that's exactly what I've been trying to convey. _

_I think this chapter starts to answer your question about her blood, we're beginning to see she's not quite the typical vampire after all._

_IrishBeauty: Oh boy, I wouldn't be surprised if you jump ships a couple times through this fic. Damon and Kol are both bad boy types but they're so different and compliment Maggie in ways the other one doesn't. But don't worry, Kol will be back next chapter! ;D_


	33. Chapter 33

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Breaking Benjamin – What Lies Beneath_

_Scene: Maggie snapping Damon's neck_

_Ryan Star – Losing Your Memory_

_Scene: The Greene House_

_Awolnation – Not Your Fault_

_Scene: Kol's arrival through the end_

_Chapter Thirty-three_

Damon frowned as he took a thoughtful deep gulp of his drink, thinking about how that had reached a boiling point and he wasn't able to pull her back from it. She nearly killed him in the process. "And it reaches a level where she just…" Damon thought of the carnage at the county line and her stabbing him, "_explodes_."

If that's the potential she had as a human, what would being a vampire bring?

* * *

Maggie gladly spent the day at Carol's. Most of the morning was spent catching up on what has happened with each other since Carol finished her transition. Being with Carol was different than talking to Damon or Stefan at the boardinghouse, Carol was part of her family. She was one more connection to her human life, even if Carol was now experiencing the same thing she was and maybe it was because of that the floodgates of everything that happened opened.

Maggie found herself going back to the beginning and explaining everything like she had to do with her family. They spent the morning sitting at the kitchen with a cup of coffee for each of them. While it certainly didn't taste as good as it used to her human palate, Maggie appreciated the way the drink warmed up her skin.

Carol ended up being an attentive listener, taking everything in stride. Explaining what a doppelganger was and how she got caught up in this mess took quite a while. She found herself trying to explain the nature of her relationship with Damon, which could only described as a fierce love-hate relationship when put it simply. Maggie told her about the events that happened, like the Founder's celebration and speaking with Rose.

Unlike her family, Maggie found herself confessing the times she had been alone with Kol. It wasn't like Carol had any tie to either Damon or Kol, so she felt she could confide the kiss and Kol giving her blood. She skipped out of the details of what exactly they did at the waterfall and the dirty details, but Carol needed to understand his presence in her life that led up to her death. By the time she got to the night of her death, Maggie had stopped several times to wipe away tears and they began to flow more freely as she walked through what happened.

She smiled fondly for a moment at the memory of the kiss on the rooftop, unaware just how much of a kiss of death it had been for her. She explained to Carol what happened outside the Grill and the car chase that ensued afterwards. It was hard to speak of the car accident while it played so vividly in her mind, like some sick movie on repeat in front of her eyes.

She confessed to Carol how Kol had her found by the wrecked car and gave her the vampire blood. Now she thought about it he had been her dark angel watching over her that night, in a twisted sort of way. Talking about the waterfall was the hardest part and trying to express how she knew she was going to die.

Tears ran down Carol's cheek as she watched the young woman tried to express how she knew she would come back as a vampire, but taking one's life was not easy and the fear she had deep down doubting whether or not it would work.

Spending the day with Carol, Maggie found out how she was adjusting to her new vampire life. Based on the look in her eyes and the hesitancy, she could tell that Carol was having a hard time. When it came down to it, she was a mother above being a survivor. The idea of drinking human blood and potentially hurting someone was hard for her. She talked about how she's been slowly waning off of the blood bags, apparently human blood was critically important in the beginning, to animal blood and taking up to hunting at night.

Sometimes Daryl would go out with her, the vervain was the only thing that kept her from going after him sometimes. While they spoke, Maggie could hear Daryl sleeping in the other room, apparently adjusting to a new hours for Carol. Maggie doubted there was anything sexual going on between the two, but she could see the impenetrable bond that had formed between the two. She didn't know when it occurred, but she began to suspect since the search for Sophia. At times she could see they were kindred flames.

The sun began to set in the sky and Maggie gave a sigh when she realized that Damon would be back soon. It was then she would have to commence the second part of her plan. All the time she spent at the house gave her a lot of time to think and the masked stares she gave the vampires at the boardinghouse weren't just cold ones, but calculating ones as well.

When the knock came at the door, it revealed Damon, offering a hesitant polite grin with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

Maggie gave her hug goodbye to Carol, murmuring promises of coming back again later and thanking her for everything. "We'll have to go hunting sometime soon," Carol suggested with a reassuring pat on Maggie's cheek.

"Of course," Maggie answered, not having the heart to tell her how repulsive the idea of animal blood was to her.

Closing the door behind her, Maggie's met Damon's gaze, a shade of imploring blue. "Hey, how are you doing?" He asked in a gentle tone. The curiosity was evident in his expression. While he was at the meeting with Elena and Stefan, he really hoped this would help bring her back a bit. He wasn't sure, but he figured any connection to her human life was worth a shot.

Maggie nodded her head gently as she frowned thoughtfully. "Better," She lied smoothly. She wasn't the least bit better, but maybe different. It was a relief to have someone to confide into and a little piece of her life back, but it didn't change anything in the long run. She was far from being okay.

Damon watched her as the two turned and stepped off the porch, walking towards the blue Camaro. He could see the worry lines her face, which was actually a good thing. At least she wasn't completely masking her emotions this time.

"I needed this," She said aloud. Damon tried not to let too much of a relieved sigh at that, thinking this was helping her. In truth, Maggie was saying for a different reason. It reaffirmed her belief that she wanted and needed to see her family. Being with Carol brought up all the memories and fueled that desire even more. She knows there's a chance she could hurt them, but now she _has_ to see them.

"Good. Hope you're up for a little sparring tonight with me and Stefan," Damon said lightly, offering a teasing grin, knowing his brother was back at the boardinghouse. They figured anything that could help burn off some of her energy might help.

Maggie said nothing as she nodded calmly and approached the vehicle. The driver's side was closest to him. Before she separated from his side, she noticed the way Damon's gaze went down to his pocket as he started to fish out the car keys.

That was when she made her move.

In a blur of movement, Maggie had her hands on Damon's head. He barely raised his hands before there was a sickening crack in the air.

His body dropped to the ground in a heavy thud. Maggie stood over him, letting the dark gaze fill her eyes as she stared down at his unmoving from and the awkward angle of his neck.

"Sorry, Damon," She said in a tone lacking actual remorse, "But I'm not saying away from my family any longer."

Reaching into her jean pocket, she pulled out the set of car keys that Kol had retrieved for her and stepped over Damon's body without a glance back to open the door. Somehow through the chaos of that night, the keys remained with her and she found them in her clothing when she changed after her transition. Sliding into the seat swiftly, she started up the engine and turned around in the driveway before taking off in the direction of downtown.

* * *

Reality of killing Damon didn't properly hit her until she was half way to her house. Deep down, a part of her felt guilty about it. She had suggested going to Carol's for two reasons. The first was the desire to see the woman who had become a maternal figure to her and her sister in the chaos of new world. The second was to lead her and Damon away from the boardinghouse. She knew that taking him down would only give her a little bit of a head start. But having his car and him not knowing if she would be back at the boardinghouse or any other possible location in Mystic Falls was enough of a lead for her.

She wondered if she should've felt more worry for Damon. She did literally snap his neck. But as much as she thought about it, she knew that he would bounce back in no time and be shouting in her face the first chance he got. It was hard to feel bad about that.

A dark amused thought entered her mind as she turned down the street of the Greene house. For all the times she got fed up and tried to kill Damon, it took her becoming a vampire to actually do it.

Pulling up to the house, Maggie spotted the sight of the wrecked Camry. It was still sitting where they had left it. She supposed radiators were a little harder to come by these days. Parked behind it was a police cruiser, Maggie figured it was probably Rick's now.

What surprised her was to see lights illuminating the inside of the house from windows. Time didn't seem to pass the same for her in the last five days. It took a moment for her to recall they had been due to get the power back on in the house during her absence. Cutting the engine, Maggie stepped out and took in the sight of the house for the first time again.

Everything was different as she drove through town and stood in the front walkway now. She noticed little details that seemed insignificant before and they could distract her for hours. At this point though, her hands were already begun to shake with her nerves as she fixated on the front door. Anticipation was building within her at the idea of seeing her family.

She barely registered walking up to the front door and knocking on it. Concentrating her stare on the wood, she could hear people talking inside the house. She hadn't gotten quite used to focusing enough to hear what exactly they were saying. The conversation was cut short by her knocking and she heard the steady clicking of someone walking towards the door.

Light illuminated the porch from the house as Beth stood behind the open doorway. She froze and her eyes widen in surprise at the sight of her older sister.

"Beth!" Maggie gasped, the smile gracing her face instantly and she leaned forward to try to get closer to her. The invisible barrier stopped her as she placed both hands on either side of the frame.

"Maggie… what," Beth sputtered nervously. Damon had told her it would be a long while before she could see her sister and she would be able to control herself around humans. "How are you here?"

Maggie barely heard her question. She was too wrapped up in taking in the features of her sister's face. Even though it had been only five days since she lost her family, it was the longest time she spent away from them since being kidnapped. She took in the frizz of her golden hair, which served like a halo for her, the slight redness to her eyes and the dark shadows underneath her eyes.

"I'm so sorry, I'll explain everything…" Maggie began murmuring, barely aware of the words passing her lips as she felt the overwhelming desire to want to get inside the house and closer to her sister. "I've missed you so much."

Tears formed at the corners of Maggie's eyes and started to roll down her cheeks again. Damn these tears, they started falling so much easier now they started back at Carol's house. She couldn't even control it.

"Please let me in," Maggie begged in a soft tone.

"I've missed you too," Beth admitted honestly but her expression was torn. "But… I'm not sure." She hesitated and glanced back towards the kitchen a moment.

Maggie could hear someone else walking down the hallway, someone with an unusual stride. She raised a hand and tried to reach out towards Beth, her hand was stopped by the barrier as if it was pressed up against glass. "Please, Beth. Let me inside," She tried to coax in a slightly heavier tone.

"Maggie, I…" Beth faltered and she was cut off by someone else stepping up behind her.

"Go finish your dinner, Beth," A firm raspy voice ordered her. Stiffening and swallowing thickly at the demand, Beth ducked her head down and slipped back through the hallway. She wanted to follow after her so badly. Maggie's eyes followed after her longing before they rose past the chest of the man on crutches and to his face.

"Daddy," Maggie gave in a small whisper, for a moment looking and sounding like the little girl she would always be in Hershel's eyes.

Hershel inhaled unsteadily at the sight of her daughter, tears ridden on her cheeks and looking so lost in front of him. Her fingers curled slightly against the barrier, almost as if trying to slowly scratch her way in. No parent should have to see their child in this way and know the monster that really lurks beneath the surface.

"Please let me in," Maggie pleaded with him, wanting nothing more to be able to wrap her arms around her father and have him chase away the demons that are haunting her.

Hershel's hands were white knuckling the crutches as he steeled himself. "I can't do that," He stated firmly.

Maggie's eyes widened in horror and she began shaking her head, "Please, Daddy, it's me…"

"I was a fool to think walkers were just people that needed help and they were still the people they used to be," Hershel continued to explain, trying not to let Maggie's pleading shatter his conviction. He had been told she would show up, but no level of preparation would be enough for how hard this was. He declared, "I will not make that mistake again."

"No, no. I'm not a monster, Daddy," Maggie's voice began to crack as a sob bubbled up in her throat. "I'm still your baby…"

Hershel argued against her, despite the glistening in his eyes, "My daughter died."

"No, I'm right here, please don't do this," Maggie begged, her voice beginning to sound frantic as she started taking in short breaths and her hands shook, fingers running against the barrier.

Hershel took a moment to close his eyes, trying to collect himself and stick to his decision, delivering the final blow. "If there is any part of my daughter left in there, she would tell this demon to leave what is left of my family in peace and let us mourn."

He already lost Annette, his second wife, and Shawn, his step-son, thinking they were just sick when they were bitten. After the incident with the walkers in the barn, he couldn't let himself believe there was anything left of Maggie in this creature that was begging for entrance into their home.

Maggie broke as he placed his hand on the door and firmly closed it in her face. Her fingers ran over the smooth wood several moments as she began to hyperventilate, the contempt of his words ringing through her mind. The tears half blinded her as they fell without any control, stinging down her cheeks.

The sound of the slamming door cut threw her, but not nearly as bad as her father turning his back on her. "_My daughter died_."

A demon. He thought she was a demon. His faith and conviction had been shattered with walkers and any hope of goodness in the undead with it.

She barely processed blurring away from the door and down the front walkway, by the wrecked Camry. They wanted nothing to do with her. She was a monster to them. She died five nights ago in their eyes.

Running her hands through her hair a moment, she tugged at her hair before giving a snarl as she brought her fists down in front of her. The roof of the Camry buckled and gave way underneath her fists, the skylight shattering into pieces into the interior of the vehicle. The glass and metal gave a piercing protest. Her chest heaved as she sucked in short breaths, desperate for the oxygen her body didn't really need.

Opening her eyes, she loosened her fists as she stared down at what she had done. It didn't matter though. Nothing could alleviate the pain tearing through her heart, as if someone was literally clawing open her chest. She turned around and leaned against the frame of the vehicle before slowly falling to a seat.

Anguished sobs ripped through her loudly as her face distorted, her eyes clenched shut while she shook. She didn't care about the eyes watching her from the house windows. She was being cut off from her family. She was alone to succumb to the pain it brought.

* * *

Some immeasurable time later, Maggie was pulling into the driveway of the boardinghouse. She went through the motions of driving mechanically, giving it no thought with a hollow stare as she stopped the vehicle in front of the house. She cut the engine and sat in the seat for a long minute, listening numbly to the final ticking that came from it, sounding like a clock right next to her ear now.

The tears were gone from her face, but the pain hadn't been erased. It burned inside her and she tried to just bury it as much as she could. She looked at her hands on the steering wheel, untouched and unblemished even by smashing the Camry, hiding the scars that really lay underneath them.

Getting out of the vehicle slowly, she started walking up to the front door. She hesitated at first when she could hear voices shouting from within.

"Are you kidding me, Damon, you _lost_ her? How the hell did you do that?" Stefan was yelling from within the house. Maybe to a human they would've heard the muffled voices, but it was clear as day to her as she stood on the other side of the door.

"She snapped out of nowhere, literally my neck!" Damon spat back out of irritation in defense of himself.

"Great, just great! This is what you call handling it," Stefan continued on while Maggie didn't bother knocking and just opened the door to step inside. "_Let me handle it, Elena_… I'm pretty sure those were your exact words."

Using brisk quick strides, Maggie moved down the hall and glanced into the living room as she did. Sure enough, the Salvatore brothers were almost in each other's faces. Damon's hand was at the back of his neck, rubbing it as if it was still sore. Stefan was facing her and he stopped, his eyes widening at her sudden arrival.

"No need to alert the media. Mystic Falls' streets are safe and sound," Maggie announced in a casual sarcastic tone. She didn't falter in her steps and continued on, heading for the staircase.

Damon whirled around, his mouth hanging open slightly before blurring to block her path.

"Thanks for broke the neck," His eyes narrowed sharply on her as he hissed and his nostrils flared, "Now where the hell were you?"

Maggie didn't seem bothered by his anger. She gave him a cool blank stare, "Anytime." She moved to step around him.

He sidestepped and blocked her path again. "Where _were _you?" He repeated himself in a lower tone.

"Out," She said shortly and tried to step around him in the other direction.

He matched her again with increasing frustration, growling out her name, "Maggie…"

Her lips twitched slightly in annoyance from his stubbornness, but she just countered in a bored tone, "You know, the overzealous babysitter is not an endearing look for you, Salvatore."

"Cute," Damon bit back lacking amusement and demanded, "Stop deflecting and answer me."

Maggie gave an unhindered roll of her eyes before finally conceding in a nonchalant tone, "I went to see my family."

Damon's eyebrows rose slightly, definitely not expecting that response from her casual demeanor. "And?" He prompted with a slight head shake.

Maggie shrugged her shoulders and explained in a light tone, "And nothing. They think I'm an abomination and want nothing to do with me." She then plastered on a fake sweet smile with a seething glare, "Now get out of my way. _Please_."

In the next instant, Maggie was being slammed against the wall by her shoulders, pinned there by Damon's hands. She immediately snarled and tried to push him off of her, but it was no use. He was almost two centuries older than her and she was just a malnourished newborn.

"I know what you're trying to do. Don't you dare do it," Damon hissed down at her as she tried to thrash against him. He took the kicks from legs a moment before pinning her against the wall with his body as well.

She barely listened, just trying to fight against her captor. "Get off of me, Damon!" She shouted at him harshly.

Stefan stepped into the hallway, watching the two alertly. While it didn't seem it based on her reaction, Damon actually had her restrained against the wall. He wouldn't step in unless necessary.

"No, stop trying to shut me out," Damon flared, keeping his grip tight on her. He didn't want to hurt her, but she was out of control at this point.

"Let me go!" She snarled, opening her eyes and twisting her head from side to side.

"No," Damon repeated firmly, "Don't you get it? I'm never letting you go, Maggie. Let me help you." He didn't mean physically. Her hands pushed against his abdomen and anything she could reach, but he was like steel and completely unmoving against her.

He leaned closer to her, trying to get her to look him in the eyes.

"I don't need any help," She spat out stubbornly at him, glaring at him coldly. She could feel the fangs pushing at her gums from the adrenaline and the rush of emotions coming back to hit her like a wall again.

"Yes, you do. I'm not going to let you shut off your emotions. You're not switching it off," Damon's eyes flickered fiercely as he refused to back down from her. He tried to let her cope over the past few days, but he can't stand to see anymore of her slip away right in front of him.

"Why?" Maggie gave out an exasperated cry, still trying to struggle against him but starting to just feel like a trapped animal underneath him. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes again, she wasn't sure if it was from fury, sorrow or the pain. "_Why_ does it matter so much to you?"

Before Damon could stop himself, he leaned so he was nearly nose to nose with her, staring deeply into her lost emeralds. All the passion of the anger and the hurt boiled to the surface. He hissed at her lowly through clenched teeth the reason he had been keeping to himself for a while now.

"Because I love you, Maggie!"

Maggie's resistance ceased as if someone had literally just shocked her. She froze underneath him, the feeling of her fangs coming out receded immediately. The rage disappeared as if someone had yanked the floor out from beneath her while his declaration rang through her mind.

"_What_?" She whispered in a feeble, disbelieving tone.

The frustration and anger eased from Damon's expression as he saw Maggie begin to relax. Her body sagged against the wall, no longer kicking and bucking against him. The sense of determination remained though as he swallowed thickly and gradually unclenched his jaw.

"I love you," He repeated, caressing the words tenderly as he loosened his hands from her shoulders, marveling in the sense of wonder that Maggie was giving him. Had she really not seen the way he felt for her during all of this time?

Maggie didn't say anything as she panted, trying to think clearly and the confession to settle in. He loves her? The idea was something she only gave fleeting thoughts to it, and if anything seemed a little absurd given this moment.

Damon raised one hand with the intentions of touching her cheek, trying to see if he was getting through to her.

"No," Maggie suddenly whispered and in the next instant Damon was thrown against the opposite wall. Love wasn't something she could fathom or process right now.

Her hand was wrapped tightly around Damon's throat as she pinned him against the wall. "No, not like this. You can't say that to me," She nearly shouted at him, shaking her head in denial. How dare he throw that at her just because she was on the edge.

Damon gasped against the air being cut off, cursing himself for letting his guard down for that brief moment. What she said next left him too stunned to fight against her.

"Especially when I _know_ you're still in love with Elena!"

Maggie let go of his neck, as if his very skin had stung her. In a rush, she blurred down the hallway and out the front door, leaving it wide open behind her.

Stefan didn't even move to stop her. His face was tense as he stared at his brother and his fists were clenched. It was one thing to have an idea of his brother's lingering feelings towards Elena, but to have even Maggie pointing it out was another punch to the gut.

Damon sank back against the wall a moment, choking on the air and the vice grip she had on him. He blinked and his gaze barely followed after the direction she left. He barely rubbed at his neck, shocked by the flat out rejection of the truth of his feelings.

* * *

Maggie wandered down a residential street she had never seen before. It didn't matter. She just got out and away from the boardinghouse as fast as possible. Her body shook with each movement. Her stomach felt sick, it twisted and turned, but there was nothing in it to get rid of. Chills ran up and down her arms. She wasn't sure if it was because of increasing bloodlust or all the emotions coursing through her veins. Maybe it was the combination of the both.

"Why won't these damn things stop?" She grumbled in frustration as she continued to wipe tears away from her cheeks. She didn't think she had anymore left to shed tonight. They just wouldn't go away.

Street lamps lit the sidewalk every couple of blocks. Wherever she was, it was a populated part of the town, but it was quiet with nighttime. She didn't have the slightest clue what hour it was. Most of the residents were likely asleep by now.

She hugged her arms as she walked, shivering in the warm air. Damon loves her. Can she believe that? Should she believe that? It would make things so much more complicated. She can't handle anything more to add to everything else right now. How could he say that to her when all she felt was pain right now. Was that supposed to just make it all better?

A heartbeat suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

Maggie looked up to see another girl walking in the oncoming direction down the sidewalk. She was several years younger than her, likely still in high school. She had a mess of dirty blonde hair and the way her eyes darted around, Maggie was willing to guess that she wasn't supposed to be out at this hour.

Her head leaned forward when she caught a sight of Maggie, appearing so lost and possibly sick from the expression on her face. She started to move a little quicker as she closed the distance between them, calling out in a soft voice, "Are you okay?"

As the girl got closer, the smell of her hit Maggie full force. The demon inside of her stirred at the pounding of her heart and the blood it promised beneath her flesh.

"No," Maggie choked out in a pitiful voice as the girl came to stand in front of her. Getting a better look at her, she wasn't particularly pretty nor the ugliest girl Maggie has ever seen. Either way, her blood floods just as red as any other human.

"Do you want me to get help?" The girl asked in alarmed concern, and started to turn away towards one of the houses.

"No!" Maggie quickly responded, looking the girl directly in the eyes and pleading with her, "Please just stay and listen. Don't leave me." Maggie reached out and grasped her shoulders lightly.

The girl's expression blanked for a moment before nodding faintly, "Okay…" Her arms relaxed by her side as she stayed rooted to her spot in front of Maggie.

Being closer to her, Maggie could make out the various scents on her. Some of it was a bit herbal, like some sort of tea she may have been drinking. There was a hint of strawberries coming from her hair and sweet pea on her throat. It was sickly sweet to her vampire senses, but she fixated on her throat anyway.

"What's wrong?" The girl's voice cut into her thoughts.

Maggie looked up to her hazel eyes and her lips twisted in torture, "He lied to me."

"Who did?" The girl asked in confusion, but Maggie wasn't really listening to her. Her mind was going back to the Founder's celebration and the dance with Damon. There was a flash of light faintly behind her, but she ignored it.

"There's nothing beautiful about this hurt I feel," Maggie shook her head gently, not really seeing the girl in front of her. "It's all that I feel. I can't stop it… All this pain this rage, anger… hate. It's consuming me._ Every _bone and nerve in my body just simmers with it. I just want it _go away_!"

Her hands tightened on the girl's shoulder as she spoke, having to force out each word like a guttural growl. The girl winced visibly from the pressure, but didn't try to move away from her. Maggie continued with a tone of sick hope, "I can shut it off so I don't have to feel any of that. I _need_ for it to go away."

At her silence, Maggie was able to fixate on her neck again. Her thoughts derailed from the memory as she stared at where the girl's jugular vein would be. With her vision, she could make out all the smaller veins like a red velvet spider web across her creamy complexion.

"There is just one thing I do want to feel… I just want to experience it one time. Is that so wrong?" Maggie's lips continued moving, not particularly looking for a response. Why was it so wrong for her to drink from a human? It's the nature of a vampire, that's what they do, she thought. She was so tired of all these negative emotions taking over her. Why can't she just indulge and block it out for a little while? Even the blood bags had the hint of the sweetness taste to them, she just had to know what it was like from the vein.

"Please don't hurt me," The girl whimpered and for the first time Maggie noticed her purely frightened expression.

Maggie let out a short, bark of a hysterical laugh. She smiled broadly as if someone had just told her the best inside joke. Her eyes began to turn to black as she flashed her predatory teeth at the youth.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Maggie said in a sickly sweet tone, shaking her head back and forth once slowly.

Her voice dropped into a brutal tone as she blinked frankly, "I'm going to kill you."

The veins appeared from underneath her eyes as her irises turned red and the whites of her eyes turned to black. The fangs descended in her mouth as she leaned forward to the neck of the girl, pulling her head to the side by her hair.

* * *

She leaned close enough that the tips of her fangs pressed against the skin. Her throat burned like a fire, stronger than ever before. It would literally pain her to stop now. The scent of the girl overwhelmed her as she clutched onto her.

Before she could sink her fangs in, Maggie was brutally ripped away from the girl. An arm wrapped tightly around her throat. Her left hand was torn off the girl's shoulder by the wrist and twisted behind her back roughly as she was hauled several yards back from the victim. Her arm was held in such a way it pained her shoulder with each jerk she tried to fight against the restraint.

"Damnit, leave me alone, Damon!" She snarled through an animalistic hiss. Her other hand grasped at the arm around her neck, it was completely solid and locked her head from turning in any direction.

"Wrong vampire, sweetheart," A British accented voice whispered into her ear.

Even amongst her vampire features, Maggie's eyes widened as her struggle faltered, her back arching slightly from the pain of the grip.

"Kol?" She questioned and didn't really need an answer. His voice wasn't one that she would likely ever forget. One inhale and she could pick up the scent of him too, stronger than she recalled and more robust.

Despite her shock at his arrival, the monster within was roaring with anger at being snatched away from its prey, especially being so close and within its grasp. She fidgeted against his grip, wincing slightly at her shoulder, which would probably dislocate at this rate as she stared at the petrified girl in front of them.

"Why are _you _stopping me?" Maggie hissed incredulously. In no universe of her mind did it make sense for Kol Mikaelson to be stopping a killing. She would've thought he would've shared a wrist in celebration.

"Because if you lose control like this, you won't be able to stop it. The blood will rule you, it'll be the only thing you feel and think about. You'll become just another useless ripper. _Real _control is knowing the precise moment to let go everything and this is not the time or way to do it," Kol spoke into her ear in a low, forceful tone. The power behind it was something that could only come from his centuries of experience.

Maggie growled stubbornly against him, exclaiming, "But I don't _care _about control. I don't want to feel anything, isn't that the whole point!" The beast within her snapped and twisted against the restraints, like a feral dog. The hurt and anger started to become fuzzy as she fixated on the girl in front of her. The pain didn't matter if she could just get at that throat, where the blood would be the most precious.

Kol bristled at her resistance, but kept his tone calm. Now he really understood just how far she had been pushed towards instability, so he changed his approach. "Fine, you want to shut it off. Then let's do it properly," He then suggested harshly, "By starting off with killing your family. They don't matter anymore. I'll even join you."

Horror hit her like a cold slap across the face. Maggie instantly stilled and let out a shout, "No, no no!"

Did she just want the pain to go away? Absolutely. Did she want it to go away enough to the point that killing her family would help do so? Never.

"I didn't think so," Kol sneered, not willing to believe for a moment that she would break her loyalty to her family, no matter how broken she appeared to be.

"Shutting off your emotions as a newborn as a cop out, Maggie," Kol began trying to distract her with his voice as well as showing her a lesson. Maggie found herself trying to pull her attention away from the girl and to his words, especially at the way her name rolled off his lips. "It works wonderfully for a while, but you can't keep them out forever. They always come back to you eventually. If you do this now, you'll be just another pathetic vampire that burns themselves in the sun because they don't know how to handle it when it does."

Maggie stopped tugging at his arm around his neck, but her fingers remained clutching to it. Her feet continued to shift uncomfortably from the hold on her left arm. Her face was vamped out, but she had her eyes closed. Kol knew that she was at least listening to him and her attention on the girl was decreasing.

"I may have given you my blood," Kol continued on and Maggie felt the veins stop moving under her eyes. Something about the way he phrased that stirred something in her, but she wasn't sure what. "But _you_ made the decision to complete the transition and become a vampire. Now you need to stop this nonsense and _deal _with it. And you're going to start by sending this girl home with a proper compulsion."

"You're stronger than this," He said in a lower tone, she felt his lips brushing against her ear as he did. A chill passed through her and she barely noticed that the vampire features had receded from her face.

She opened her eyes as she thought about his words. Her gaze went more towards the sky, partly from the angle he had her head locked, but not towards the girl this time. While he calmed the brute of the beast down, she still felt the temptation of the human in front of her. Swallowing thickly, Maggie moved the hand on his arm up his forearm slowly to his wrist.

She clasped her fingers over his wrist the back of his hand, as far up as she could reach to his hand. It was such a simple gesture of pure need, but the only thing she could do express it.

Kol tensed at the touch. While Maggie was still very tense in his grasp, she wasn't trying to get away from him anymore. He let out a soft sigh and squeezed his eyes shut a moment, mentally damning himself to hell and ten times back.

He opened his fist and loosened his arm gently, just enough to grasp her shoulder gently. Carefully he pulled the wrist he was holding behind her back out and in front of her again. He stepped closer to her as her back eased back into a natural upright position. He let go of her wrist to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her body back against his.

The hand on his wrist slid to rest more comfortably at the crook of his elbow, still clutching onto him as if he was the only thing keeping her afloat. Her left hand gently clasped over the one on her waist. She closed her eyes and let herself focus on his embrace around her.

How he had gone from holding her back to holding her up he would never make rational sense of.

The frantic beating of the girl's heartbeat came more distant as well as her other thoughts as she focused on the rise and fall of Kol's chest against her back. Her fingers brushed gently over his hand on her waist, giving her something to tactically distract herself with as well. His breathing by her ear helped drown out everything else as the tension slowly eased from her shoulders and the rest of her frame. His scent overpowered the girl's with the way he completely engulfed her right now.

Looking up to the sky, for the first time that night she felt a moment of clarity. The insanity of her emotions back away for a little while. They were still there, but they didn't dominant her at that time.

Sensing her shift in demeanor, Kol whispered gently to her, "Are you ready?"

At first, Maggie was tempted to say no. She didn't want this clarity to leave her, but she knew he wouldn't stay for long. He would get impatient with her if she put it off too long.

"Yes, what did I have to do?" She nodded gently, looking to the girl now. The poor thing was still shaking and she fidgeted on her feet, but she didn't run away. Maggie hadn't realized it until now, but she may have compelled her in her hysteria.

Kol grinned slightly behind her, finally hearing the touches of her normal voice, but Maggie couldn't see his face. "Now, the eye contact is the most important part. As you get older and better at this, you may be able to compel a human just at the sound of your voice, but for now you must have eye contact. Choose your words precisely for the exact instruction that you want to be followed and mean it when you say it. Don't be careless or rushed. Take your time and be assertive with what you want them to do," He whispered into her ear soothingly, but seriously.

Listening to each word, Maggie swallowed nervously a bit while staring at the girl. Finally, she gave a nod that she understood what he said. Kol slowly loosened his arm from her waist and dropped the hand from her shoulder. "Go on," He coaxed her with one last touch on her lower back and a slight push forward.

Frowning slightly while thinking about her words, Maggie held her breath as she stepped up to the girl again. She tried not to breath too much other than when she began speaking, not wanting to give into the temptation again. Maggie leaned forward slightly as she placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, making sure to get proper eye contact.

"You're going to forget seeing me and everything that happened here," Maggie instructed decisively.

The girl's expression calmed immediately as she blanked out, similar to how she did the first time when Maggie didn't know what she was doing. "I'm going to forget…" She murmured obediently.

Maggie paused for a moment then, wondering where exactly to send her. While home would be the natural reflex, she wasn't sure if she was going or leaving there. "You're going to go to wherever it was you were going before this happened. Now," Maggie went with.

The girl nodded numbly and without another word took one step around Maggie to continue on in the direction she was originally heading. The vampire turned to watch her go and get a look at Kol to see if he would approve of her compulsion. However, as soon as she turned around, she realized that he was already gone.

She didn't know what to think of the sense of disappointment and longing that brought.

* * *

While this had been occurring, a black SUV was pulled along the side of the road at the end of the street. The lights were turned off but the engine was running as the lone driver remained seated inside. He wore a business suit and leaned one arm against the doorframe, his fingers splayed lightly over his mouth as he watched the interaction that occurred.

When Elijah turned down the street this evening, human eyes wouldn't have spotted the young vampire and the girl as quickly as his and Kol's did. He wasn't surprised to see the doppelganger alive, if you prefer to use that term, and about after a brief exchange with Elena. What he wasn't expecting was for Kol to snap at him to kill the headlights and stop the vehicle. The young Mikaelson was already out of the passenger seat before the brakes could fully respond.

Elijah watched with a feeling of fascination as his brother pulled Maggie off of the victim. He knew there was some sort of interest he had taken into her and because of that he wasn't entirely surprised to hear she had been turned. Of course, he didn't share his belief it was Kol's doing with Elena, it wasn't his matter to deal with.

He knew of the feeling of responsibility that sometimes came with siring a new vampire. It was like bringing a new life to the world and you being the creator. It couldn't be completely related to paternal feelings, since many times other emotions are involved that lead to turning a vampire, but it's the closest comparison he could make. On more than one occasion, Elijah felt the need to properly train and educate such a vampire.

What floored him was to witness Kol behaving in such a way. He typically made it very clear just how little he cared about others. He never knew of Kol experiencing that responsibility. It simply went against his nature, or so he thought. Elijah watched the way Maggie settled down in his arms. He couldn't hear what exactly was being said from the distance and the purr of the car engine, but the body language was enough for him to get a good reading of it. Elijah's brows furrowed thoughtfully when Kol finally released the young woman and she stepped forward not to kill the girl, but compel her.

His gaze still watched the two females, even as Kol blurred out of sight behind her back. While Maggie was looking around for Kol, mostly in the wrong direction unfortunately, the passenger side door opened. Kol climbed back into his seat with a harsh tension in his eyes.

"One word about this and you lose your vocal chords," Kol threatened in a low tone, snapping Elijah out of his revelry. The eldest brother put the vehicle in drive, turning back on the headlights and pressing the gas lightly to continue on their route.

After a pungent silence, Elijah mocked his earlier words in his own calm, sophisticated manner, "I couldn't possibly know what you're talking about."

Kol shot him a sour look, but didn't say anything.

He clenched his fist as he glared harshly at the dashboard, not really seeing it. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go. Seeing Maggie looking so weak and on the verge of breaking sparked a fury within him. She was stronger than that. She was supposed to thrive as a vampire. He should have just gone away with Klaus to start with and then he never would have seen her like that.

At the same time, if he went away with Klaus, he wondered just how much worse she would have gotten. She was weak for a newborn and certainly didn't have any self-defense skills in her. She didn't have any sense of what she was doing. He grinded his teeth together, wondering how those Salvatores had managed to mess this up so badly. He left her with three vampires, she should have been fine.

Elijah snuck a few glances out of the corner of his eye at his brother, partly perturbed by the rigidness in his posture. What came out of his mouth next caused one of the few times in recent history his eyebrows to rise in genuine surprise.

"I'm sorry, 'Lijah, but you are going to have to drop me off before leaving. It appears I have an obligation to fulfill in Mystic Falls," Kol decided, biting onto a knuckle as he stared out of the window.

* * *

_Author's Note: Phew, this chapter was a complete emotional rollercoaster to write! This is a chapter I've been excited to write for a long time because of crazy dynamic of everything going on. It was heart wrenching to write the scene with Maggie and Hershel. Gimme all your gory details on what you think of this chapter? What do you think of Damon's confession? Was Maggie's reaction fair? _

_And how about Kol's reaction to Maggie and keeping her from losing it completely?_

_Review responses – _

_IrishBeauty: I hope this fills some of your Kol fix. ;D I will say to expect a whole lot of Kolie next chapter! But yeah, I agree that Damon has changed in the show. He seems completely whipped down, it's sad and boring. It's like he's turning into Stefan or something. _

_Nethra: Haha, I love moments where you just want to smack the characters on the screen. (Though, that happens almost every time I see Elena and out of irritation than amusement) I'm glad you liked that snarky comment! I actually took it from the other day when I bumped into some furniture and blamed it on it being sneaky. I look forward to hearing your take on this 3hour movie. :D_

_Thesummersky: You're a very eloquent person for being so speechless all the time. :P (Just kidding, I love hearing every word of feedback) But yes, Maggie's stubbornness to deal with everything herself and bottle her emotions will definitely be her Achilles' heel. And you're right on about Stefan and Maggie starting to form an understanding, especially as we're seeing the potential for her to go over the edge. _


	34. Chapter 34

_**Warning: Some language in this chapter may not be suitable for all audiences, please read at your own discretion.**  
_

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Christina Perri ft. Jason Mraz - Distance_

_Scene: Salvatore Living Room_

_Imagine Dragons – Demon_

_Scene: Maggie and Kol_

_Chapter Thirty-four_

Elijah snuck a few glances out of the corner of his eye at his brother, partly perturbed by the rigidness in his posture. What came out of his mouth next caused one of the few times in recent history his eyebrows to rise in genuine surprise.

"I'm sorry, 'Lijah, but you are going to have to drop me off before leaving. It appears I have an obligation to fulfill in Mystic Falls," Kol decided, biting onto a knuckle as he stared out of the window.

* * *

The sky was beginning to lighten into a deep navy hue when Maggie finally returned to the boardinghouse. She knew it was some point in the morning and the sun would be rising in another hour or so. The lights were still on within the house as she walked up to the front door.

After Kol left, Maggie wandered the streets for a while longer. She didn't come across anyone else, which was probably good for her bloodlust. The moment of clarity she got from Kol's presence lingered for a while longer as she thought about what happened. She couldn't deny she was disappointed that he had left so quickly without giving her a chance to see his face. It surprised her was how badly she wanted to see his face. She would have to fathom that some other time, but now the events of the evening were taking its toll on her.

Her thoughts went back to her actions and the point she had been at when he found her. While she knew why she felt the way and what led up to it, realizing just how she was behaving brought a shudder on. She cornered a girl, taunted and tormented her with the exact intentions of killing her. Maggie could understand killing to survive for vampires, but that had gone beyond that.

It scared her. She knew the things she felt and said were her, but it was like there was a monster pulling the strings. She couldn't help but think about what Stefan said to her back in the basement cell, "_But you don't ever completely come back… It's a part of who you are_." Maggie prayed this was just part of being a vampire that she would get under control and it wasn't what Stefan experienced. Having Kol drop the same ripper term made that fear worse.

By the time, she was at the Salvatore boardinghouse, she knew she would have one more confrontation before the night, or rather morning, was over with.

It came in the form of Damon standing in front of the fireplace. One hand leaned against the mantle and the other dangled a mostly empty bottle of whiskey by his side. The fire was still going and the flames sent a glitter across the floor of broken glass. The aroma of the cheap booze wafted from the carpeting.

Damon heard the door open and sensed her leaning against the wall of the entryway to the living room. He mockingly thought that was a new record for worst Stefan and Elena search parties when the lost person turned themselves in rather than be found, even before being fried to a crisp in the sun.

Damon spared her a quick glance before going back to half scowling at the flames. "Either you're as OCD ripping throats as you are neurotic destroying furniture or you somehow didn't slaughter half the town," He muttered bitterly, noting the lack of blood stains on her clothing or her hands.

Maggie flinched slightly, but didn't argue against him. She deserved his malice after what she did to him. Slowly she walked into the room, she admitted gently as she came to stand next to him with her hands in front of her, "I wanted to and I almost did…"

While Damon was masking most of his emotions, because Maggie knew he was hurting, he quirked a brow slightly at that. "What stopped you?" He had to ask.

Maggie hesitated, doubting bringing up a certain Original would be the best choice in Damon's state. "A moment of clarity," Maggie answered simply, which wasn't completely dishonest. She would have to figure out why exactly it was brought on by Kol later. Damon frowned and didn't say anything, suspicious of her word choice immediately. He knew there had to be more to it than that.

The silence between them was heavy and suffocating to Maggie.

Damon took a gulp from the bottle, letting it burn down his throat, but he was numb to the feeling at this point.

"I'm sorry," Maggie whispered quietly as she studied his face, he still refused to look directly at her.

Damon gave a humorless snort. "For which part? Manipulating and killing me?" Having his neck snapped didn't really hurt him, lord knows it has happened before. What hurt was when he figured she had dragged him out there for the purpose of doing it when he had honestly been trying to help her.

"No," Maggie said instantly and perhaps too honestly, but she offered a slightly sheepish expression. "But if it counts for anything, I still would've done it if it was Stefan or Elena." If it had been Elena, she probably would have enjoyed it quite a bit more, but she kept that thought to herself.

Damon tried to force a smirk at that thought, but it came out more pained than anything. If she wasn't sorry about that part, it only left one thing she could be sorry for and right now it was a very big proverbial circus dancing elephant in the room.

He dropped his hand from the mantle and stood up straight, letting out a frustrated sigh before turning to look at Maggie directly. "Why is it so impossible to believe that I love you?" There was something exhausted in his tone and Maggie wondered if it wasn't just her that he was asking.

Maggie frowned slightly as she thought, the trouble clear on her expression instead of hidden behind a mask this time. She thought about the all the time he had spent with her since arriving in Mystic Falls. All the punishments he took from her and kept coming back afterwards. His bed was the one she ended up in when craving comfort. Maybe she should have seen this coming after all.

"It's not," She gave softly.

Damon's eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at her. He hadn't exactly been expecting that answer and he tried to make sense of this woman in front of him. He could never tell what to expect from her. Just when he thought he had an idea of what was going through her mind, she'd throw him for a loop again. He wondered what happened when she was out there. She lacked the tension and cavalier attitude she came waltzing in here earlier. At least it didn't look like she had managed to shut off her emotions after all. If anything, she reminded him of the Maggie he saw in her bedroom the night she bit him.

Without tearing her eyes away from his, Maggie reached one hand forward to wrap around the bottle of the whiskey. Gently, she pried it from his fingers and he let it go. She lifted the bottle and placed it up on the mantle, stepping forward until they were almost chest to chest.

She reached up with her hands and placed them gently against his cheeks, framing his face the way he had done to her in her bedroom. His expression softened immediately at the touch and he began to lean forward into her. Maggie's eyes dropped down to his lips. For a moment, she just wanted to push aside all the dark feelings, the anger, the hurt, and the guilt.

Just for a moment, she needed to see if she could feel something else.

Feeling his lips against hers, her nerves singed with each brush and movement. The extra sensitivity of her new nature brought a stronger burn than previous kisses. She could taste him easily on her lips as well as the whiskey, inhaling it deeply as her fingers slipped from his face and her head tilted slightly to the side. His hands came up grasp at her waist, the touch causing her to clutch at his shirt, his fingers balling into a fist against his chest.

His tongue tried to push its way into her mouth and Maggie began to stiffen. Somewhere in the midst of the needy pressure and sucking of his lower lip, she could feel the rising urge to bite down on his lip. The blood would be just beneath the surface, it would only take a small nip and then she could have a little taste of him.

Maggie broke away from the kiss, pushing slightly back on his chest but not out of his arms. Her eyes shot open as she was panting, realizing how close she had been to biting him. She was met by swirling blue ones, which held a mix of confusion, uncertainty and most obviously desire. Maggie forced herself to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down before trusting herself to speak.

"I can't say it back," Maggie stated sadly once she realized her reaction to him had been mostly physical. Maybe she was too exhausted at this point to really push for anything else right now.

Damon's hands fell from her waist, but she refused to let go of his shirt. "Yeah, I got that when you strangled me and stomped out," He said lowly, there was still a hint of bitterness on his tongue.

Maggie shook her head stubbornly when she saw the way he was taking her words. "No, I can't say it back when I'm like this," She emphasized, it wouldn't be fair with her emotions all over the place lately. She couldn't honestly have a clue of what she really wanted right now. "It wouldn't be right."

Understanding dawned on his face when he grasped what exactly she meant. He reached his hands up gently to her wrists, holding them and running his thumbs over them soothingly as he thought. There were obstacles between them and she was acknowledging that. He had his feelings for Elena to deal with and she had her transition. But there was something there.

"It is right," Damon stated determinedly, "Just not right now." They were words he had said to another doppelganger, but this time it was different. There wasn't a brother in the way. And no one could dispute in some way that Maggie had been his the moment he found her, Damon believed. He didn't have it wrong this time.

Maggie offered a hesitant grin at the hopeful look in his eyes. She just gave a simple nod and didn't say more. She didn't trust herself to share the same enthusiasm and hope that he had.

Maggie left him in the living room with parting words of exhaustion and much needed rest. Damon let her go and he went back to his thoughts as he faintly heard her stop in the basement for a drink before bed. What surprised him later was when he went up to go to bed himself, he paused at the guest bedroom to glance in at Maggie and found she wasn't there.

He found her in his bed. She was curled up asleep with her back to the door on the side of the bed she had claimed before. He quietly changed and slipped into the bed next to her, not touching her for fear of overwhelming her again. She still had a long way to go from being okay.

It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

* * *

Maggie only slept for a few hours before she disturbed by someone climbing out of the bed. She barely roused and listened to Damon leaving the room. She could hear two other people arriving in the house. It was still an odd sensation to be able to hearing things so clearly like that. There was a discussion, which the voices rose slightly for, but she barely paid attention to the words. Apparently Stefan and Elena had returned, fearing the worst when the sun rose and they couldn't find her.

Eventually Damon came back into the bedroom and climbed back under the covers. She turned over on her side to face him this time. She hugged her pillow with her hands as they stared at each other for a long while, but never said anything.

She drifted off to sleep again. She woke a few hours later when she felt Damon stirring out of the bed again. This time she was feeling rested and unable to go back to sleep, but she remained in the bed while he went downstairs. Faintly, she could hear Sheriff Forbes talking to Stefan at the door. Damon came back shortly, begrudgingly explaining that he had to go to a Council meeting last minute and he would be back as soon as it was over.

Maggie gave him a halfhearted smile and assured him she would be okay while he was gone. She knew it was a lie though.

When the house was empty, memories of the previous night came back to haunt her. The look on her father's face and the words he said to her wouldn't leave. It really began to settle in that she had nowhere to go now. Her family rejected her and now she was stuck in this boardinghouse, hiding from the sunlight like the monster she had become.

She cried for a while, mourning the loss of her human life. The loss of ever being able to grow old. The loss of even the chance to have children, even though she never had desired them, it wasn't even an option now. She would outlive each of her family members, even from a distance having to watch them age and wilt away while she remained unchanging. The burning desire to drink blood will be with her forever now. While she didn't regret completing the transition, it came with large sacrifices.

Eventually, Maggie got out of the bed and for the first time went through the recent duffle bag Damon brought over from Beth. That was when she found it. Buried at the bottom of the bag, her fingers brushed against the dark fabric and she frowned slightly, pulling it out until she realized what it was.

Kol's jacket.

Maggie held it out before her. Beth must have packed it thinking it was Damon's or something. There's no way Damon would have allowed that into the boardinghouse if he had saw it. For that reason, Maggie carefully put it back in the bag out of sight. Seeing it and the lingering scent of Kol on it reminded her of the previous night. She thought about what he said to her, that she had to deal with this and she was stronger than this.

That was how she found herself in the kitchen fifteen minutes later with a blood bag on the counter and a glass sitting next to it.

She had her hands placed tightly on the counter edge, her knuckles white as she stared down at the blood bag, trying to fight past the initial urge to just rip into it. She needed to learn real control and she was going to start by not letting the beast control her drinking from blood bags. No more biting into it and gnawing at it like it was some sort of bone, she told herself.

Maggie held her breath as her fingers quickly reached forward, ripping off the cap and pouring some of it into the glass. Once she did, she dropped the bag as if it stung her and stepped back a few steps. She let out an exhale. The sight of the blood and the smell began to hit her full force then. Immediately, she felt her body beginning to react and she reached out to the counter, pushing herself back from diving after the glass.

With a shaky hand, she reached out and picked up the glass, her other hand wrapped around it quickly. She cradled like it was her sun in her palms as she stared down at the dark liquid. She began to raise it to her lips when it shattered, sending blood splattering everywhere and the shards cut into her skin.

"Shit! Goddamnit, son of a fucking bitch..." Maggie hissed out sharply, partly from the pain in her hands and the frustration from gripping the glass too tightly. At least there was no one in the house so she could swear freely. Before losing it completely, she whirled around to the sink and threw on the water. She held her breath while looking up towards the ceiling, trying not to think of the blood she was washing off her hands. It was just a mess, like spilling some pasta sauce or something normal like that, she thought.

Carefully, she picked out the glass shards from her fingers, wincing slightly before the wounds healed themselves up. Her face was still vamped out and her shoulders shook, trying to keep herself standing there, but she was stubborn and she was going to see this to the end.

Pulling another glass out of the cupboard, Maggie turned around and sat it quickly on the counter. That was when she took in the sight of everything. There was blood all over the counter and splattered on her shirt. Glass shards laid in it. The blood bag sat half empty, oozing from the cap that had been unceremoniously ripped off. Maggie let out a shudder, there was just so much everywhere and all she could see was red. Her body hummed and roared to pull it all up to her lips.

Before she went diving for the bag, a voice cut into the room that stopped her.

"It helps if you start with a more durable material."

* * *

It was close to noon when the blue Camaro, followed by one of the Mystic Falls issued vehicles drove down the street after pulling out of the Salvatore boardinghouse. The first car clearly only contained Damon and the second one followed him with Elena and Stefan in the front seats. Kol discreetly remained out of plain sight and turned to hide behind a tree as the vehicles passed by. He remained there and listened to them roll down the street, not slowing down in the slightest and continue on their journey towards downtown.

Smirking to himself, he thought it was too easy, silly adolescent vampires. He blurred in the direction of the infamous Salvatore boardinghouse. It didn't take long for him to end up in the driveway. He glanced at the house up and down. It was the first time in this century he was paying them a visit. Carefully, he walked up towards the front door and halted a moment to listen. It didn't take him much to sense there was only one person moving about in the house.

Quietly, he opened the door and slipped inside easily. He hesitated with each step, moving with centuries of practiced stealth. The one person in the house he could hear moving about was in the kitchen, opening a cupboard door and placing something down on the counter. Kol took the chance to scope out the first floor.

His jaw clenched as he took in the house. One of the first things he noticed was the windows. They were numerous, which normally wouldn't be a problem. However, none of them were UV tempered glass. Having to dodge strays of light that constantly shifted throughout the day would be irritating to the most adjusted of vampires. That alone endeared the Salvatores even less to Kol. Why hadn't these idiots thought to make that investment with their inheritance?

He noticed the immaculate nature of the place, not realizing it was Damon that was obsessive with keeping everything neat and orderly. Checking out the living room, the only thing he noticed out of place was a couple of recently read books on the coffee table. There was also a strong stench of carpet cleaner coming from near the fireplace.

There was a shattering noise, which caused Kol to lean into the hallway, looking towards the kitchen. The profanities that followed it immediately afterwards caused Kol's eyebrows to rise nearly to his hairline. Recognizing Maggie's voice as the source of it, a wide amused grin formed on his lips. She was definitely something else to behold.

Hearing the water running a moment later, Kol investigated the rest of the first floor. He stopped at the sight of the dining room. The dining set still laid in splintered pieces, coated by the shattering of the cabinetry and the fine dining ware that it used to hold. Of all the rooms in the house, this was the only one that looked as if a tornado had ripped through it. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully, filling that observation away for consideration before finally moving onto the kitchen.

He came into the entryway for the kitchen and leaned against the wall casually with his hands at his pockets. Maggie hadn't even noticed his arrival. She stood at the island counter with blood splattered all over her front, which was partly her chest and the light green tank top she wore. The mess on the counter was taunting her, only moments away from smothering herself in it.

"It helps if you start with a more durable material," Kol advised in a gentle tone, lacking any smirk. Maggie's head shot up quickly and he took in her dark features, the veins moving beneath her eyes and the fangs hanging out. He watched the way her chest heaved, fighting the beast within her. The blood was splattered up to her collarbone and a bit on her neck. He thought it was beautiful.

"A stainless steel would be ideal, working your way up to a hard plastic before handling something as fragile as glass," Kol clarified, remembering faintly how hard it had been to first learn to control his strength in even the smallest gestures.

It was clear as he spoke that she actually listening to him. He thought that was an interesting and promising peculiarity. She stared at him in stunned shock, which was quite a sight considering the nature of her features. She said nothing, but at the same time didn't move from her spot. Her eyes didn't leave him, while he could see the affect the blood was having on her, she wasn't really seeing it in that moment.

"Clean yourself up, I'll wait in the living room," Kol declared firmly at her silence before turning away and wandering into the living room.

* * *

That was one of the few times Maggie used vampire speed to clean up everything. As soon as the reality of Kol being in the boardinghouse sunk in, the blood on the counter didn't matter anymore. She hastily cleaned up the mess, throwing the broken glass in the sink and letting the water run to wash off the blood while she ran upstairs to get changed. The vampire features didn't begin to recede until she put on a fresh tank top and threw a cardigan over it, feeling slightly undressed in front of Kol. She cleaned up the blood from her skin and took a moment to compose herself before going downstairs.

After pausing in the kitchen to shut off the water, the smell of blood still lingered in the air as she disposed of the mostly empty blood bag. She could properly clean up the counters later. She couldn't make him wait any longer.

Maggie walked into the living room to find Kol over by Damon's decanter and glasses. The Original popped open the stopper and took a sniff of the liquor inside of it. For a moment she considered telling him it was Damon's, but she figured that probably wouldn't stop him anyway. He made a face, it definitely wasn't the highest quality stuff. With a half shrug, he began pouring two glasses out.

"When I said Salvatore was treating you like an object to be possessed, I didn't think he would quite literally cage you in his home," Kol spoke aloud with a smirk as he sensed Maggie's presence. While the smirk was on his face, there was a slight edge to his voice. He would have to have a little chat with the irresponsible vampire later.

Maggie didn't know what to say in response to that. There was no denying the cooped up feeling she got from being stuck in the house during the day. She folded her arms lightly as she walked towards Kol, her eyes traveling up and down him. It was the first time she got a real good look at him while being in control of herself. The way he had stunned her the first time she saw him wasn't anything in comparison to seeing him now. She took in the sight of his slender, broad shoulder build, trying not to think too much about what she knew was under that jacket. Her eyes fixated on his face, the colors of his hair seemed richer with her new vision and there was another level of depth to his eyes.

"How did you know I was here alone?" Maggie asked, breaking the silence when she realized she was staring at him. She found it a little too convenient of all the times he showed up, Damon and Stefan happened to be away from the boardinghouse.

"Ah, yes," Kol grinned at that and picked up the second glass, offering it out to Maggie. "This morning I cornered that mortal Bekah fancies… the one that works at the Grill," His brows furrowed slightly as he struggled a moment, "What was his name again?"

Maggie frowned slightly and it took her a moment to understand who he was referring to, "You mean Matt?"

"Yes! That one," Kol's grinned resumed. Maggie took the glass from his hesitantly, slightly worried at the idea of Matt being alone with Kol. "Anyway, I demanded from him to know about the Council meeting and where it would be," Kol continued on, it was no secret that the front of the Grill had been largely destroyed in the fight and was still being rebuilt. "Not that I actually cared because I had no interest in going to it."

Maggie continued to frown not quite seeing where this was going.

"But! Since it was_ I_ who was asking," Kol gave a smug smile gesturing to himself as he spoke, "I knew that would cause a bit of a stir… Which would ensure every wooden bullet, vervain dart, and Council-loving vampire would show up at that meeting."

Maggie nodded slowly as understanding dawned on her. "Leaving the boardinghouse empty…" She finished for him and his eyes flickered with amusement.

She thought about his diversion and all the unnecessary panic that it likely caused, along with the fact she wasn't sure if he hurt Matt or not. He knew that Damon and Stefan would immediately get involved if the Council was at risk and she wouldn't be able to leave the house during the daylight. Despite herself, she was a little impressed by the logical. "That was… well played," Maggie admitted with a slight tilt her of head.

"Cheers," Kol smirked and raised his glass to her. Biting her lip slightly, Maggie returned it and the glasses clinked before she took a deep gulp of the whiskey. It burned down her throat, but she did appreciate the way it helped curb her other cravings.

Kol took a sip of his while he watched her shamelessly down most of her glass. With a sigh, she then put it back down on the table before looking at him seriously.

"So why are you here?" She questioned bluntly, but lacking an accusation in her tone.

"I want to give you something," Kol answered easily. He slowly put his glass down next to Maggie's while he watched the perplexed look enter her eyes. One thing Maggie was beginning to learn to expect from her encounters with Kol was that she had no idea what to exactly expect and him giving her something was one of them.

"Give me your hand," Kol requested politely, holding his hand out to her while the other went digging into his jean pocket. Curiosity got the best of her and Maggie reached out with her right hand, placing it gently in his hand openly.

Kol pulled out a ring from his pocket. It was a simple band of silver, tarnished from age. A row of blue stones were cut evenly and smoothly along it to form a singular stripe down the center. It wasn't anything particularly ornate and very simple at best. The stone caught her attention because it instantly reminded her of the same color of the one in Damon's ring.

"A daylight ring?" Maggie questioned as she watched him delicately slide the ring onto her ring finger. While it wasn't the correct hand most women picture when a man puts a ring on their finger, but it was just as unnerving how intimate he could make the simplest touches.

Kol nodded, staring down at her hands and murmured, "A beautiful creature such as you shouldn't hide in the shadows." Maggie's stomach knotted at the way he said it. If she had to name anything, there was tenderness in his voice. She wasn't sure if he was commenting on her physical appearance or the nature of what she's become. Maybe it was both in his eyes.

Looking closely at the ring, she noticed it seemed rather masculine, definitely something most women wouldn't pick out for themselves and in some way that's why she liked it. "Is this yours?" She voiced the thought as it came to her.

"One of many," Kol ran his fingers gently over her knuckles as he continued to hold her hand and he gave a nonchalant shrug, "It served me well at the end of the 17th century during the Grand Embassy, when I was accompanying Peter, a Russian acquaintance of mine."

Maggie tried to focus on his words more than the soothing touch of his hands. "Peter?" She asked curiously, thinking the last acquaintance he mentioned was extraordinary and this one had a rather ordinary name at that. She couldn't say she knew what the Grand Embassy was or much 17th century history off of the top of her head.

"Yes, Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov," Kol clarified and his voice rolled into an accent more characteristic of the country he was referring to. Maggie's eyebrows rose as he then smirked and added on in his normal accent, "The Czar at the time."

Maggie shook her head slightly, stunned at the reminder of just how old Kol was and partly not surprised it would be the company of great, but brutal world leaders he would choose. She tried not to get too caught up in it. That was a surreal thought she would have to wrap her mind around later. She stared at the ring on her finger, she wanted to thank him, but she had one more question that had been eating away at her since she woke up in transition.

"Why did you save me?" Maggie looked up at him meaningfully. She knew that night the moment she had broken her leg, she should have been dead.

Kol looked up to meet her eyes, but even then he still refused to let go of her hand. His fingers continued to absentmindedly run over hers and the back of her hand. "You already know why," Kol replied vaguely, "But you really should be asking _how_ it was that I found you alone at all that night."

Maggie cocked her head slightly, noticing his lack of direct answer, but she could hardly throw any stones in that department. What he did point out she had questioned a few times herself, she didn't say anything since it looked like he intended on continuing anyway.

"Klaus was the one that knocked the SUV off the road. Salvatore and Elena weren't far behind, along with that Bennett girl in the car," Kol began to recall, remembering the hybrids didn't make it out after mostly trashing the Grill. The younger Salvatore's neck had been snapped there too. The older Bennett witch collapsed from over exerting herself trying to hold off Klaus while he ripped the heart out of the warlock.

"He would have gotten to you if I had not chosen then to impale Elena with a tree branch," Kol smirked darkly at the memory. While he had been close to the heart, it wasn't a fatal blow. "As I expected, Klaus doubled back, more concerned with potentially losing his future hybrid breeding blood bag." Kol's jaw clenched slightly at the reminder of the confirmation his brother still hoped to find the cure to build his army, but he didn't let that thought distract him right now.

"Instead of continuing on, Your Damon went back to his precious Elena's rescue," Kol explained, sneering the name and Maggie realized it was one of the few times he actually used Damon's first name. "The Bennett girl stopped too, trying to help and fight off Klaus. So while those three were going at it like dogs… there was you."

An expression of intrigue came across Kol that Maggie found herself unable to look away from. His voice softened as he really looked at her, "There you were… crawling out from a wreck that should have killed you, pulling yourself through the filth and blood, refusing to die. You didn't wait for anyone to come to your rescue. You rose on your own."

The way he stared her at reminded Maggie of the times he trapped her in his gaze before. This time she wasn't nearly as nervous, but she still felt like her heart was in her throat in the way he spoke. The sense of admiration in his voice was dark and twisted given the nature of the situation, but it was there. The idea that Damon had chosen to go save Elena over her was something she would have to consider later, but not right now when she had Kol standing before her. There was something about his presence in this moment that stripped her down with vulnerability.

Maggie reached up with her left hand and gently clasped it over his. She curled her right hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you," She whispered sincerely.

Kol's lips tugged upwards slightly at the corners. He would have to remember at some point to tell her to stop thanking him so much. She was going to start thinking there was something good in him.

The moment between them passed when he broke his eye contact and looked towards the front door. Gently, he pulled his hands away from hers.

"Let's break free of this cage, shall we?" Kol offered a cheeky grin, his mood shifting instantly to a lighter one. Before her hands could fall completely to her sides again, Kol turned his body and offered his arm to her, only in a half serious gentlemanly manner.

A grin fought its way up on Maggie's face at his dramatics and she moved to loop her arm through his. She wasn't sure what he had in mind for them. But if they were anything like the rooftop and the waterfall, she was admittedly a little excited about it.

"So you stabbed Elena?" Maggie asked him casually as they started walking towards the front door. The knowing grin was her answer.

Unable to resist the urge, Maggie eagerly asked, "How did it feel?"

* * *

_Author's Note: A bit of a quiet chapter, but important I think. What do you guys think of Maggie's decision? I have a question for some of my more analytical reviewers, do you see any similarities between Maggie/Damon's relationship and Damon/Katherine's?_

_And as I promised Kolie! With a lot more to come next chapter! I also have to say I love this song Demons by Imagine Dragons, I think it just fits Kolie perfectly._

_It's been two months to the day this story started, phew time has flown!_

_Review responses –_

_IrishBeauty: Awww, I'm sorry that I made you cry, but I'm also kinda glad I was able to write something that moving. xD Haha! Feel free to bring on the ramblings, I follow both shows pretty closely so yeah…_

_Thesummersky: I'm glad I was able to shock and surprise ya with the twists and turns without it seeming too unrealistic or out of character! I would definitely expect more of a roller coaster in the next few chapters as she's trying to balance out her transition AND some serious moral dilemmas which lead to some pretty tough decisions she'll have to make will start happening._

_Hershel's scene was really tough to right, because I know everyone would want to reach through the screen and slap some sense into the poor old man. But given what he's been through on TWD and what he knows of the supernatural (or lack of in this case), his reaction was the only realistic one I could see last chapter. BUT, don't give up on him just yet. ;)_

_But yes, Kol definitely offered a moment of clarity and smooth riding for her. Now that he's deciding to step up and get involved with her transition, we'll see just what else he'll do to help her… But at the same time, we have to consider this is Kol, so his definition of help may be different._

_It wasn't torture at all to read! I absolutely loved it, feel free to write an essay any time you feel like it haha. I think I literally clapped and got excited when I saw it._


	35. Chapter 35

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Awolnation – All I Need_

_Scene: Abandoned House_

_Chapter Thirty-five_

A grin fought its way up on Maggie's face at his dramatics and she moved to loop her arm through his. She wasn't sure what he had in mind for them. But if they were anything like the rooftop and the waterfall, she was admittedly a little excited about it.

"So you stabbed Elena?" Maggie asked him casually as they started walking towards the front door. The knowing grin was her answer.

Unable to resist the urge, Maggie eagerly asked, "How did it feel?"

* * *

Kol had been patiently quiet when Maggie stepped out the front door and hesitated on the front porch. The smug expression didn't leave him as she slowly reached her hand out, testing out the ring before risking going any further. When she was able to leave her hand out in the sun, feeling nothing but the warmth of its rays and no pain, she let out a sigh of relief.

They stepped off the porch together and she let him lead the way casually down the driveway. Instead of turning in the direction of downtown, they wandered along the side of the road going the opposite way. Maggie didn't particularly object since at first she was distracted by taking in the sights, smells and sounds of everything.

It was like being born again into the world now that she could see it in the daylight. She took in the sights of the trees, the foliage ranging colors and hues that she had never noticed before. The smallest of scents enter her nose, the dew of the morning, the fragrance of the grass and lingering hint of exhaust from a vehicle that must have passed earlier.

Maggie's hand curled upwards, grasping gently onto Kol's bicep as they walked. He led her down the street a ways and off onto another residential one towards the outskirts of town. It wasn't one she was particularly familiar with. Based on the lack of scents or heartbeats, it appeared rather empty. Finally, she tore her eyes away from her surroundings and looked to Kol.

Even though she was anxious about where he was taking her, she didn't find herself afraid. Even as a human, she realized she had never for a moment been truly afraid of him. His intimidating presence struck her at times, especially when he killed Jeremy. But even in her last moments, at the car accident and on the rooftop, any trace of fear had diminished and that lack of fear only magnified with her transition.

His expression strongly contrasted her mildly content one. His eyes were dark and his jaw set firmly, she couldn't help but wonder where it was that his mind went to. He was the one to finally break the silence.

"How many people have you killed?" He asked in a blunt, almost business like tone.

Maggie startled at the question a bit and frowned. "None," She replied instantly.

Kol's brow scrunched up slightly, finding that rather hard to believe given the state he found her last night. "You have been feeding from humans, right?" He asked incredulously.

This caused Maggie to stop in her steps as she turned towards him. "No, I've only been drinking from blood bags," She answered hesitantly. Kol turned to face her when she halted, his hands buried into the pockets of his jacket.

Hearing her answer, he let out a scoff and looked away a moment while shaking his head. "Of course," He muttered in irritation under his breath. Looking back to her, he gave a sigh, "Well, that explains why you're so weak."

"Excuse me?" Maggie's head jerked back slightly, the way he said it so matter-of-factly made her unsure whether or not she should be offended.

"Your strength," Kol clarified, "It's not up to what a newborn vampire should be. Your senses are out of whack, too. I went through the whole first floor of the house and you didn't even know I was there, which I'm willing to bet is from lack of proper diet." With a slight nudge from his arm, he prompted her to keep walking.

Maggie didn't dispute him. She certainly didn't know what to expect with the transition, but the way her body felt after feeding and how much she struggled to focus at times couldn't have been right.

"When you're ready, I will take you out for a proper hunt," Kol declared and Maggie's surprise increased.

"Ready?" She repeated numbly, this certainly wasn't the type of conversation she had been expecting to have when she woke up today. She didn't quite know what to make of Kol apparently deciding to step up and help her out. The way he spoke and his mannerisms told her that when Kol decided he was going to step in with something, it wasn't an offer or a question. Everything in his body language said he had decided this and no one had the power to argue with him.

Kol nodded simply, he pressed his lips together thoughtfully for a moment as he stared out in front of him. He began to slow when he spotted a house that seemed to hold some promise to it. Gently, he directed Maggie to turn to the right in its direction and towards the front walkway.

"How many blackouts have you had?" Kol inquired seriously, lacking any humor or insult in his voice.

Maggie's stomach clenched and she dropped her hand from his arm as she turned to face him, stopping in front of the house. Alarm rose into her eyes, wondering how he could have possibly known about them. She never fully explained what was going on to even Damon or Stefan. She had always skirted around the whole dining room situation.

"How did you know?" Maggie tried to deflect from answering.

Kol's eyes narrowed on her, but he didn't say anything. His eyes pierced into her and he waited with an impassive expression. It caused her to swallow thickly and remember this wasn't Damon that she was dealing with. While she had been able to get away with non-answers with, Maggie doubted that Kol had much patience for it and she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out the hard way.

"Three times," Maggie admittedly begrudgingly with a slight sag of her shoulders and she moved to wrap her arms around herself.

Kol looked away from her and nodded faintly, as if acknowledging a thought flashing through his eyes. "It looked like you were about to blackout when I found you," He commented, remembering the truly feral animalistic nature of her behavior at the time. "What happened each time?"

Maggie shifted uncomfortably on her feet, not particularly thrilled at admitting her worst moments. If anything she had to give to Kol's credit during all this, he wasn't accusing of her and pitying her in any way. He was just direct and to the point. Maybe that was what she needed right now. "I just trashed some furniture in the boardinghouse," She waved her hand slightly as she spoke with a shrug, not sure how to explain something she couldn't recall.

Kol didn't seem surprised by her answer. "Good, it's still early then," He muttered and Maggie frowned slightly. In the mist of how unsettling this conversation was, she couldn't help but wonder how he seemed so authoritative of it. "Those blackouts will have to stop before I take you out hunting. I can't have you going into one during a hunt and go on a full ripper binge."

The idea of Kol taking her out hunting wasn't one she was entirely sure how she felt about. Granted, she wanted to learn how to control what was going on with her and if anyone always seemed in control it was Kol, she still worried. She highly doubted it was animals that he was referring to.

The word ripper derailed her thoughts and concerns immediately. Her arms tightened around herself as she stared at him. With a sense of dread, she had to ask the question that had been gnawing at her conscious, "Do you really think I could be a ripper?"

This brought a slow smirk across his features, it was dark but not entirely born of amusement. He looked at her with a knowing gaze before quirking a brow slightly. "Maggie," He purred her name gently, "As a human, you made a sport of slaughter. Now as nature's greatest predator, I have no doubts of your potential."

Maggie stilled, a numb and hollow sensation settling into her at his confirmation. While he had just been referring to the county line incident, she couldn't lie about the times in the past she may or may not have taken her aggressions with everything out on walkers. She had no idea that would transfer over to being a vampire. But even given that information, looking back over everything that has happened, she wasn't sure if she would act differently if she knew.

"Come," Kol requested, getting impatient from her silence and he jerked his head towards the door.

For the first time, Maggie gave the house a proper look over. The shrubbery in the front was nearly overgrown and the lawn severely neglected. The first floor windows had been boarded up and the paint was beginning to flake away from the wood of the railings and deck. The house was two stories with an addition over the adjoining garage. It was dark and lacked any warmth or life to it.

Maggie stood a few steps back as Kol approached the front door. He tested the doorknob and found that it was locked. He gave it a hard twist and the lock broke, but apparently the deadbolt was still thrown. His movements were casual, but the strength behind them made it even more unnatural. With a slight shoulder check, the door burst open, ripping from the wooden frame and swung wide open. Maggie startled slightly from the noise, but didn't say anything.

Curiously, she watched him as he leaned a foot forward and tested out the threshold of the doorway. Sensing nothing was blocking him, he took one step forward and then looked over his shoulder to her, seeing her questioning gaze. "Looks like we have a winner," He grinned, "You can never be quite so with the evacuated parts of town." He didn't really need to go on to say that meant the residents of this home were all dead.

Maggie frowned slightly and opened her mouth to say something but he already slipped inside. She followed after him inside and was immediately struck by the stuffiness of the house. The air was thick and heavy, reeking of mild dew and several other stenches she couldn't quite place. Maybe it was the lack of life within the home over the past year. She crinkled her nose and her eyes adjusted to the darkness within the house. It was mostly untouched, except for some unturned furniture. Whoever had been there left in hast and apparently didn't die here.

"You need a way to let those emotions out _before_ they blind you," Kol's voice carried through the house and she followed it into the kitchen. She walked into it to find him perusing around with only mild interest. She barely took in the informal dining set and the open floor plan of the first floor. She watched him as he opened a few cabinets before pulling out a stack of large dinner plates.

"I hope you're not referring to baking a cake or some lame hobby like that," Maggie muttered dryly as she watched him put the stack down on the island. She wasn't sure why they had to break into a house to steal dinner ware.

Kol just smirk and shook his head once. Then without warning, he picked up the top plate and with the flick of his wrist threw it across the room.

It shattered into pieces against the opposite wall and the shrill noise caused Maggie to visible jump, ducking slightly while letting out an audible swear.

Amusement flickered through Kol's eyes as Maggie stared at him with a wide-eyed expression. With purposely slow movements, he reached down for another plate and threw it against the wall along with the other one. This one didn't cause her to jump as much while her expression pulled together thoughtfully.

He gave her a challenging raise of his eyebrows as he tilted his head towards the plates, as if to say it was her turn.

It began to click in her mind what he meant by letting it out now. The corner of her lip tugged slightly upwards as she reached forward for a plate. With much more force than was needed, she threw it against the wall. Instead of just shattering, it also left a dent in the drywall.

Without really thinking about it, she began to reach for more and started throwing them as well. The noises ran through her as the adrenaline started to build, like little jolts with each shatter. Kol grinned and turned to the cabinets, joining in himself as he started pulling out random items like glasses and coffee mugs, tossing them around the room. It escalated quickly into large items like pots and pans.

The real game began when Kol blurred across the room. A low whistle was the only warning she got before she ducked to avoid one of the dining chairs flying across the room. It splintered broke against the stainless steel refrigerator.

Maggie gasped in surprise before a playful smile broke out across her features. In a blur of movement, the vampires were soon tossing furniture across the room and spread out to the other rooms of the house. There was no attachment to these possessions, leaving absolutely everything for fair game. Soon chunks of the walls were taken out from flying bookshelves and a loveseat. For a while, she could move just as fast as she wanted and did not have to control the strength of her body. If anything, pushing it to see just how strong she was just as thrilling.

Being able to destroy the furniture, sending it launching into the air, was fulfilling every childhood china shop urge. The house shook and shuddered from the force of the impacts, but that didn't deter her in the least bit. She enjoyed the way each room quickly became unrecognizable about them. There was something invigorating about being able to lift and toss a sofa with ease before it took out the back sliding doors.

A barrage of sounds soon filled the sound, ranging from glass breaking to plastic snapping and wood splintering. Movements were blurred between Maggie and Kol along with the various particles being thrown in the air. While she had to be aware to dodge some of the shrapnel, it didn't deter her in the least and she found herself grinning and giggling in the mist of the chaos.

Kol seemed to enjoy the same devilish, and arguably immature, nature of the whole situation. The best moment had been when he came blurring out from the garage after she picked up the washing machine and sent it flying through the wash room wall. Apparently it knocked into the main support beam in the garage because the next thing she knew the whole house was giving an alarming shudder.

The ceiling of the garage ached and groaned before the four by fours gave out. The addition above the garage imploded as Kol appeared in front of her with a wide-eyed look. "Oi!" He shouted above the noise, "Don't bring the house down while we're still inside of it!"

Seeing the look on his face and the gaping hole were the machine had been being filled by the collapsing of the second story living room sent Maggie into a peel of laughter. She blurred out of the room with Kol chasing quickly after her.

* * *

The stainless steel refrigerator that had been in the kitchen now laid on its side in the front yard, the door hanging by one hinge loosely on the ground. Some of the moldy contents that had been left behind were scattered in the yard in a path trailing towards the house. Where a bay window had once been was now a large gaping hole in the front of the house. Inside the house, every room looked like if a bomb had gone off with nothing spared by the destruction.

The roof of the addition above the garage was crumbled into a mess of rumble. From the front, a bed and its heavy frame were half hanging out of a gap created by its force in the master bedroom on the second floor. The windows every window had been blown out and a dishwashing unit was lodged into the brickwork of the chimney.

Maggie sat on the side of the refrigerator, acting as their impromptu bench, with her hands placed behind her as she grinned contently at the mess. She wouldn't call this her greatest moment of maturity, but there was something distinctly relieving about it all. More importantly, she could recall every moment of it with perfect clarity. Despite the frenzy and excitement of it all, she hadn't lost herself. There was an ache and tiredness in her frame, but it wasn't so much from physical exhaustion, but satisfaction.

Kol sat next to her, mirroring her body position with a lazy smirk on his expression. They both were covered in a layer of dust and some grime she would have to shower off later, but right now she didn't particularly care.

Looking back on it now, now she understood why he dragged her out here. "This was a good idea, actually," Maggie declared, which caused Kol to look away from the house and to her. Her voice dropped to a teasing tone though, "But I don't think there are enough houses in Mystic Falls for me to trash every time Damon annoys me."

Kol tilted his head slightly, the playful smirk, which had been on his face most of the time, never left. "Well, there are other forms of release…"

Maggie sat up stiffly as his words sunk in with her. The slightly devilish expression on his face only accentuated it.

She let out a groan and leaned forward to bury face in her hands with her elbows against her knees. "Don't even joke about that," She grumbled, "I can hardly tell the difference between the urge to rip a throat out or rip clothes off."

Kol's eyebrows rose while Maggie clamped a hand over her mouth in horror at realizing she voiced her thought out loud. He thought about telling her they tended to be one in the same at the beginning, but he enjoyed her reaction way too much to do so.

"Well then! Now that we established where _your _mind is at," Kol taunted her before saying innocently, "_I _was referring to fighting."

Maggie looked up from her hands to him, torn between wanting to wipe the smug expression from his face or crawling into the refrigerator and closing the door behind her to die of embarrassment.

"Damon mentioned something about teaching me," She choked slightly on the words as she cleared her throat and tried to change the subject, as well as the direction of her mind.

Kol's face scrunched up slightly in distaste at the mention of the vampire's name. He gave a dismissive shake of his head and sneered, "That would be a waste. His technique is sloppy and predictable… always going for the neck."

Maggie's hands fell from her face as she looked at him. His words were a reminder of how much he and Damon were bitter rivals. For a moment, she had forgotten the fact they had literally taken turns snapping each other's necks. Even though it would inevitably cause trouble, she couldn't deny she enjoyed both of their companies for different reasons.

Kol noticed the sudden somber shift in her mood as she turned to look at the house. His eyes remained on her, studying her and his expression relaxed into one of mild curiosity. Silence lingered between them, which wasn't awkward and in some ways reminiscent of sitting on her porch.

Kol leaned forward to rest his forearms against his knees as he looked at her. "What set you off last night?" He asked bluntly in a quiet tone.

Maggie looked down to her hands, thinking of the way they were clenched when she slammed down onto the Camry that night. While the anger and pain that she felt was still there, it didn't boil to the surface as badly. "My family rejected what I've become," She admitted and didn't particularly feel the need to go into what happened with Damon afterwards. If it had only been what Damon said to her, she might have been able to handle that. However, her family has always been the most important thing to her.

No look of pity or sympathy passed over Kol's face. He just stared at her thoughtfully a moment. He didn't press her for more details or any further explanation.

After a moment, he just gave a nonchalant shrug and commented lightly, "That's fairly common actually." Maggie frowned slightly and looked up at him, undecided if she appreciated his lack of concern or not.

"My father hated what we became and spent a thousand years trying to hunt us down," Kol explained with an expression of indifference. The slight edge of his voice was the extent of the emotion it drew from him. He had long since deal with that matter.

He took a deep breath before continuing, "And then my mother returned, claiming wanting nothing more than to reunite our family. Instead, she despised what we were just as much and nearly succeeded in killing us."

Maggie's eyes widened slightly and she couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "All of the sudden just being thrown out of the house doesn't sound so bad…"

While Kol heard what she said, his expression didn't give any indication that he did as he stared aimlessly ahead at the house. He thought back bitterly to the ball that had been thrown at the Mikaelson mansion and how his mother had deceived them all. He gave a humorless snort, "I should've remembered then what a witch promises a vampire they'll do and what they actually do is rarely ever the same thing."

Maggie couldn't pretend to comprehend what it must have been like to be hunted for centuries by the parents that brought you into this world. What she did see though, despite the fact he was an ancient predator of one of the darkest natures, somewhere there was just another young man casted aside by his parents. She could relate to that feeling now.

Reaching out to him, she gently placed her hand over his. It wasn't a gesture of pity or sympathy, but understanding.

Kol looked down at their hands, remaining still a long moment. Slowly, he turned his hand over underneath hers and wrapped his fingers around hers, brushing his thumb over her knuckles gently. He raised it up to his lips, brushing them over her skin delicately. Instead of letting her hand go, he held it up to his mouth and closed his eyes. His features eased and she felt him take a deep breath against her skin.

When he did, his brows furrowed thoughtfully and his eyes opened sharply. "That's different…" He muttered, his lips brushed over her skin as he did.

"What is?" Maggie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Kol didn't answer her immediately, he took another deep inhale and that was when she realized he smelled her.

Kol pulled back from her hand enough to look at her and he surprised her by asking, "May I?"

Maggie wasn't sure exactly what he was referring to, but the way he held her hand made her think of the Grill. At least this time he was asking before sniffing her wrist. "I guess," She mumbled, partly alarmed at what he meant by different.

In a blur of movement, Maggie was laid out on her back on top of the refrigerator. Her hands were pressed against his shoulders and her knees curled up instinctively to push him off from the surprise of the movement before she paused at the way he was leaning over her. The cheeky smirk was back at his face as one hand was placed next to her head against the metal.

"Relax, Maggie," He purred to her gently, keeping his eyes locked with her nervous ones as his free hand moved down to her knees. He pressed lightly on her knee caps to guide them down slowly, letting her legs ease down enough for him to climb up onto the refrigerator with her. He plucked her hands one by one from his shoulders. Despite his actions, she still felt tense as he shifted so he was hovering over with a knee on either side of her hips. Her hands fell to her sides, unsure what exactly do to with them.

His hand reached up to her cheek and slowly brushed the back of his knuckles down it. She felt a shiver at the touch that had nothing to do with being chilled or scared of him.

His fingers stopped at her chin and gently prompted her to turn her head slightly, exposing her neck to him. Leaning in closer to her, she closed her eyes when she felt his nose brush against her collarbone. He took a deep breath as it trailed up along her neck. Her undead heart was hammering in her chest.

"In some doppelgangers, the uniqueness of their blood can be negated under certain circumstances, such as vampirism," He began to murmur and she felt his lips brush against her neck as he did. Maggie's hands fidgeted, clenching and unclenching at trying to fight the urge of at least grabbing at his jacket. She didn't say anything, as it was hard enough to seriously focus on his words.

"That seems to be the case with you," Kol declared in the same tender tone as his lips traveled up to her jawline. Her scent had changed to him. His vampire instinct no longer told him to pull away from her. He doubted there was any poison left. It only left the hints that made it uniquely her.

Sensing how she was reacting to him, Kol moved up further to whisper in her ear one more thing. "But it's not the temptation of being bit that you should be afraid of," He smirked as he heard her breath hitch.

"Kol…" Her voice came out more like a whimper than anything else. She reached up to grab at his jacket, but his face pulled away from hers and she felt a soft breeze against her body.

She didn't need to open her eyes to know that he was gone.

In the stillness around her, Maggie realized she was completely alone. Letting out a tense sigh, she opened her eyes and found herself staring up at the blue sky instead of dark eyes.

Her head spun as she ran her hands through her hair, trying to wrap around how they had gone from talking about family to him nearly seducing her with a simple touch on top of a kitchen appliance.

She pushed herself up to a seat slowly and that's when she felt a crinkled and a slight pressure against her hip from her jean pocket. Reaching into it immediately, she found a folded piece of paper with handwriting on the front.

_When you need to find me. – Kol_

Unfolding the piece of paper, she found an address written with directions to it.

* * *

_Author's Note: In light of tonight's episode, I've decided to post this purely Kolie chapter in honor of our fallen Original._

_(Yes it was originally intended on being longer and taking a few more days, but after tonight it felt fitting to post this.)_

_I will say I'm sad to see Kol go on the show and I had a feeling it was coming, but I'm greatly disappointed in the way it was written. (I'm not going to get into detail, but if you want to PM me I will gladly discuss it there) That being said, my story will continue as I originally planned despite the events and information of season four. _

_On a side note, at least Kol really did get to impale Elena!… too bad his aim was off._

_Next chapter, we're going to have truth and betrayals coming up! _

_Review responses –_

_Nethra: Yep! It is definitely one sided at this point. The big difference being that Katherine was intentionally manipulative but Maggie isn't trying to be. She's just trying to figure things out and isn't exactly doing it in the best possible way._

_Yeah, my hate for Elena has reached a whole new level with this season. xD Don't expect a redemption for her in my story. I'm not going to be completely terrible, but she's not going to be the saint/martyr that never gets blamed for anything either._

_I'm glad I got the reactions of the TWD characters spot on for ya! It's really hard sometimes trying to figure out how characters from a completely different show would react in the TVD setting. _

_I get what you're saying about people only being able to love one person, which actually isn't the case here. I think it's possible to love two people for different reasons. Maggie is just having a hard time because most of her relationship with Damon was born out of duress and strong negative emotions constantly clouded it, which have only been magnified by the transition so it'll take time for her to see past it._

_Get ready for the next free fall starting in chapter thirty-six. ;D The only hint I would say is read back on previous chapters for anything you might find as a clue that can lead to a very big betrayal. _


	36. Chapter 36

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_The Fray – Look After You_

_Scene: Maggie and Stefan_

_Imagine Dragons – Radioactive_

_Scene: Damon and Kol through end  
_

_Chapter Thirty-six_

She pushed herself up to a seat slowly and that's when she felt a crinkled and a slight pressure against her hip from her jean pocket. Reaching into it immediately, she found a folded piece of paper with handwriting on the front.

_When you need to find me. – Kol_

Unfolding the piece of paper, she found an address written with directions to it.

* * *

Damon walked out of the police station, feeling anxious behind his pointed glare as he looked around. The meeting had dragged on longer than he would've liked it too. They had first been concerned for their lives, probably envisioning the whole Council being blown up or something like that. Stefan and Elena showed up with him just for added security, not that he was going to point out how ridiculous a bunch of teenage vampires would be against an Original.

With all the extra officers and their guns along with the three vampires, the meeting actually had carried on as planned. There hadn't been any sighting of Kol or anything out of the ordinary. Matt had been shaken up when he contacted Sheriff Forbes this morning, but he insisted that he was fine. It was odd and Damon didn't like odd.

Stefan and Elena left before he did, saying something about going back to the Gilbert house. Damon just absentmindedly acknowledged that as he wanted to get back to the boardinghouse to Maggie.

As he was walking out of the station and towards the car, he glanced around. The Grill was still being repaired. Most of the windows had been blown out and some of the front structure would have to be reconstructed. It shouldn't take too long in a town full of supernatural creatures to help with that.

He looked over at the town square and his eyes lingered a moment on Maggie's picnic table. What alarmed him was to see that someone was lying on top of it. He furrowed his brows as he walked closer and instantly recognized the figure.

Maybe some of that homemade brew was finally starting to make him hallucinate, Damon thought.

Maggie laid on her back with legs slightly curled up against the table and her hands on her stomach as she stared up at the sky. A faint content smile lingered on her lips while she stared aimlessly at the clouds that rolled over head.

Damon approached hesitantly, his mind whirling into frenzy at wondering what he was seeing and how this was possible.

Maggie glanced over at her new company before looking back to the sky. "I've missed this," She declared in a soft tone.

"Lying on a table?" Damon questioned incredulously with his hands in his pockets, standing a few feet from her.

Maggie smirked slightly but shook her head, "No, being able to feel the sun… It probably seems silly. I know it's only been a few days." The idea of having to hide forever in the dark was something that had terrified her since waking up. It was easy to take for granted such little things in life until they're taken away.

Damon stilled and closed his eyes. He took a moment to shake his head slightly as if trying to get rid of the overwhelming sense of déjà vu this conversation was bringing on. He had to remind himself this wasn't a dream and while it was Rose's voice, it wasn't her.

"How are you here?" Damon asked, trying to break himself away from those memories and opening his eyes.

Oblivious to his inner turmoil, Maggie shrugged lightly and just answered honestly, "Oh I drank before I came here." She had stopped at the boardinghouse, feeling thirsty after everything but she didn't want to just stay there. The day was still ahead of her. She drank a bit more than usual before heading downtown where she knew humans would be. That was part of the reason why her hands were on her stomach, the cramps and chills were still coursing through her. Between the nausea and exhaustion, she doubted she would take off from this table after anyone unless they were openly bleeding.

"Good to know," Damon muttered as his eyes narrowed slightly on her, "But not really what I was referring to…"

"Oh, you mean this," Maggie said innocently and held up her right hand, Kol's ring visible on her finger. She didn't tear her eyes away from the clouds. While she didn't show it, she was rather nervous to how Damon would take it.

Damon took his hands out of his pockets and leaned them against the table as he stepped closer to look at her hand. He frowned slightly as he commented, "That doesn't really look like something Bonnie would spell…"

Maggie gave a slight sarcastic snort and shook her head, "Nope. I was never too keen on the idea of asking the girl my ex-boyfriend is shacking up with for a daylight ring."

Damon quirked an eyebrow slightly, when it was put that way it was kind of hard to blame her. His eyes fixated on the ring, wondering how the hell she got it then. He also wondered about her attitude, she seemed more relaxed than he has seen her in days. The slight snarky attitude was there, but it didn't seem to be trying to bury everything else on the surface.

"Scoot over," Damon demanded, nodding at the table. Maggie looked at him bemusedly before shuffling over on the table top to make room for him. It definitely wasn't spacious for two people, but at least being a vampire now comfort wasn't exactly something she had to worry about as much. Maggie looked back up at the sky as Damon laid down on the table next to her, shoulder to shoulder.

His gaze studied the profile of her face closely. He noticed the layer of dust and dirt on her clothing, which faintly smelled of drywall and must. That was something he would have to ask her about later. "Who gave you the ring?" Damon asked in bluntly.

Maggie sighed and looked down to her hand, her fingers running over the cool stone a moment. As much as she preferred to keep her encounters with Kol to herself, she knew this truth would be almost impossible to keep to herself. "Kol," She admitted in barely a whisper.

"Kol…" Damon repeated in deadpan. Maggie turned her head towards him and he stared at her blankly a long moment. She wasn't sure if it was from disbelief or if he was waiting for a punch line or something else.

"Let me get this straight… the homicidal baseball-obsessed Original dropped by the boardinghouse just to give you a daylight ring?" Damon questioned with an edge in his voice, but still mostly perplexed.

"Pretty much," Maggie shrugged, not particularly wanting to get into what they did afterwards.

Damon sat up, turning on his side and leaning against his elbow. "What the…" His lips mouthed and based on his expression it was really easy to fill in the last word going through his mind. His wordless sputtering would have been amusing under different circumstances.

"Why the hell did you accept it?" Damon snapped sharply. He had a hard time believing the Original just gave it out of good will. There had to be some sort of catch to it.

Maggie stiffened on the table, but refused to raise her voice at him. "I don't know if you've noticed, but there aren't exactly daylight rings lying around everywhere," She bit back at him sarcastically.

"But it's Kol! I found the sick freak smiling over your dead body, Maggie," Damon stubbornly exclaimed.

Maggie startled slightly at that piece of information, since she really didn't know much about the state that Damon had found her in. Despite that, she pushed herself up onto her elbows to glare at him harshly and hissing before she realized it, "Probably because he knew I wasn't really dead."

Shock caused his face to deadpan for a second time.

His head jerked back slightly as coherent thought came back to him. "Kol turned you…" Damon mumbled when it came to him. He had his suspicions that it was one of the Originals for a time now, but he couldn't be quite sure how and when their blood had gotten into her system. He was beginning to believe it was Klaus, another one of his sick games like he did with Carol.

Why would he turn her? To spite his brother, maybe, but Damon couldn't be sure and he didn't like that.

Damon ran a hand through his hair anxiously, beginning to shake his head. "I don't like this. He's got to be up to something. You can't trust him, Maggie," Damon warned her and she didn't like his tone.

Maggie glared at him and didn't say anything. He made it sound like she had any choice in all of this. Granted, she did to an extent, but it's not like she planned for it to play out like this. She really didn't like the way that Damon was trying to tell her what to do, like if he had any claim on that to begin with. In some ways, it reminded her of the first fight they got into after the first confrontation with Klaus. Treating her like an object to be possessed were Kol's words that ran through her head and it wasn't lost on her how they had been very similar to the ones she said to Damon that night.

Damon saw that he apparently wasn't getting through to her. "Do I really need to remind you that I spent the majority of the Founder's celebration locked in my trunk because he nailed me upside the head?" He snapped in irritation.

Maggie couldn't bite her tongue any more. She leaned forward, getting right up in Damon's face. "Then by that logic, I shouldn't trust you either," She spoke darkly, the emotions of her first days with him bubbling up to the surface, "You actually attacked me, handcuffed and duct taped me to the passenger seat of said car. Don't tell me what I can and cannot do. I will decide for myself."

Maggie didn't wait to see his reaction. She knew he felt guilty about kidnapping her and it was a low blow, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to stand being talked down to like that. She got up from the table and walked towards the Camaro briskly for what would likely be a long, and rather awkward, drive back to the boardinghouse.

* * *

The next three days proved to be as tense as she thought they would be. The effects of her nearly going off the deep end that night still bothered her deeply. She frequently thought of her family and missed them terribly, but she buried it behind her cold and calculated stare around the house. She didn't want any more prodding questions.

It took some adjustment to get back to functioning on a normal schedule. She could see in Damon and Stefan that they were relieved a bit to have her operating during the day and sleeping at night again. Even as a vampire, it threw her body off at first. Stefan never really asked about the ring, so she figured Damon probably told him or he just didn't care enough to get involved with it.

Despite their bickering, Maggie still chose to sleep in Damon's bed. She didn't reach out to him physically, but she took comfort in his presence. It was easier to like him then, when he wasn't looking at her questioningly and trying to figure out what was going through her mind. She knew that he wanted to help her, but she wasn't sure if she could really let him in right now to the dark turmoil within her mind.

The supervision began to back off by the second day a little bit. Maggie took Kol's advice and found a few stainless steel mugs. The first one she shattered the lid by accident and the second crumbled from the force of her grip before she started to gain control over it. She spent a frequent amount of time in the library, reading through the books and hugging a mug to her chest. While her features still vamped out from the blood, the Salvatores seemed to relax a bit that she wasn't completely out of control. In truth, the blood wasn't any more appealing in the cup as the bag. It still made her feel sick afterwards and the frustration of that was beginning to wear down on her.

While the Salvatores didn't keep a constant direct eye on her, she noticed there always seemed to be one around her. That was how Damon ended up tagging along with her when she felt the frustration starting to get to her and she took off towards the abandoned neighborhood that Kol showed her. He hung back and said nothing while she trashed an overturned car. She kicked and punched at the body of the vehicle until her hands began to bleed and the steam within her ran out.

Damon didn't say anything about it later, but she could tell that he didn't quite understand it. In some ways, it was like the county line all over again. At least this time he had the wits to keep his mouth shut, Maggie thought bitterly to herself.

She spent most of her evening hours over at Carol's, which Damon let her go visit on her own now. She was pretty sure he only did so because he didn't want to get his neck snapped again. Maggie enjoyed being able to confide what was going on with Carol. She was the closest thing she had to a mother in a long time. True to her word, they went on a hunt one evening. Maggie tagged along with Carol, but when it came to the kill, she didn't do anything. She let Carol have the deer while she hung back. There were questions in Carol's eyes, but she didn't say anything.

Maggie often spent time running her fingers over the letter that Kol had given her, which she kept hidden either in her pocket or Kol's jacket pocket at the bottom of her duffle bag. She had the directions memorized by this point, but always hesitated on whether or not she should take him up on his offer. It was the third day that made the decision for. She was heading up from the basement with a bag of O negative in her hand. She walked into Damon's bathroom and threw on the shower while she popped open the cap to have a drink before she hopped in.

She was half way through the bag when it dropped from her hands and into the sink. The next thing she knew, she was hunched over the toilet and heaving. The dark blood splattered the white porcelain of the seat, mixed with chunks of black bile. She retched for several minutes while the steam filled up the room before her stomach finally settled.

Late that night, Maggie was lounging on the couch, her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles with a slightly worn out journal in her hand. She flicked through the pages, her eyes darting over the handwriting. Occasionally, she came across something that would cause her eyebrows to rise. Despite how painful it was to read at times, it probably was one of the more helpful things she's read so far.

The front door opened and Maggie didn't look up to see who it was. Stefan walked into the hallway and glanced into the living room at Maggie. He wore workout clothes as if he had just been out for a run or something.

"Hey, where's Damon?" Stefan asked her casually as he dropped his workout bag.

"He went to help Alaric move some stuff from his apartment and then he's picking up some blood bags from the hospital afterwards," Maggie answered lightly in a bored tone. Apparently between Meredith's apartment and the Gilbert house, Alaric was rarely spending any time at the apartment anyway. Maggie wasn't too keen on going to the hospital so she opted to stay behind.

Stefan nodded absently and then his eyes fixated on the journal in her hands. He took a step forward as he frowned a bit, "Are you reading my journal?"

"Yep," Maggie popped the 'p' a bit as she turned the page. Her eyes flickered slightly as she commented on it, "So much brooding… I haven't seen this level of self-loathing since a Salinger novel." Her lip then curled up slightly in mock disgust, "Must be all that animal blood…"

Stefan gave an aggravated sigh. Based on her expression and the snaky tone, he could tell she was in one of those moods or lack of giving away her actual mood, he should say. Instead of feeding into the insult by reacting, Stefan stepped forward and placed his hands on the back of the couch. "What are you doing?"

"Actually, I was looking for you," Maggie finally looked up with a smirk and snapped the book shut loudly.

Stefan's eyes narrowed slightly and he responded dryly, "Really? You were looking for me in my desk drawer?"

Maggie gave a nonchalant shrug, her expression not diminishing. "I got bored along the way, it's not my fault you have terrible hiding spots," She defended herself as she leant forward to discard the journal on the coffee table. The journal had proven to be quite interesting, not for the emotional drabble, but what has been going on in Mystic Falls before she got there. She also found a fair amount of unsavory details about Damon, which she had to remind herself frequently of who the source was too.

Stefan's eyes rolled up as he took a deep breath. Moments like these were when he thought she could quite literally be the female version of Damon. Minus making a pass at anything that moves at least. Apparently any sense of privacy must have been something she lost in transition, he thought.

His intrigue at the fact she had been looking for him at all was the only thing that kept him standing there.

Maggie's expression softened as she looked at him seriously, "I wanted to talk to you about Lexi." She moved to tuck her legs underneath her, leaving an open seat on the couch.

Stefan hesitated as he thought back to that time in the basement cell. "Alright then…" He gave in gently and moved around the couch to sit down slowly in the seat. He couldn't say he was particularly thrilled at the subject, but if she was going through half of what he did, he could sympathize. And just because he wasn't on the best of terms with Damon currently, he couldn't punish her.

"How did she help you?" Maggie asked curiously.

Stefan looked down a while, thinking about his answer before finding the words. "She showed me a different way of things… She was the one that taught me about animal blood, which wasn't the only thing that brought me back. She was fun and a great friend. She picked me up when I fell apart. She made me see reason when I lost myself," He frowned slightly as he struggled to do proper justice in describing it.

Maggie nodded slightly as her face was pulled together thoughtfully. "Like a moment of clarity in the chaos of everything?" She questioned.

Stefan nodded at her clarification.

Maggie looked away from Stefan and aimlessly to the fireplace. Her minds drifted away for a bit as Stefan stared at her, for once trying not to hide the conflict in her eyes behind a controlled mask.

"Someone that can make all the pain go away, even just for a little while," Maggie whispered out loud, her voice coming out less of a question this time.

The frown fell from Stefan's face as he heard her. Not only did she seem to understand perfectly what he meant, he had the feeling that she wasn't exactly asking about Lexi anymore. "You know someone like that, don't you?" He realized.

Maggie took a deep breath and nodded, "I think so…" It was still early for her to tell for sure, things seemed to be heading that way when she was with him.

Stefan watched the way she fumbled with her hands anxiously in her lap. "I wouldn't describe my brother as a voice of reason… so I'm guessing it's not Damon," Stefan mused out loud.

Maggie shook her head, growing quiet as she wasn't sure how much she wanted to admit to.

"Who is it, Maggie?" Stefan asked gently, leaning slightly closer to her.

"I'm not sure if I should…" Her voice trailed as she wasn't sure if she should admit who it was or even pursue this any further. Maggie refused to look at Stefan and she bit the inside of her cheek.

Stefan leaned forward, resting his forearms against his knees as he looked at her. Sensing her anxiety, he tried to reassure her a bit, "How bad can it be? I can't really throw any stones about who you keep company with, especially considering I was with Klaus during my ripper phases." He couldn't keep the hint of bitterness in his voice.

Maggie's lips pressed together tightly as she looked down at the carpet. She didn't say anything.

"Unless it is that bad…" Stefan muttered when the tension didn't ease in the slightest bit from her shoulders. His voice wasn't accusing, if anything, just understanding as he started to realize why she was so on edge about the subject.

Maybe it was the fact that Stefan knew what she was going through and could possibly be the only person that would understand, but Maggie looked up to him. "It's Kol," She admitted quietly.

Stefan's eyebrows rose instantly. He had been expecting at first to hear a family member, but definitely not an Original. He leaned back against the couch and rubbed a hand against the back of his neck. "Oh, wow…" He muttered not so eloquently, "That would be a close second to Klaus, I'll admit…"

Maggie bit the inside of her cheek again as she stared down at her hands. She doubted that Damon told him some of the finer details of what happened in the town square regarding the daylight ring, which would only make this seem even more of a surprise for Stefan.

Stefan remained quiet and rooted to his seat for a few minutes while he thought about the ramifications of what she was saying.

The silence was excruciating for Maggie as the thoughts that had been plaguing her now came to the surface. She did appreciate the difference in the younger Salvatore brother. Unlike Damon, he didn't immediately start snapping at her and she could see in his expression he was seriously trying to understand.

"I don't think I really need to express my doubts with this," Stefan voiced diplomatically, thinking to the way Damon never made an attempt to hide his opinion on matters and the history they had with the Original.

Maggie nodded numbly, not particularly surprised to hear that. What Stefan said next did surprise her though.

"If you're _sure_ Kol could be that person for you…" Stefan shook his head slightly, as if he didn't quite believe what he was say either. "You can't let that go," He dropped his hands in his lap with a sigh.

Maggie looked up at him sharply in bewilderment and confusion.

"I'm never going to find another Lexi. It's rare to find someone like that," Stefan explained at her stunned silence. "If Kol really can help you…" Stefan's trailed and he didn't really need to finish his sentence for Maggie to understand him. If Kol was the one that could help her, then be damned with what anyone else says about it, she needs it.

Seeing that he gave her quite a bit to think about, Stefan began to rise from his seat. Maggie faintly watched him as the idea that he had given her some sort of blessing or support for this was settling in. Stefan paused before leaving the living room.

"I'm going to take a nice, hot shower," Stefan declared in a pointed tone. Maggie's brows furrowed slightly at him as she stirred from her thoughts. "It's been a long day, between hunting and repairing the Grill. I might be in there a while," He explained in a meaningful voice before disappearing down the hallway.

"Be careful," was the last thing she heard from him before he went up the stairs.

Maggie stared after him oddly a bit before it dawned on her.

He was turning a blind eye and giving her an escape route for a bit. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the note, looking down at the address one more time.

* * *

Damon trotted down the steps lightly of Alaric's apartment complex before being hit with a wave of fresh air as he stepped outside. At least it was one of the few apartment complexes near downtown that had power, so he wasn't met with complete darkness. A few flood lights from the building and the occasional street light lit the way to the parking lot where his Camaro sat waiting.

Reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket, he then pulled out a small handle of vodka that he nicked from Alaric when he wasn't looking. Grinning at his success, he popped the cap open and took a gulp before setting the bottle down on the top of his car. He reached into his pocket, looking for his car keys when he heard a voice behind him.

"Salvatore!"

Damon turned around quickly at the British accent to see the dark haired Original striding towards him. He had a broad grin, which Damon really hated, as he carried a baseball bat with him, resting on his shoulder. "Kol," He acknowledged with a sneer.

"How do you fancy a little chat?" Kol challenged in a tone that was really anything but a question as he grinned.

Damon's hands immediately clenched into fists, wanting nothing more than to have a good go at the Original for everything. Kol closed the distance between them so he was just standing a few feet away. His eyes flickered to the baseball bat before remarking sarcastically, "Doesn't really look like you're _just _to talk."

"I didn't say I was," Kol stated in a blunt, innocent tone.

Gripping the bat tightly, Kol swung it forward towards the younger vampire. At least having the warning of his presence this time, Damon was able to block the blow with his arm. The force was still enough to break his arm in an instant. He reached forward with his other hand and yanked the bat away from Kol's grasp, tossing it aside.

In a blur of motion, the two vampires went at it. Damon threw him down on the pavement first, getting in a few good punches before Kol pushed him off. Grabbing him by his jacket, Kol threw him down heavily against the pavement. With a slam of his foot, he busted one of Damon's knees with a crack and pop.

It slowed him down enough to grab the baseball bat again.

From there Damon lost any advantage, he was struck in the ribs with the aluminum sport equipment. He felt several of them crack from the blow. In less than a blink, he caught another hit in his shoulder and then the leg. Damon groaned and grunted from the pain. He clenched his jaw, refusing to cry out and give Kol that satisfaction. Despite his tenacity, Damon didn't really stand a chance against the speed and strength of the Original.

Damon rolled onto his side before being struck with one last blow to his lower back, temporarily putting him down for a while with the cracking in his spine.

His breathing was labored as he opened and closed his eyes, trying to stay alert. The harsh gravel of the pavement pressed against his cheek before he looked up. Kol crouched down placing his forearms against his knees, setting the bat aside while he smirked down at him.

"Now, I could just bleed the vervain out of you and compel you to do what I want, so consider this a courtesy that I will not repeat," Kol started in a threatening tone. He quite frankly didn't have the patience to be dealing with that route right now.

Damon glared up at him coldly, but didn't say anything at first. He was gasping and trying to deal with the pain.

"You can go to hell if you think I'm going to take orders from you," Damon snarled out in a strained voice.

Kol's eyes narrowed at him and the smirk fell from his face in irritation, "My list of reasons for leaving you alive has been steadily decreasing lately. I don't suggest you push it any further."

Damon tried moving his fingers, which caused him to wince further in pain. He wanted nothing more than to reach up and tear into the arrogant bastard.

Undeterred by his silence, Kol continued on with his demand, "I want you to get Maggie feeding from humans."

Damon's expression started slightly at the mention of her name. He had gone after Kol, wanting to get back for everything that had been done to her, knowing it was partly Kol's fault. He hadn't been expecting Kol to come after him with the same woman in mind.

"I would gladly," Damon muttered sarcastically, having never been shy about feeding from the vein before in the past. "But the Council might have a stake to pick with that one."

Kol flashed a dark smile, which came out more menacing than anything else as he tilted his head slightly. "I'm sorry, you have me confused for someone who gives a damn about what the Council thinks."

Kol dropped the smile to promise him seriously, "Get her drinking from humans or I will."

Damon grimaced slightly from the injuries and the implication in Kol's voice. If it was up to the Original, he knew that blood would be spilt and a lot of it. The bodies would start piling up instead of just the simple feed and erase method.

Unsure if he was getting his message across, Kol then promised harshly, "And I will take her so far away, your eternal memory will no longer be able to recall her face before you ever see her again."

Satisfied with the panicked look in Damon's eyes, Kol moved to stand up with the intentions of leaving him to think about the implications of his threat. They both know that he wasn't to make them lightly.

As he began to turn away, Damon's voice stopped him.

"Why do you even care about her?" Damon gasped out in confusion, struggling to understand the Original's fixation with Maggie in the first place. The Salvatore struggled to push himself up to a sitting positioning with his broken arm. He barely managed to with only the support of the car behind him keeping him up as he slowly started to recover. It would be a while before he would get the feeling back in his legs.

Kol gave out a humorless chuckle before turning around to face Damon again with an amused smirk. "That's precisely it, I don't care about her," He corrected him before stepping closer to Damon.

He crouched down to be at his eye level again and leaned close enough that they were nearly nose to nose. The amusement faded from his face as pent up frustration surfaced in his black eyes as he snarled, "I've spent three centuries trying to hunt down and destroy the Leavey bloodline. Do you have _any_ idea how difficult it is to find the doppelganger of someone you've never even seen?"

Damon didn't get much of a chance to react before Kol picked up the bat roughly and rammed it into his stomach by the handle end.

His eyes slammed shut as he hissed through his teeth, tensing up and clutching with his one good hand at the moment barely at the bat. Kol didn't move and his expression remained unchanging as he took in the pain and straining in front of him.

Damon's mind spun a mile a minute, from the torture to Kol's threat and finally to what he just admitted to him. His eyes were wide as he finally opened them again and panted heavily. He struggled to make sense of everything that was happening. Kol claimed not to care, but here he was beating him up for not properly taking care of Maggie essentially. If he really was hunting her family down for three centuries, why were they still alive now when he found them?

"What's stopping you now?" Damon questioned out loud weakly.

Kol's nostrils flared and his jaw set heavily. Without answering him, he reached out with both hands in a blur and snapped Damon Salvatore's neck. The crack echoed in the air and he watched his body drop limply to the side.

He didn't need some adolescent vampire asking him the same question he had already been asking himself lately.

He glared down at the body in disgust, ready to leave before his eye caught Damon's hand. He reached down and roughly pulled the family ring off his finger. "You know what, I think I'll hold onto this a while," Kol sneered down at his unresponsive form before stuffing the ring into his pocket and standing up.

Without a look back, Kol blurred out of a sight.

* * *

It took a bit before Maggie heard the water running in the house and even longer for her to run from the boardinghouse. She didn't bother with any cars that would make it easier for Damon to come back and track her later. She just needed enough time to talk to Kol. She followed the directions and that was how she found herself standing in the driveway of the massive Mikaelson mansion.

She felt much smaller and for a while her resolve was shaken. A few lights were on within the oversized home and two black SUVs were parked in the circle. It seemed odd to see a mansion of this size being powered when most of the world did not have it. Then again, who was going to argue with who lived there?

Taking a deep breath, Maggie braced herself. She got this far, so she might as well keep going.

Marching up to the large double doors, Maggie raised a fist and knocked on the wood a couple of times. She stepped back slightly then and fidgeted with her fingers a bit.

"What?" She faintly heard an irritated snap of a female's voice from within the house before the door was yanked wide open.

Standing in the doorway was a tall blonde with long, loosely curled hair and a round baby face. Maggie froze a bit, remembering her from the Founder's celebration. Instantly, she felt undressed in front of the blonde too. Her makeup was flawless and she wore tight skinny jeans with high boots over them along with red strapless top. In truth, it seemed a bit ridiculous to bother dressing that way to Maggie, but she noticed the blonde was several years younger than her and probably held the maturity of it too.

"Oh," Rebekah's irritation died with her surprise at seeing Maggie on their doorstep. "You're that other doppelganger," She commented when she realized who she was and she tilted her head thoughtfully.

Maggie clamped her mouth shut, not entirely sure what to say to that greeting.

Rebekah's eyes narrowed slightly and she folded her arms over her chest. "I thought my brother wanted you dead," She said in a condescending tone with a perplexed look in her eyes. They passed Maggie up and down several times, clearly sizing her up. She didn't look as pretty as the other doppelgangers, Rebekah though to herself, but it also didn't look like she tried very much.

Maggie recovered herself and threw on a fake polite smile while speaking dryly, "And quite dead I am… You must be Bekah." She concluded, faintly recalling Kol mentioning her sister before and this must be the other Original the Salvatores had talked about she hadn't met yet.

"It's _Re_bekah to you," Rebekah snapped in annoyance, not particularly liking anyone other than her family calling her that nickname. "Why are you here?"

Maggie had to bit her tongue at first to keep herself from openly glaring at the vampire. "I'm here to see Kol," She stated firmly.

Rebekah frowned a bit, which was more of a pout on her face, while she looked at Maggie suspiciously. "He just came in a few minutes ago," She replied.

Maggie didn't bother waiting for an invitation, she was tired of standing on the doorstep. She moved to step past Rebekah and into the house. The blonde scoffed slightly at her audacity, but didn't have the patience for this when she had other places to be. "Where is he?" Maggie asked quietly as she did.

"I don't have time to be his butler, go find him yourself," She snipped at Maggie and the doppelganger barely looked at her as she took in the enormity of the residence.

The front door closed behind Maggie with a slam, causing her to jump slightly. She looked behind her to see the blonde was gone and a moment later there was an engine starting up in the drive way.

With a sigh, she looked back around the house. "Great," She muttered barely to herself. Rebekah was a real gem, she thought bitterly.

At first she thought about just calling out for Kol, knowing he would probably be able to hear her. But then, as she stared around her, this was the first and possibly only chance she could check out what the home of the Original was like.

So curiously, she moved quietly from the foyer and through some of the first floor rooms. She wasn't going to be bold enough to go upstairs to where the bedrooms likely were. The first room she found was a rather wide open ballroom. It just seemed so absurd to be in a modern day home that was large enough to have a ballroom. The next room she found was the living room. No expense had been spared in the detailed woodwork of the home, the furniture, and even the paintings she noticed that hung on the walls.

One in particular that caught her attention was of a village. It seemed to be centuries in the past with the primitive nature of the dwellings surrounded by a thick forest. A massive tree stood at the center of it. Maggie was taken by the beauty of the strokes and details put into every inch of the canvas. The familiarity of the tree drew a smile to Maggie's face without even realizing it.

"That's one of Niklaus' paintings," Kol's voice behind her startled her from her revelry.

When he had sensed her in the house snooping through the rooms, he had been irritated at first. But he stopped when he came into the living room and saw the sense of awe on her face as she admired one of her brother's paintings. The anger from his earlier confrontation disappeared immediately in her presence.

Maggie tore her eyes away from it a moment to look over at Kol. True to Rebekah's word, he was still wearing his jacket and sneakers, as if he had just come into the house. She couldn't help but looking back to the painting, "What is this place?"

"Mystic Falls," Kol answered her, moving closer to stand directly behind her and off to her right shoulder a bit. "When my family was still human," He clarified.

Maggie gave the faintest nod of understanding as her eyes passed over the canvas. She had a hard time the destructive hybrid could produce something so extraordinary. Her eyes fixated on the center. "The tree is beautiful," She murmured softly, enjoying the way it reminded her of her mother's tree back home.

Kol smirked, "It looked even more magnificent burning."

Maggie's eyes widened as she turned around to look at Kol. "Why was it burned?" She asked in surprise.

Kol quirked an eyebrow as she apparently didn't realize what she was staring at. "That's the great White Oak tree," He declared as Maggie looked at him. Zero recognition passed her face at the name and he almost shook his head. Apparently, the Salvatores were still behind on their history lessons. "Wood from that tree is the only thing that can kill an Original," He paused to shrug his shoulders, "So naturally, my family burned it down and every piece of white oak in existence since."

Her worries about her blood reaction and her purpose for being there disappeared immediately as his words echoed in her head. Her stomach knotted at the realization of how deadly this tree she was admiring could be.

The smirk slowly faded from Kol's face as he watched the mixed emotions flash before Maggie's eyes. He didn't know what was going through her mind.

Her breathing started to come a little quicker as a cold sense of dread started to fall over her, her mind churning frantically.

"What you're telling me is… A stake carved from a tree like this one is enough to kill an Original and every vampire attached to their bloodline?" Her voice came out rushed and uncertain. She gestured behind her to the tree.

Kol's eyes narrowed on the way her hand shook, not understanding fully where the alarm was coming from. "Yes, but we burned every last stake," He replied, thinking back to even the ones that had been carved from the Wickery Bridge remains.

"Oh no…" She didn't even finish her sentence as a feeling of horrified panic started to course through her veins. There was no doubting why that tree looked familiar to her, she had spent years in the branches of a similar one as a child.

It clicked in Kol's mind next. "You've seen a tree like this before?" He asked sharply.

Maggie nodded numbly. "It still stands today," She voiced while her mind struggled with what to do with this new revelation.

Before she got a chance to think of anything, she was suddenly thrown against the wall. Her head slammed against the wood roughly and a hand tightened around her throat. The air was choked from her as she gasped, her hands reaching up instinctively to try to free herself.

They were useless against the iron grip of Kol. His eyes were black with a menace she had never seen from before as he leaned close to her face. "Tell me where this tree is now, or so help me I will…" He snarled at her aggressively before his voice trailed. He didn't need to complete the threat for her to get the meaning of it.

She struggled under his grasp and for the first time considered he may actually harm her. She tried not to let her mind go into panic overdrive. "I'll show you," Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper and she squirmed under his intense gaze.

His expression was impassable and cold, considering her words but not relenting.

She tried to plead with her eyes, "We need to burn that tree, Kol." She winced from the way his fingers were crushing her throat.

Her words caused him to pull his head back a bit, narrowing his eyes on her and tilting his head to the side slightly. His fingers loosened just enough on her throat for her to speak a little more clearly. "And just why should I believe you want to burn it and not use it against my family?" He hissed at her.

Maggie swallowed thickly, taking a moment to gather her thoughts, which was exceedingly difficult under the circumstances. "Because you said it yourself, if the Salvatores get that oak… When they figure out their bloodline, they're going after the other three."

Confidence in what she was saying built with each word, she pulled her expression into a firm and determined one underneath him, "I'm tied to your bloodline and Carol is tied to Klaus'. She is _my _family. I want to make your brother suffer for what he did to me and Carol… But what good is revenge if either of us is too dead to enjoy it?"

Kol didn't flinch from her words and open declaration of her hostility towards his brother. He didn't move as he thought through her words and studied his face closely for any sign of deceit.

Maggie clenched her teeth tightly, shifting uncomfortably against his grip. Her hands remained at his wrist, but she didn't pull at them any further as he thought.

Just when she was beginning to fear that he didn't believe her and would possibly harm for her the location, the hand dropped away from her neck.

He stepped closer to her once their hands fell away between them with an unblinking gaze. "Fine, but if we're doing this… It's on my terms and we're leaving _now,_" He decided, the harshness slipping from his voice but the edge still radiating through him.

Before she could start questioning her resolve, Maggie nodded her head barely and accepted with one word, "Deal."

* * *

_Author's Note: Who's ready for a Kolie roadtrip?! Things have just gotten way more complicated. I want to hear your thoughts on Stefan's advice to Maggie, Kol's confrontation with Damon, and what do you think of Maggie's decision to go behind Damon's back to help Kol destroy the White Oak tree?_

_I'd like to give a special shout out to thesummersky for picking up on the clue about the oak tree in chapter 18! _

_Review responses – _

_I'm with all my reviewers on grieving the loss of Kol, hopefully these chapter updates can make that pain a little easier!_

_Poohxnyah: Thank you so much! I agree and I think if they team up together they could be quite the force to be reckoned with._

_IrishBeauty: I'm crossing my fingers big time on resurrection and flashbacks!_

_Nethra: Hahaha, I'm a firm believer in lost causes and I think Elena is one of them. She won't be completely redeemed in this story and I will say she won't get what she wants. ;) _


	37. Chapter 37

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Coldplay – The Scientist_

_Scene: On the Road_

_OneRepublic - Secrets_

_Scene: White Oak Tree_

_Chapter Thirty-seven_

Just when she was beginning to fear that he didn't believe her and would possibly harm for her the location, the hand dropped away from her neck.

He stepped closer to her once their hands fell away between them with an unblinking gaze. "Fine, but if we're doing this… It's on my terms and we're leaving _now,_" He decided, the harshness slipping from his voice but the edge still radiating through him.

Before she could start questioning her resolve, Maggie nodded her head barely and accepted with one word, "Deal."

* * *

Maggie tried not to let herself think about what she had just gotten herself into. She knew if she did, the image of Damon's face would come up in her mind. No matter how she could possibly explain to him, there would be no good way of him taking the news that she just agreed to go burn down a white oak tree with Kol.

As soon as Maggie made her agreement, Kol immediately went into full preparation mode. In some ways, Maggie was grateful for that much too. He went and showed her where in the house they stored the supplies for leaving town on trips like this. She went to fill up several gasoline containers while he removed the backseat from the SUV out front.

He calculated out quickly how many gallons they would likely need for the drive and to burn the tree down with. He figured worst case scenario they could siphon the rest along the way if they came up short. While she loaded the gasoline up in the back of the vehicle, which she was grateful her vampire strength hardly made it a chore, he went about to prep a cooler with blood bags for the both of them. The rest of the packing went back rather quickly, especially considering much fewer necessities were needed for vampires than humans.

They met up again in a study on the first floor. Maggie stood over a few open stainless steel cases. She was loading wooden bullets into several clips for the pair of Beretta M9s in front of her. She wasn't going to bother asking why or how Kol ended up with them. At first she questioned why they needed guns at all, but Kol just simply said sometimes walkers aren't the only things he finds on the road and it can be easier at times.

"For the record, I'm keeping this," Maggie declared as she loaded the clip into the pistol. She checked the safety before tucking into the waistband of her jeans behind her. There was a comfort to having a gun after surviving on the road. It was the first time she got her hands on one since being kidnapped.

Kol didn't even bother looking up, but there was a smirk on his face. Somehow he doubted he would have to worry about her accidentally shooting herself in the foot. The desk in front of him he cleared off quickly and now had three large maps pulled out in front of him. The first one was a fresh road atlas of the eastern coast, which he was marking off certain highways with a black marker. The second was already heavily marked off with a spider web effect of routes originating from Mystic Falls. The third was marked by several circles, names, and estimated numbers.

"How many people know about this tree?" Kol asked her without looking up as Maggie started to approach the table when the other gun was ready.

Maggie hesitated slightly, knowing he probably wouldn't like what he heard next. "There's a chance that Damon might know about it," She said, thinking about to the dream she shared with him.

The marker tip paused in its path on the paper as Kol stilled. She couldn't tell what passed through his expression before he finally responded, "He _might_?"

Maggie nodded and frowned as she explained, "Yeah, he saw the tree in a dream of mine… But I'm not sure if he realized what it was at the time. He never said anything about it afterwards." She shrugged her shoulders slightly. It wasn't like she could bring it up down to him without drawing attention to it with a neon flashing sign. The more she thought about it though, Damon didn't really seem in the right frame of mind at the time. They had been discussing Rose before it happened.

"It's Damon… if he figured it out he would've taken off like a bat out of hell after it," She added on, and thought kind of how that was exactly what they were doing, but she didn't particularly want to point that out.

Kol didn't say anything as he stared down blankly at the paper, considering her words. He supposed most people wouldn't know what a white oak tree looked like these days. It was still a bit of a discerning thought he wished he had been more aware of when he attacked Damon earlier. But, he supposed if Damon had really found the tree, he would've whittled it down and armed every human in Mystic Falls with a stake by now.

Kol went back to mapping out the route, sticking to the edge of the Smokey Mountains and avoiding most of the major population areas along the way.

Sensing that Kol wasn't terribly upset, Maggie leaned forward, placing her hands against the desk opposite from him and started looking at the maps. The routes of the second map spread out as far as the coast of Maine and down to parts of Florida. Some of them disappeared off the pages even as far as Chicago and in the direction of Texas.

Her attention was stolen by the first map. The circles were scattered amongst the states, mostly the less populated ones, but there were even several in the New England states. She titled her head slightly as she read some of the names. Cedar Rapids, Clearwater, Whitehall, Haven, Woodbury, Downington. The names went on and she tried to make sense of the numbers next to them.

"What are these?" Maggie's curiosity got the best of her as she pointed towards the map.

"Surviving populations," Kol answered lightly, "with rough estimations from the last time I scouted them out."

Maggie's eyebrows nearly rose up to her hairline. She looked over the markings with a renewed sense of fascination at that. Her eyes wandered to Georgia naturally and she noticed the first one closest to where her home was Woodbury and it had a clearly marked "70+" next to it. It was off from anything that her and her group had searched, but it was still a bit surreal. At the edge of the map, an arrow trailed off with an even larger number, but the name itself Maggie found rather shocking.

"New Orleans?" Maggie questioned incredulously, struggling with the idea any large city could have survived.

Kol nodded, "Not the whole city, just a couple of neighborhoods with a_ lot_ of supernatural history." He didn't particularly feel like getting into the history of the witches and such there. His focus was still on the maps as he worked through South Carolina.

Maggie shook her head slightly while mumbling, "I guess I never really considered there could be other surviving towns…"

Kol gave a half shrug as he listened to her. "I've watched nations rise and fall. If there's one thing I've learned is that man is resilient," He commented. He didn't have any doubts that mankind would recover from this plague and rise again. It wouldn't be the same world that they left it, but there was never going back when it came to change.

Maggie didn't say anything, but just appreciated his statement for a moment. She supposed if there was anyone that could attest to that fact, it would be him and his siblings.

The tip of his marker stopped when he reached the edge of the region that Maggie said her home was in. She hadn't given him the full address while they were packing the SUV yet.

"Okay, this is your last chance out of this," Kol suddenly declared, looking up for the first time from the papers to meet Maggie's eyes. His tone came out low and ominous, "Tell me where to go for this tree and I'll let you walk away right now. You can go back to your Salvatore and even tell him I compelled it from you. And if I go all the way there to find no tree, that will give you a two day head start to run."

Maggie stiffened in confusion at his sudden offering of a route out. At first, it seemed like the easy way for her to wipe her hands of it and keep her conscious clear at the end of the day. But as she studied his face, she also knew the opt out was also a challenge. He was seeing just how serious she was about protecting her family and the extent of the conviction behind her earlier declaration. Also she didn't know what to describe this relationship she had with him, but she knew there was a seed of trust beginning to form in it. However, it was only a seed at this point, which could wilt or grow just as quickly as it begun. And as of right now, he had done more things for her to gain that trust thus far than the other way around.

To say she didn't consider his offer seriously would make her a lying fool. However, the idea of just going back to the boardinghouse and trying to pretend nothing was going on didn't settle with her. She would go stir crazy wondering if he found the tree, did he get lost, or did all of it burn.

"Damon knows I can't be compelled," Maggie pointed out, partly stalling as she still considered his words.

Kol's eyes narrowed slightly at her with interest, he tilted his head slightly. "That was when you were a doppelganger human. But now…" His voice trailed slightly and Maggie frowned. He leaned forward to more directly look her in the eyes. She barely realized what he was doing before his pupils dilated and he spoke firmly, "Turn around and walk away."

Maggie froze, unable to look away from him as he studied her. The knuckles on the table edge were white as she held her breath. She waited and stared at him, partly in disbelief that he actually was trying to compel her.

The moment dragged on and she waited for it the irresistible urge to follow his order hit her. But she just realized after a while she didn't feel any different than before.

Her face hardened as she made her final decision. She leaned her face forward slightly, nearly nose to nose with him before responding confidently, "No. I'm going to see to it that every last twig and branch of that tree burns."

Kol blinked at his failed attempt at compulsion. There was no way she was drinking vervain, which only left one thing. A slow uncanny smile broke out across his face. "You never cease to fascinate me, darling," He spoke gently, as if she hadn't just blatantly refused his offer.

He stood up straight suddenly and started gathering up the maps. "Come, let's not waste any more time then," He decided with a grin.

* * *

"So now what?" Maggie asked hesitantly as she sat in the passenger seat of the SUV. Leaving town hadn't taken long and she was curious seeing the gates of Mystic Falls for the first time. The last time she passed through the protective wall she had a black bag over her head courtesy of Damon. The getting through the gate wasn't an issue.

Now, though as the headlights flooded the road in front of them where they came to a stop, Maggie had never been more intimidated by little yellow flags before.

The county line.

It was the third time she was seeing it, but the first time as a vampire and realization that was a very real worry started to settling in with her.

"Well it's going to be excruciatingly painful," Kol stated with a shrug. He calmly sat behind the wheel with one hand resting lightly against the frame of the door. He didn't seem nearly as anxious as Maggie was about the prospect.

Maggie swallowed thickly, not sure if she appreciated the bluntness or not. She thought back to crossing the county line with Damon and the way that he passed out. "It's going to kill me, isn't it?" She thought about how much stronger and older of a vampire Damon is and it still got him.

"Without a doubt," Kol answered quickly, looking away from the road and at the concern on her expression.

"Great," Maggie muttered sarcastically. "What about you?"

Kol smirked a bit, "I'm a bit tougher to break. I can stay conscious long enough to get across. But it doesn't help if I have to listen to you screaming all the way." His foot remained firmly on the brake pedal as his hand dropped from the steering wheel.

Maggie frowned. "What do –" Before she could finish her world was cut off by darkness.

* * *

Maggie's head was leaning against the window of the passenger seat when she stirred with a sharp inhale of breath. Her shoulders tensed up and she let out a slight groan as she opened her eyes. A hand went up to the back of her neck immediately. It screamed in protest, stiff and irritable.

It was still dark out, but the SUV was moving at a pretty good speed at this point. Trees barely lit by the headlights blurred by them as Maggie looked up, rubbing the sore muscles in the back of her neck.

Kol heard her wake up, but didn't look over. A faint smirk lingered on his lips as he just waited for it.

Maggie squinted a bit as she tried to think back to the last thing she remembered. Being in the car. The county line. It would probably kill her. Now her neck ached like no other.

"Are you fucking kidding me, Kol?!" Maggie nearly shouted as soon as she realized he had snapped her neck. She turned in her seat to glare at him, "What did I tell you about forewarning?"

Kol struggled to keep the amusement off his face as he threw a hand in the air out of mock surrender. "I thought I made myself pretty clear," He taunted in an innocent tone.

Maggie shot him a sour look before rolling her head from side to side. She could start to feel her muscles relaxing in her neck. It was one of the few times she was happy to be a vampire because a kink like that would last half the day as a human.

"Shit," Maggie grumbled as she slouched back down in her seat and dropped her hand from her neck. "No wonder Damon is so grouchy when he wakes up." She wasn't going to admit it, but she recognized getting her neck snapped was probably a lot kinder than consciously experiencing the county line. But she was still irritable about it.

Kol grinned at the vulgarity of her outburst, even despite the mention of his least favorite Salvatore. "Ah, yes that tends to happen a lot when you're persistently annoying," He didn't miss the chance to throw a jab at Damon.

Maggie shook her head slightly, but didn't say anything. Between the stories she heard and the ones she read in Stefan's journal, she doubted that Damon had endeared himself to many people at all.

"I take it you've already had the chance to snap his neck, too?" Kol quirked an eyebrow slightly at her silence, probably enjoying this more than he should have but he didn't care.

Maggie gave a humorless snort before mumbling, "How do you think I got away long enough to see my family that night?"

Kol turned his head from the road to actually look at her. She was glaring out of her window and it almost looked as if she was sulking. She had her arms folded over her chest. He smirked, choosing not to say anything as he enjoyed the irony of the reason why she was able to escape again, unaware of the fact Damon was lying in a parking lot with a snapped neck.

A curious thought crossed her and she glanced at him, "How many times have _you _snapped his neck?" She wondered if the extent of their feuding was deeper than she truly was aware of.

Kol pressed his lips together thoughtfully a moment, his eyes flickering upwards a moment or two. "Two, no three times," He corrected himself, now counting this evening.

Maggie just stared blankly at him. She wasn't sure what the socially acceptable response was to getting her neck snapped or his casual admittance of doing it repeatedly to Damon. Instead, she commented, "You know, it's concerning that you _actually _had to stop and think about that."

Kol just smiled.

* * *

The anxiety caught up with her when the sun was breaking into the sky as they drove. She tried not to let herself think as she took in the changing landscape around them. They were close to the mountains and the highways they were on curved and bended with the terrain. It was quiet and still, uncanny and familiar to her. This was the country that she was familiar, not the peculiar small town of Mystic Falls.

It was unsettling, but also reassuring to see the signs of abandoned life again. The vehicles left on the side of the road, busted and beginning to weather from the neglect. The lack of power or life in the buildings that she could see flicker by as they drove. Every now and then they caught the sight of a walker or two, but avoided them easily enough.

But as much as she tried to push the anxiety away, it came back to her. She thought about what she was going to say when she got back to Damon. There was no denying the fact he would probably flip out on her. Despite telling him from day one that her family mattered above all else, she knew that he was just as stubborn as her and would see this as a betrayal.

The more she thought about it, the more she began to fidget in her seat. Kol remained mostly quietly through the trip, except for the occasional small conversation, which usually ended up being some sort of bickering. It wasn't quite like the bickering with Damon where she would get angry and irritated with him to the point she stomped off. With Kol, he kept leaving her wanting to shake her head, but biting her lip to keep from smiling at the same time.

Now, he was quietly aware of the increasing tension radiating from her. It didn't take a genius to see the worry in her eyes and to figure out what she could be fretting about. He wondered if she was beginning to regret coming, but she never said anything.

Her fidgeting escaladed to an anxious tapping of her foot against the floor as she stared out the window.

"Screw it!" She suddenly decided with a huff. Kol quirked an eyebrow and looked at her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. She reached behind them to the cooler in the middle seat and popped the lid.

Kol smirked slightly as she dug into the cooler for a blood bag. Thankfully, the first one she grabbed was not a bag of O negative. She wasn't too thrilled about that particular type after her last experience. She turned around and settled back into her seat as her fingers fiddled with the cap.

"Are you emotionally drinking?" Kol taunted in an amused tone.

"Yes," Maggie snapped at him with a slight glare, "I think I'm entitled to after all this."

Kol gave a half shrug, replying in a casual sarcastic tone, "Oh sure, nothing like recent transitioning to bring on the cravings and mood swings of a pregnant woman."

Maggie gasped, abandoning the blood bag for a moment to reach out and smack him in the arm. It wasn't enough to seriously hurt him, but it wasn't exactly gentle either.

The steering wheel of the SUV jerked slightly as he startled, the smirk dropping from his face. "Oi! I'm adding no hitting the driver to my terms," Kol raised his voice, which was torn between amusement and alarm, "_Especially_ when there's a trunk full of gasoline!"

Maggie just rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat. She doubted he would let anything crash this vehicle. "Yeah, yeah, just stop swerving or you're going to make me sicker than this blood bag will," She mumbled before finally popping the cap and taking a few sips.

Kol's temporary irritation settled down immediately as he thought about what she just said. He was silent a full minute as she drank. The veins moved around under her eyes, but she definitely was gaining a better handle on drinking. That and having ten thousand other things running through her mind left her slightly distracted.

"Blood bags make you sick?" Kol frowned slightly at that. Vampires don't sick, he thought.

Maggie nodded numbly, partly distracted by draining the blood bag. While she knew she was going to hate how she felt soon, there was still just enough to the taste to make it worth something. She paused briefly to answer him, "Yeah, I can't say I'm really looking forward to an eternity of this. I don't know how the others do it…"

Kol's expression twisted slightly in confusion as he gripped the steering wheel. His eyes darted back and forth between the road and watching her drink. "Please explain," He requested shortly. It made sense that she was weak from drinking by blood bag instead of the vein, but he didn't quite know what to make of what she meant by sick.

Maggie waited until she finished off the bag. She rolled down the window and tossed it out before turning to look at Kol. "That's actually why I came to see you last night," She commented, looking out at the horizon to the morning in the sky. "I actually started throwing up from a bag of O negative. Some types I can stomach better than others, but that was the first time I ever reacted that strongly." She didn't feel particularly comfortable talking about it, especially since she had been hiding it from the Salvatores. But, she figured since Kol was able to help her that night and at the house, if anyone was able to help it would be him.

Kol remained quiet as he stared out ahead of them, thinking. It wasn't unusual to hear that vampires had certain preferences for some blood types over others. What he never heard of was one becoming physically ill from it without other interfering forces. He knew that she can't be compelled, so he doubted something like that was stopping her.

"You need to start feeding from humans as soon as we get back," He concluded with the only viable option at the time. "You're a newborn, which is a very critical stage of development for a vampire. We are predatory creatures, not only do we enjoy the hunt, but we need the kill. Vampires were never meant to survive off of blood bags. You're depriving yourself of the very nature of what you are and it's taking its toll on your new body."

Maggie nodded faintly and not completely surprised by what he said. The idea of hunting still made her nervous though, especially since she knew that the Council would be after her if any bodies turned up. What concerned her more though was losing herself in it and that monster coming back to the surface.

She didn't bother saying anything else and her gaze drifted to the window. Kol remained in a thoughtful silence. Not much later, she started to feel the beginnings of the first chills. The skin on her arms tingled and she could feel the goose bumps rise on them. She wrapped her arms around herself, absentmindedly running her hands up and down her arms as she did.

Kol's eyes flickered to her quietly as he noticed how pale she got shortly afterwards. It was saying something to be pale as a vampire. As the time passed, Maggie slouched back in her seat and she pressed her cheek against the cool glass of the window tiredly.

Kol didn't like the way she winced and closed her eyes as she clutched at her stomach. He thought about stopping the car, unsure if that would make it better or not, but she never said anything. Maggie kept her jaw clenched and regardless of the slight shake of her shoulders, she never allowed a whimper to pass from her lips.

She still tried not to look weak, even when it was obvious that she was suffering.

"I remembering burning Moscow after withdrawing from Borodino," Kol suddenly spoke up in a quiet tone. Wearily, Maggie opened her eyes, unsure if she had heard him correctly at first. "That was in 1812. So much had been lost in the earlier battle, we were in retreat and we had to abandon the city. I remember that night, helping setting fire to everything that wasn't able to be carried that could possibly aid the French."

Maggie turned in her seat, so her back was to the door as she leaned against the headrest. She still shivered and grimaced, but tried to focus on the story Kol began to tell. She wasn't sure what brought it on, but she just quietly listened to the sound of his voice as he talked about the way they had evacuated the city in retreat. He explained the way the Imperial forces had burned the Russian landscape for three months in retreat before Borodino. Kol went into great detail about how black the skies had been from the smoke and the fires that they left in their wake as they slowly got closer to Moscow. The fights along the way were bloodied and gruesome to put it lightly. She sensed a hint of remorse in his tone and his eyes as he talked about the loss of the earth and the beauty that had been destroyed in man's wake.

It wasn't an uplifting story, but something in it captivated her as she listened to the way he spoke about the night they emptied Moscow. Kol apparently had helped participate in emptying the prisons, letting the criminals lose for the French to deal with. It was surreal to hear about an event she had only barely heard about in high school from the perspective of the Original.

It was during his description of Napoleon that she was only faintly aware that her stomach had quieted down. She was struck by the way Kol described him as a fragile little man, pale and huddled under layers of furs while riding a starved horse that could easily be confused for a donkey. It certainly wasn't the image she had seen in artwork over the years.

She wasn't sure how much time passed, but she didn't care as she listened to him describe the retreat of the French. His eyes light up in wicked amusement while telling how he was with them when they chased them back across the same earth they had burned during the worst of the Russian winter. While he talked about the major events along the way, it was the little details he shared that made it seem more real to her. The energy and morale of the men, along with the unforgiving harsh weather and the nights they spent devising tactics to weaken their enemy while struggling with lacking provisions themselves amazed her.

Maggie last recalled him talking about the Berezina River before his voice lulled her sleep.

* * *

Maggie stirred slightly at the faint brush against her cheek. She inhaled sharply, but didn't immediately open her eyes. She was still turned in her seat and her arms were curled loosely on her lap with one leg tucked underneath her.

The gentle touch on her cheek returned, causing Maggie to mumble slightly as she didn't want to wake up from the peaceful state she was in.

"Maggie," A soft voice coaxed her, the breath barely falling against her face. Groggily, she opened her eyes to be met by the ones of a dark angel.

Blinking a few times, she shifted more upright as Kol's hand fell away from her face. He smirked slightly at her sleepiness as she looked around them. According to the clock on the dashboard, it was an hour or so before noon. Apparently she had slept for quite a while. The SUV came to a stand in the middle of a highway.

"Are we there?" Maggie rubbed at her eyes a bit as Kol leaned back into his seat.

"Not quite," Kol answered her and he reached behind the seats to grab one of the maps they had earlier. He unfolded it to the point where the route he had drawn ended. "I need you to tell me where to go from here," He offered the map out to her.

Stifling a yawn, Maggie took it in her hands as she remembered they never really discussed the final destination. He just trusted her with it after their talk in the study. Maggie only gave a short glance at the map. She grew up in this area all her life, she didn't really need it.

She gave him directions to where go from there and Kol nodded, not bothering to question her further about it. As the landscape became more familiar to her, a slow sense of dread started to fill her. Reality of the fact she was returning to her home and the state they left it in was beginning to eat at her.

The last memory she had of it had been fake, but at least a happy one in her dream. Now she was having to face the truth, her home had been overrun and the barn burned in the process. The whole prospect turned her stomach into knots.

"I want to stop at my house for a few things before we leave," Maggie declared when they were only fifteen minutes away. It was possibly the only chance she would have in a long time to get any personal possessions that had been left behind.

Kol's eyes widened as he turned sharply to look at her. He had been so focused on getting to the tree, he didn't really ask any questions about the type of location they were going to. He certainly hadn't been expecting it to be the place of her home. Maggie's head was turned away and didn't see the way he stared at her thoughtfully before finally conceding in a quiet voice, "Alright, after we take care of the tree."

She just nodded solemnly and didn't say another word.

They turned down the gravel driveway of her family's farmland and Maggie remained still, unmoving in her seat. Her eyes darted around frantically, taking in the sight of the land she had been born and raised in. It was quiet and empty, the fields were ridden with a year of neglect and dry wild grass. She caught sight of some of the fences, most of which had been knocked down by the herd that passed through that night.

Kol remained quiet himself as he continued slowly down the driveway. He noticed the dryness of the foliage around them and figured it would at least make for easy burning. He looked at Maggie and noticed the masked blank expression on her face. He didn't know what was going through her mind through all this and even if he wanted to say something, he wouldn't know what it would be.

"It's up there," Maggie pointed to the top of a rolling hill as they started to climb it. She was grateful that the tree was first in the path before her house at the end of the driveway. She had to take care of the tree first before she could face her home. She wasn't sure how her resolved would stand if it was the other way around.

"I see it," Kol acknowledged as his eyes spotted the lone tree at the top of the hill. The black SUV pulled off the gravel road as it approached and came to a park a safe distance away. He had mixed feelings as soon as he recognized the tree. A part of him had thought there was a chance she could be mistaken, since a painting wasn't much to go off of, even one as intricate as Niklaus'. But sure enough, while this tree was considerably smaller than the one they burned in Mystic Falls, there was no mistaking it was a white oak and the implications that brought.

* * *

Kol killed the engine of the SUV and stepped out of the car, gently closing the door behind him. He glanced around them and the view they had from this hill. He briefly noticed a white farmhouse in the distance. There were the burnt remains of some building next to it and what appeared to have once been an RV. A few other vehicles were left abandoned near the house and numerous figures laid sprawled out around the house.

The soft breeze in the air faintly carried a foul hint of what they were to his sensitive vampire nose and he didn't have to wonder what it was. The sky was completely overcast with clouds above them. Looking around the land, he recognized in a way that it was beautiful, but hollow and irreplaceably broken. He walked around to the back of the SUV and popped the trunk, his expression was hard as he immediately went to business. He pulled out the first two canisters of gasoline that were still full from their trip down.

Maggie had wordlessly climbed out the vehicle and came to a stand a short distance away from the tree. They didn't need to talk about what was going to happen next now that they were here. Despite that, she didn't move or feel the urge to help Kol as he set down one of the canisters. He took the first one and marched right up to the tree without hesitation. He popped the cap and began throwing gasoline down at the base of the tree and up the trunk. He threw it high in the air at the branches, careful to avoid getting any on himself in the process.

Maggie felt cold and empty as she watched him finish off the first canister. What was there to say or feel? Here she was having a hand in burning the tree that held so many memories to her. It wasn't just a tree, but another piece of her home that she was having a hand in destroying.

Kol was working on the second canister when he stepped around the tree and noticed the stone memorial plate at the base of the tree. His hands stopped immediately as he looked down at the engravings, noticing the name and date along with a prayer from the Bible. The name surprised him the most, particularly the last name.

Kol looked up to Maggie, the question obvious in his eyes. He was met with her cold stare, while it was on him, she wasn't really seeing him.

"My mother," She barely whispered and it was enough for him to hear.

Kol inhaled slowly and deeply through his nose as he looked back down at the memorial marker. Suddenly the notion of family in this trip took on a whole new and more complex meaning. She was protecting her new family, the one that arose in the wake of this destructive world while also protecting his family in the process. All of it at the cost of burning the remaining symbols of her true family.

Kol exhaled gradually before his hands began to move again. He made quick work of spreading the rest of the gasoline. He stepped back to set the canister down next to the other one and coming to stand a few feet away from Maggie.

He gave one last look up and down the white oak tree, unable to shake the dark sense of awe at the whole moment. It wasn't something he was happy to do, because the existence of this tree at all spoke volumes in itself. Yet, here they were destroying it.

Kol reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a matchbook. He flipped it open and was about to rip out one of the matches when a hand on his wrist stopped him. He looked up to be met by a determined expression on Maggie's face. He didn't need words to understand the intention in her eyes.

She reached forward with her other hand and delicately plucked the matchbook out of his hands. Stepping forward from him, Maggie pulled out one of the matches. She looked down at it gravely for a long moment. If anyone was going to do this, it was going to be her, she decided. With a flick against the starter strip, a yellow flame came to life at the tip.

She held it up in front of her a moment, watching it dance in the air before tossing it with a flick of her wrist.

It didn't even touch the ground before the gasoline caught afire. The flames grew in an instant, traveling up the trunk of the tree and engulfing the first couple of branches. Maggie's eyes glistened, but no tears fell from them as she stepped back, taking her side next to Kol again. Maybe she had finally run out of tears or she was just too numb to truly appreciate what was happening.

They stood in silence as Maggie watched another piece of her human life die. The wood crackled and she heard the hiss of the moisture evaporating from the leaves as the flames lit up their surroundings and the smoke started to rise into the air.

Kol started thoughtfully at the burning oak. It wasn't lost on him that she very easily could have not mentioned it at all to him when she figured it out. He also knew there was a reason why she didn't mention Elijah and Rebekah when she told him why she wanted to burn it. She easily could've gone down here to get a branch or two to use against his siblings with no repercussions to her bloodline or family. Instead, she chose to not risk any chance of white oak being used and face the consequences of it.

"Willing to betray the ones that trust you in order to protect your family above all else," Kol pointed out in a tone that held a hint of amusement to it before he smirked lightly as he looked at her. "If I didn't know any better, I would think you were a Mikaelson."

Maggie stiffened at the comparison, but didn't respond, not knowing how anyone was supposed to respond to a statement like that. Instead, she chose to change the subject.

"I don't suppose it's a coincidence a White Oak tree happened to be on the family land of a doppelganger," Maggie countered with a thought that had been on her mind while driving down here.

The smirk faded from Kol's face as he looked back to the fiery tree, one branch cracked and fell to the ground in front of them but neither vampire flinched. "No, I have no doubt this is Elijah's doing," Kol agreed, clenching his jaw firmly a moment. He would have to have a little chat with his older brother next time they saw each other. This tree explained why Elijah was particularly interested in Klaus' whereabouts since discovering Maggie.

Maggie tilted her head slightly in confusion, not quite expecting it to hear Elijah's name.

Staring into the fire, Kol realized not all secrets would remain buried forever. The rational part of his mind tried to tell him what he was about to say next was safe to do so because the tree was burning and not having anything to do with the truth or trusting Maggie.

"The vampire bloodlines of Salvatores," Kol began after taking a sigh, thinking of Damon and Stefan Salvatore turned by Katherine. "The Petrovas," he thought of Katherine turned by Rose, and Elena turned by a Salvatore. "The Forbes," even that little blonde plaything of Klaus' turned by a Salvatore. "The Leaveys," he referred to Trevor, Rose, and recently now Maggie. "All dwindle down to one Original bloodline," He stated, marveling for the moment the rippling effects of one turning.

He turned to face Maggie and declared simply, "My bloodline."

The furrowed brows of confusion remained on Maggie's face as she returned his gaze. Her eyes didn't widen and she didn't startle in complete surprise. It was still a shock to hear it from his lips, but otherwise she remained unmoving.

Kol watched her reaction closely and only the hissing of the fire passed through the air between them a minute. "You don't seem particularly surprised by that," Kol pointed out with a hint of interest.

Maggie gave one shake her head before clearing her throat and finding her voice again, "No, I had a hunch… but I just wasn't sure how it was possible." She had a gut feeling since the night they spoke with Rose about Mary Porter, but that issue took the back burner to dying shortly after that and she had nothing solid to go by anyway.

Kol nodded barely and his gaze drifted back to the flames aimlessly, barely registering the heat he could feel on his face. If there was a place to begin explaining, he figured it was back to the beginning.

"I cannot properly describe the relationship between Elijah and Niklaus at the time, but I can only attest to what I know. Strained and complex would be putting it lightly, no justice could be done for properly explaining the state of a relationship five hundred years ago," Kol's voice dropped into a low, emotionless one as he thought back more to his memories than thinking of his surroundings in the moment.

"What I do know is that a witch contacted me on the behalf of a mother about a ritual that was going to be performed on the full moon. She told me that Elijah was arranging it without Niklaus' knowledge. I found that rather peculiar given how close those two and my sister remained over the centuries, so naturally I was curious and heard the plight of the mother," Kol gave a slight shrug of his shoulders, it seemed so logical at the time.

"Apparently while the father had been eager to offer his eldest daughter, Rosemarie, for sacrifice, the mother was not as keen on the idea. She begged for any chance to save her daughter, even if it meant becoming a vampire," Kol remembered not being particularly moved by the mother's plight. "The witch assured me that vampire blood would alter the outcome of the ritual, which I found out she was relative of the warlock performing it. According to the witch, Elijah was trying to create a doppelganger bloodline that would have the power to eradicate the werewolf gene."

Maggie's eyes widened at the idea of there being a cure for werewolves, but she hesitated thinking about to what happened in the Grill.

Kol continued on in her silence with a slightly bitter tone, "Now, I doubted highly Elijah knew what he was getting himself into when it came to dealing with the servants of nature and I didn't want to risk my brother being the test subject for such a powerful thing." Never mind risking the existence of it at all, he thought to himself.

"So I had to carefully plan my intervention. At the time my brothers thought I was in Eastern Europe and I had to keep my distance to keep it that way. It would have been too risky to go to Rosemarie directly before the ritual. Even if I compelled her to forget me, she could recall it if I was ever daggered," Kol explained, remembering the incident with Alexander and grateful in the 19th century he had the foresight for that.

"Instead, I gave a sufficient amount of blood to her mother and compelled her to believe under every circumstance it came from Mary Porter," Kol smirked slightly, remembering his choice of Mary Porter because of her post-turning hermit tendencies made her hard to find. "One compulsion cannot override another and given the pregnant state of the mother at the time, I doubted Elijah and his morals would fixate his wrath on her if things went wrong."

Maggie shuddered slightly as she remembered what Elijah said he had done to Rose after the ritual.

"From the understanding I've gathered, her mother slipped the blood into Rosemarie's wine the night of the ritual. I didn't stick around to witness the ritual myself, but I heard it had been fairly easy to convince Elijah that Mary Porter turned Rosemarie, seeing as she was a recent newborn of Klaus'… And given the nature of the ritual, it wasn't a far stretch of the imagination someone from his bloodline would want to stop it," Kol paused and the amusement faded away from his face.

He thought for a moment to the next part, which brought the greatest ire to him. "It was afterwards when I confronted the witch again that I discovered she had deceived me. The new outcome of the ritual I had been led to believe would negate it, but instead the presence of the vampire blood only extended its qualities," Kol barely suppressed a snarl, remembering how the witch hadn't been able to get blood of an Original from Elijah, but jumped at the opportunity from him. "I hadn't seen the effects of the changes until what happened at the Grill with the hybrid, but apparently the blood became poisonous not just to werewolves."

Kol's face remained grim as he thought about what he did after that, "Before the witch could tell anyone else about what had happened, I ripped out her heart and burned her grimoires, as well as ripped out the tongues of her descendants for the next three generations so none of them could ever utter another spell again. From what I heard, Niklaus eliminated the rest of the bloodline later on."

"By the time I returned to England to find Rosemarie's family, I found that Elijah had scattered them, probably thinking it would be Niklaus after them and not I. After that I spent three centuries trying to hunt down the Leavey bloodline, which was very aggravating and difficult to do without my intentions becoming obvious to my brothers or knowing what Rosemarie even looked like. I found some of them hiding in Greece and others in Germany. When I had finally tracked down the descendants of Rosemarie's son in Ireland, they had just left for the New World and any chance I had at finding them was lost in New York," Kol's fists were clenched in his jacket as he thought about the frustration and anger he had before giving up on the search after three centuries.

Maggie said nothing in his pause, taking it all in and also thrown by the fact he mentioned New York. She knew that was where her family immigrated to among the many at the time period, their name was changed in the process and they remained there a while before having the money to move to Georgia.

"The best part of it all, I can't even completely take credit for, because even I couldn't have anticipated it happening," Kol shifted his thoughts away from the search and he continued thinking of Rosemarie's mother. "The baby her mother carried at the time of the ritual was born afterwards and named Trevor. When he was old enough, he sought out his sister and she turned him. I believe they remained in England a few years, Rose being mostly in hiding, before Trevor met Katerina Petrova and introduced her to my brothers."

Maggie couldn't believe how the story was beginning to sound familiar to her now, but it was like she was hearing everything anew.

"Niklaus wanted to use Katerina to break the curse of the sun and moon, or more properly, release the werewolf gene in him that my mother had suppressed to become a hybrid. Trevor aided Katerina in her escape and it was Rose's blood that turned her before they all fled from my family. They went their separate ways from that point as did my brothers," Kol took a bit longer to explain this part, since he was only going off of what he had been able to piece together over the years.

"Katerina wasn't the first vampire to try to uncover the origin of her bloodline. Even with Niklaus searching for revenge on her, she sought out Mary Porter in the New World around 1864. That was when she found out Mary Porter knew nothing of what she was talking about… In the process, she all but led Niklaus to where Mary Porter was and he found the same thing," Despite himself, Kol then gave an amused snicker.

"From there, it didn't take him much to piece together that Elijah, Rebekah, nor him had anything to do with turning Rose. Niklaus came after me with a dagger and my own bottle of white oak ash since it was a vampire from my bloodline that ruined his hybrid ritual. I spent fifty years running from him while he chased me under the pretense he was only doing it to protect me from our father before he finally caught me. Meanwhile, Katerina went to hiding in Mystic Falls knowing that was the last place I would show up while running from Niklaus and met the Salvatores."

Kol gave a slight sigh at the long winded speech before finishing with one last statement, "And the rest from there I believe you are already familiar with."

* * *

_Author's Note: So who's mind just got blown?!_

_Okay my Kolies, let me know what you think! I want to hear your thoughts on the road trip and Kol coming clean about his history with Maggie's family._

_Also, we got a little nod to my TWD season three fans in this chapter (But sorry, nope, I'm not going to touch it again in this story).  
_

_Next chapter, visiting the farmhouse and Maggie sorting out how to take Kol's story._

_Review responses –_

_Thesummersky: I could definitely see a friendship of sorts forming between Maggie and Stefan since they can commiserate over being rippers and Stefan is definitely a little more level headed at times than Kol and Damon. _

_Yes, Kol's mood swings are intense because he's trying really hard to sort himself out and now with this chapter we see why. He's struggling with the fact he's been after this bloodline for so long wanting to destroy it while also being interested in Maggie. And actually if you think about it, there aren't very many vampires that Maggie knows. Just the Salvatores, Elena (which she wouldn't be too upset to see her die), and Carol, which was the main one she wanted to protect._

_IrishBeauty: The brawl was because of the tension between the two of them. Kol has beat up and snapped Damon's neck numerous times and Kol was mad about the way Maggie's transition was being handled. The next chapter we'll see how Maggie handles seeing her house and I promise there'll be a pretty epic Kolie moment during the return trip!_


	38. Chapter 38

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Linkin Park – Shadow of the Day_

_Scene: The Farmhouse_

_Rob Thomas – All That I Am_

_Scene: The Rainstorm_

_Chapter Thirty-eight_

"From there, it didn't take him much to piece together that Elijah, Rebekah, nor him had anything to do with turning Rose. Niklaus came after me with a dagger and my own bottle of white oak ash since it was a vampire from my bloodline that ruined his hybrid ritual. I spent fifty years running from him while he chased me under the pretense he was only doing it to protect me from our father before he finally caught me. Meanwhile, Katerina went to hiding in Mystic Falls knowing that was the last place I would show up while running from Niklaus and met the Salvatores."

Kol gave a slight sigh at the long winded speech before finishing with one last statement, "And the rest from there I believe you are already familiar with."

* * *

Maggie's mind reeled as she stared at the Original in front of her, trying to make sense of everything that was Kol Mikaelson. In this moment, he wasn't just the dangerous young man with a wicked charm about him. He transcended his simple appearances. There was an ancient and refined predator underneath that exterior.

He also wasn't just the mysterious vampire that had taken an interest in her since she arrived in Mystic Falls. He was more than just the one that was able to whisk her away from the worries and stresses of everything. He was more than just the one that given her an option, a way to avoid permanent death and looked over her in the process. He was the one that pulled her back from the edge when she wanted nothing more to than to jump over it. He kept her sane that night and the day after.

But, now it was all being completely thrown in her face. She stood before him realizing the whole reason she was here in the first place circled back to him. It was because of Kol that Rosemarie survived that sacrifice, starting that branch of the vampire bloodline and allowing Rose's face to carry through time. It was because of that resemblance that Damon ever kidnapped her in the first place. She could almost live with that fact, but it chilled her to hear the way he so casually spoke about hunting down and destroying her entire ancestry. Apparently he had been successful on many accounts, too.

His explanation countered everything she had begun to accept about him. The idea that he spent three centuries tracking her down specifically and her family threw her completely. She wasn't upset at the loss of Rose, which was one vampire that she never knew from a time too long ago to matter to her. But she didn't know what to think of Kol trying to wipe out her entire family. Should it bother her? She just had a hard time trying to believe and understand it all. He spoke as if he wanted nothing more than kill her, but most of his actions since he got to Mystic Falls said otherwise. She knew he was dangerous and had little regard for others, but he never seemed to direct that at her.

Kol stared at Maggie, trying to read anything from her, but her expression was pulled into the deadpanned, calculating gaze that she seemed to master so perfectly well. The tree burned next to them, the branches engulfed in flames as a few more fell to the ground. There would be nothing left of it.

The silence itched at him.

Kol stepped forward to her and his eyes softened to plead with her, "Say something, Maggie." Anyone else he figured would have stomped off screaming and shouting or run away. The natural thing would have been to run away. But instead, she didn't back down from him and she just took it all in. He wasn't sure if that unsettled him further or relieved him.

His voice stirred her to really look at him, but only answered him in a detached tone. "What's there to say, Kol? You were the one person I thought didn't care about my ancestry and it turns out you wanted to kill me all this time."

Kol's gaze dropped from her face. She had him there. A few words came up to his throat. He could say that he didn't know who she was when he told her that in the Grill, but he didn't. It really wouldn't change much now and it just sounded like an excuse to him.

Maggie turned away from him and looked in the direction of her house. "I think I'm going to walk from here," She stated, the meaning clear in her voice that she wanted to be alone while she had a chance to think.

Kol just nodded absently and didn't make any move to stop her as she began to walk away from him. When she was starting to descend the hill, he pulled his hands roughly out of his pockets and ran them through his hair as he turned around towards the SUV. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw tightly, trying to make sense of everything himself.

Why did it matter so much to him that he may have just completely alienated her? The urge to tell her the origin of her bloodline stemmed from the admiration he had for her choosing to ensure the safety of not just her family, but his family as well in the process. But he just kept going after that and spilled everything.

He shouldn't care what she thought, he tried to tell himself.

* * *

Maggie tried to sort through Kol's story as her feet carried her down the familiar gravel road. She barely saw the stones before her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. She didn't need or want to look around at the land. It was ruined, physically and emotionally, just like her.

She went back to the beginning, thinking about the fact her ancestors had been involved in any sort of werewolf ritual to begin with. It made her think of the eldest Original and she frowned as she focused on the fact he scattered her family, in protection of some sorts. She supposed that's what Elijah really meant when he told her he took an interest in all of his investments. Either way, she concluded she had been doomed the moment he got involved with her family line.

She was a doppelganger and there was no changing that fact at this point, with or without Kol's involvement. Maybe Niklaus would have still come after her too, from the sounds of things he probably would have if he ever figured out the true nature of the ritual.

It was still hard to wrap her head around the fact her family immigrated to the United States and their presence in Georgia had likely all been arranged by a thousand year old vampire. Did that invalidate their human experience? She wasn't sure. Her family purchased this land and cultivated through their hard work and diligence. They took pride in their heritage and making a life for themselves in America. The fact it all may have been prearranged and predetermined unsettled her.

"Talk about identity crisis," Maggie grumbled to herself bitterly.

The sound of tires crunching gravel gained closer to her and headlights lit the way against the overcast sky. She didn't bother looking up as the SUV slowly crept by and she knew that Kol was watching her. He didn't stop though and she was appreciative of that. He continued on up the way to park near the house.

Thoughts of Kol were pushed away from her with the first wave of it carried in the breeze. Her throat tightened up immediately at the intensity of the foul smell causing her to look up as she came across the first couple of bodies. They were weathered and dry, some more mutilated than others. Corpses were a better term for them, they had long since ceased to be people. All of them were struck down and unmoving with fatal head wounds, the only way to take down a walker. Others were ripped apart or flattened in various ways from the night they had used the vehicles to help plow them down.

Her face twisted into disgust as she looked at the land she had once played on and rode horses had become an unceremonious mass grave. Her eyes wandered over to the barn as she neared the house. It lay in a crumpled heap of burnt wood. Every now and then she could catch a hint of the charcoal in the air, mixed with the dried blood, infectious rotting wounds, and filth words could never properly describe. She knew under the twisted heap of the wood, there were the charred remains of the walkers that Rick and Carl had torched on the way out. Next to it, she could see the distorted remains of the RV. The beige was blackened by the smoke, especially on the one-side where she guessed the gas tank must have caught afire after they fled.

Kol stood by the door of the SUV as his eyes darted around the scene before him. His face was grim, but he didn't say anything. Mentally, he was trying to piece together his version of what could have happened here. He wasn't going to ask her and force her to recall it. She was already walking through it enough as it was.

Maggie stopped as she took in the sight of her house. The windows had been boarded up and many of the planks yanked away roughly from the frames. Stray bullet holes riddled the wood siding. The railing of the porch was splintered and broken. The front door was busted from the hinges and the screen door was a torn mess. She took a deep breath, casting a glance at Kol and gave him a short nod.

Silently, Kol followed her lead as they went up the porch steps and to the door. He didn't sense anything moving in this place. It was still as the tomb it represented. It had been too long since anything living had been here to draw any appeal from the undead.

Stepping into the house, Maggie was hit with a triple front assault. On one hand, there were the memories that bubbled up in her mind of her family and the outbreak, but then there was reality. She would see the living room that her family would gather around and listen to Otis playing the guitar. One blink, she would see the sofa that Dale slept on, the sleeping bags on the floor for Andrea and T-Dog. Another blink, there was the room full of overturned furniture. The black dried blood smears along the walls and the floors from the walkers that got in. The disorderly mess of possessions they had left behind in the panic.

The kitchen she remembered listening to her mother hum over the dishes became the same kitchen her and Lori were discussing what to do about Beth's suicide attempt, but now it was empty and ransacked.

The dining room that Hershel had given prayer at before every meal became the same discussion about whether or not it was safe to let the survivors stay within the house, but now the table was gone where it had been used to barricade a door and the remnants of where Daryl and Carol slept remained.

Kol moved through the rooms quickly, sizing them up and glancing them over. He didn't stray far away from Maggie though, especially as he sensed her struggle increase. She faltered in each room. He saw the way she took it all in numb silence and then her eyes swirled with emotion. She wandered back into the living room and he wondered just how much of this she could take.

Carefully, he reached out to touch her shoulder to get her attention. She jumped slightly at the contact, apparently almost forgetting he was there at all. Kol frowned at the tortured look in her eyes. "What can I do?" He asked of her softly.

Maggie blinked and tried to snap out of it, but it really was a futile attempt. "Right… there should be some boxes you can dump out in the storage under the stairs," She tried not to grimace too much as she looked around them.

Kol nodded quickly, "What do you want me to pack?" He tried to keep her attention on him and keep her focused.

Maggie closed her hands, an anxious hand tugging slightly at her hair as it ran through. "Pictures, on the walls or the mantle," She then gestured vaguely at the packs on the ground, "Wallets, photographs, anything personal like that… I'll take care of upstairs."

Maggie barely noticed the reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before Kol moved away in the direction she instructed him. In all the sorrow she had felt in the past few months, nothing compared to hollow feeling in her as she stood in this house. She moved at a human pace up the stairs and towards the bedrooms, knowing they would be the hardest part.

She thought she couldn't break and feel the pain any further than the empty pit in her chest, but it tore at her deeper with each room she walked into.

There was Beth's room, where she remembered springs of times when her sister still sang. Now there was the splintered frame of her bathroom and the broken mirror she had used against herself.

For a moment, she heard Hershel's footsteps going down the hallway as she left one room and went for another. It was like the times he came home late at night and ended up sleeping off his slip up on the couch. But then reality reminded her it was just Kol she heard and her father would never have a normal stride again.

There was the guest room, where she remembered so many times that Jimmy stayed while her step mother kept a sharp eye on him. It was also the room Carl barely clung onto life when Otis accidentally shot him. Now it was just in disarray with only a ghost of the life that used to radiate through the house.

Maggie pulled down some suitcases from the attic and took the first one into her parents' bedroom. She took down the pictures on the walls and the ones along the dresser. She found some of her mother's pieces that had been stowed away, knowing Beth deserved them. Maggie felt sick to her stomach as she moved. She grabbed the old family photo album from the closet and the family genealogy.

She went into the hallways, taking down the pictures from family trips and distant relatives she would never see again.

Kol didn't rush her in the slightest. She could hear him moving about in the house and even disappeared outside for a length of time. Faintly, she thought she heard the groan of metal bending, but she didn't stir from her thoughts. Especially when she went to her bedroom.

The room was just a shell of the woman that had died. The once lime green walls were faded and the furniture in the room casted dark shadows from the overcast sky through the window. Her eyes passed over the photographs of her and her friends, particularly the ones she went to high school with. She thought about taking them, but she only dismissed it. What was the point of holding onto someone she would never be again?

The only thing she decided to pack from her room was her clothing. Maybe it was small and really trivial, but that was the one thing she could imagine taking. She was tired of wearing clothing that had been some other dead person's or raided from a store god knows where. She paused in her packing to change clothes, finding a familiar pair of jeans and a tank top that fit her. She found a pair of her boots as well, tucking the jeans into them and finishing off with tucking the Beretta into her waistband behind her again. Before discarding her previous clothes, she transferred what was in the pockets to her jeans.

Maggie stuffed the suitcase full and forced the zip to shut. Grimly, she took one last look at the room she had grown up in before taking the bag and walking out of it. She picked up the second suitcase as she moved down the hallway. She was descending the stairs, carrying the heavy suitcases with ease in each hand when she spotted Kol coming back through the front door.

He had a stack of papers, which looked like photographs and a couple of books. She immediately caught the smoky scent coming from them. Maggie stop mid-step as she stared at the belongings in his hands. Kol looked up quietly from them and halted at the startled expression in her eyes.

She immediately recognized Dale's Bible. The old man always had that thing out, rereading it day after day. There was only place he could've gotten that from.

Her thoughts immediately went to Jimmy and how he had driven the RV over to the barn to save Rick and Carl. "Did you find anyone?" Maggie was afraid to ask, but they never had a chance to bury Jimmy, Patricia or Andrea.

Kol paused, thinking back to how he pried open the RV door. The air was thick and heavy from the foul stench and the flies in the air. There had been a few walkers with head wounds and maggots all over them, they didn't look like they belonged on a farm. There was one corpse that had been pulled apart and stripped down to the bones, exposing the ribcage. He could only barely tell it had been male at one point. There was nothing recognizable about it.

Kol shook his head.

Maggie let out a defeated sigh and nodded. He kept moving down the hallway to put the items he found in the box with the other items. She wasn't an optimistic idiot, she knew they had been literally ripped apart by the walkers and that was a year ago. It wasn't that she didn't want to pay her respects to Patricia and Andrea, but she just knew there wouldn't be anything to find outside.

She left the bags by the front door and wandered into the living room again. Kol was picking up two boxes, which were quite full and heavy, but didn't take much effort for the vampire to carry. "I'll get the bags," He offered to her quietly and Maggie just nodded.

She wrapped her arms around herself as she looked around the room, remembering the family holidays that would never be had here again. Even the rainy days that she would just sometimes sit and watch the water drip down the window panes would never be the same. Each memory played before her mind with such clarity, partly thanks to her new nature. It was like some sort of sick movie having the memories but the cold reality in front of her.

Faintly, she heard the opening and closing of the SUV doors. Kol returned quietly for the suitcases and carried out the last of the items they were taking back with them. He left her alone in the house and waited by the vehicle.

When Maggie finally emerged from the house, she stopped on the porch. She looked at the window she used to sneak through late at night in high school to avoid her father hearing her coming in by the screech of the screen door. She looked out at the land before her, the burnt remains of the barn and the dead fields full of corpses were just a mockery of the once beautiful home.

"Is there any gasoline left?" Maggie questioned, realizing the decision she made in that moment.

Kol's eyebrows rose as he turned to her. Maggie's expression was pulled into what was becoming her signature detached expression, but he saw a hint of determination in her eyes. "I suppose we can spare a bit, but we'll have to stop and siphon some along the way," Kol answered hesitantly as he quickly thought about their supplies.

Maggie nodded barely, "That's fine."

Kol recovered quickly enough and moved to the trunk of the SUV, pulling out one of the red canisters that were still mostly full. He walked up to Maggie on the porch, who remained unmoving and distant emotionally. "Are you sure about this?" He asked as he held out the canister to her, just for a brief moment wondering if he misunderstood her.

Maggie reached out to the canister, placing a hand on it, but Kol didn't let go immediately. She looked up to meet him in the eyes before declaring, "The people my family used to be died the night we fled. There's nothing for us to come back to here." At least not in this lifetime, she thought bitterly to herself. Maybe someday she could return, but never for Beth and Hershel.

Kol's fingers slipped away from the canister and he backed off. He waited by the front of the SUV while Maggie disappeared back into the house. She started spreading the gasoline in the kitchen, trailing it through the dining room and into the living room before going down the main hallway and out the front door. The last of it dripped down the front porch steps. The sharpness of the fuel was enough to cloud out the smell of death and decay just for a little bit.

She dropped the canister to the side as she took a deep breath and reached into her pocket for the matchbook from earlier.

Her hands shook as she tore out a match. She looked up one last time at the house, mentally saying her last goodbye to the only place she had ever called home.

The match struck against the lighter strip and a moment later the first flames flickered to life along the front porch. Maggie backed up slowly and watched as the trail of flames continued on through the front door and onto the first floor.

It had been dry here lately and the wood caught easily along with the soft fabrics of everything else inside.

Her shoulders sagged and her arms hung limply by her sides as she watched the flames grow with each passing moment. Her home brightened with each second, becoming radiant in its destruction and she just watched. She could tear her eyes away for a moment.

Time had no meaning as she watched each flame burn another piece, searing into her now eternal memory to never be forgotten. The image of the paint flaking away and the windows beginning to fill with black smoke would never fade away from her.

The first floor was taken with flames and she could tell it was beginning to reach the bedrooms within when Kol stepped in front of her. His dark features contrasted sharply with the yellow and oranges of the fire behind him. It was only then she was aware of the hot tears that trailed down her cheeks silently.

Wordless, he reached forward with his arms and pulled her against his chest, embracing her tightly. For a moment, Maggie closed her eyes at the contact and stiffened. But be damn with it, she thought, she had a long and likely awkward car ride that she could sort out what was going to happen between her and Kol. She reached up to wrap her arms around him, thinking right now she just needed that one person who could keep her afloat in all this. Her hands bunched up the material of his jacket as she clutched and continued to watch the burning farmhouse over his shoulder.

Kol remained silent as he held her, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and the other hand rubbing gently along her back. He frowned thoughtfully while he listened to her few sniffles, but no sobs ripped through her. While it didn't look like it, he had to admire her strength in this moment. It had taken him and his siblings a long time before they could face Mystic Falls again after what they did to their village.

Maggie leaned into his neck as she listened to the shattering of glass from within the house, the splintering and breaking of wood. The fire crackled and hissed angrily as it devoured the home with an unforgiving hunger. She didn't flinch when the heat and smoke broke through the second story windows, billowing out viciously.

"It's time to move on," Kol finally whispered into her ear gently. She knew he didn't mean just moving before the smoke drew unwanted attention either.

* * *

Kol only paused at the end of the Greene property to pull out the maps and figure out a new route as they sat in the SUV. Maggie didn't let herself turn around, just allowing Kol to quietly shepherd her into the vehicle after his parting words in front of the house.

He flicked on the overhead light and squinted down at the highways, crossing off the one they came down and tracing a new one, further east from the mountains. He commented briefly about likely having to stop and move abandoned cars out of the way, but there would at least be some fuel in them. Maggie barely listened to him, her vacant stare was out the window.

The ride was mostly silent as Maggie just tried to process everything. It felt like some sick nightmare as her eyes would flicker to the side mirror and see the black smoke rising from the direction of her farm the further and further they drove away from it. Sometimes they passed walkers on the road, heading in the direction of it with only mild interest and then they would struggle to decide between following the SUV or continuing on.

Kol kept his eyes mostly on the road with a similar controlled expression. If she didn't know better, she would have guessed he had an air of indifference about him. But as much as he could pretend, she doubted this didn't affect him. The atmosphere in the vehicle was tense, as if the very air was waiting for Maggie to breathe and react.

Sparely, she would ask him a question as the hours ticked by between them.

"So does Klaus know about ritual?" She asked him at one point while trying to piece together her understanding of everything and how it came to be. She thought back to the night at the boardinghouse, wondering at Klaus' interest in her. But if he knew exactly what she was, she would have thought he would've killed her then and there.

"No, he may have figured out the bloodline, but I wasn't about to squeal that to him," Kol smirked slightly, having more self-preservation than that to explain Elijah's original intentions. "I doubt Elijah has been very forthcoming with the details either."

Maggie nodded. She could understand that, remembering her confrontation with the eldest Original. He certainly had been careful in his words and didn't really leave her much to go with at all. She frowned thoughtfully as they drove, trying to imagine the relationship between the two brothers and just how estranged it must have been for Elijah to consider something that could potentially kill his brother. Furthermore, that tree that stood on her family's property was a statement in itself.

Maggie was nearly catatonic as she sat in the passenger seat through the ride. At first, it concerned Kol, wondering if she was trying to shut off her emotions and push it all away. But the stormy brew of thoughts in her eyes told him otherwise. If she really just shut it off, she would brush it off and not be subdued by it at all.

The next time she asked him a question, they had stopped to push several cars off the road. It was rather easy for the vampires. All it took was a casual yank to break the lock on the driver door, lean in to shift the vehicle into neutral and a push later it was rolling out of the way. It seemed surreal compared to the months she was with the group and how clearing a path would take half the day sometimes while they tried not to make too much noise and kept a wary eye out for walkers.

"Where do you and Klaus stand now?" Maggie had her share of spats with Beth over the years, but she couldn't comprehend the scale of something that would result in being daggered for a century.

"Elijah was the one that un-daggered me," Kol explained with a dark grin, thinking back to the dinner party Niklaus had thrown with the Salvatores when Elijah awoke him. There actually been a moment of fear his brother's eyes when he saw Kol. "Niklaus has had a century to get over it," Kol added, not addressing his persona feelings on the matter.

Maggie didn't ask further about it because everything in Kol's tone of voice said that while Klaus may have deal with it, Kol wasn't as forgiving. She doubted that he would ever kill the hybrid, but she knew he would jump at any opportunity to pay him back in kind.

A slight shift in her demeanor came when the daylight was beginning to fade as they stopped again to siphon gas from other vehicles. It was more time consuming than Kol wished it to be, but after enough strikes, they were able to get the gas necessary to make it back to Mystic Falls.

They were standing at the back of the SUV, loading the now sufficiently full red canisters into the trunk when Maggie stopped after placing in the last one.

"Thank you," She said quietly.

Kol stood up straight and turned to her with a look of confusion, for a moment not sure if he heard her correctly.

"For telling me everything," She said, fidgeting with her fingers slightly as she stood next to him. In spite of everything, she had to recognize the fact he had just come out and told her. She didn't force him to say anything and she didn't find out through bits and pieces or under duress. "I know you didn't have to," She added on.

Kol's expression eased slowly and he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he just gave a nod of acknowledgement. She knew that was his way of saying 'You're welcome'. He wasn't really the type to just come right out and say it.

Maggie slipped away and returned to the passenger seat. Kol remained behind a moment as he closed the trunk, staring aimlessly at his hands in thought. He was thrown. Once again she was thanking him for something that didn't deserve it.

* * *

Accepting her family history and the bloodline of almost every vampire she knew was nothing compared to trying to sort out what it meant for her and Kol now. She had her suspicions that it was Kol's bloodline from her talk with him on her porch and the information that Jeremy relayed from the ghosts. That was the easiest truth for her to wrap her head around.

The family was another hard part. On one hand, she knew she should have been angry with him for hunting down and killing her relatives. She was always fiercely loyal to her family today. The only problem was she had a hard time trying to connect those same emotions to relatives so distant she didn't even know they had existed at one point. It was hard enough trying to form any emotional attachment to the names written down in her family genealogy book, never mind ones that had been in Germany and Greece at some point between three and five centuries ago.

What caught her attention was the fact that today, even though at some point he had become aware of her ancestry, Beth and Hershel were still fine. For someone who claimed to want to wipe out her entire bloodline, as far as she knew not a single hair had been harmed on either of her remaining mortal family members.

That was when Maggie started to make the distinctions in her mind between the story Kol told her and her Kol. That Kol claimed to want to kill her, but her Kol never raised a hand against her, even when she struck and provoked him. Her Kol had been there the night she died to give her another option. Her Kol pulled her back when she was falling. Her Kol was beginning to make her believe being a vampire could be manageable after all.

When the night fell, more than just darkness fell with it. The first few drops were heavy and formidable as they splattered against the windshield. Kol frowned slightly as his eyes narrowed on the road, noticing the way the branches and foliage were beginning to stir with more agitation. They were somewhere in North Carolina as far as Maggie could tell with the rainstorm quickly caught up with them.

Maggie sighed, recalling a few road trips over the years and cutting through North Carolina. Even with weather prediction, the occasional spring and summer rainstorm cutting down from the mountains was rather heavy.

The rate of raindrops picked up quickly within twenty minutes and the windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the assault of water. Kol's knuckles tightened slightly on the steering wheel and she glanced to see a hint of irritation in his expression. Between the darkness and the rain impeding them, it forced him to slow down considerably.

With a slight huff, Kol slowed the vehicle to a stop and pulled over slightly on the road, not that there was any traffic to block. Maggie sat upright in the seat at the stop as he threw the SUV into park.

"What are you doing?" Maggie asked.

Kol cut off the headlights and turned the key, killing the engine before gesturing in front of him. "I can barely see through this. Might as well wait it out instead of risking being wrapped around a tree," Kol declared casually, apparently not bothered by delaying the return to Mystic Falls even further. He reached down to his seat and adjusted it lean back further.

"Besides, I haven't had proper sleep in days and you know what they say about sleep deprivation," He smirked innocently while shifting in his seat to get more comfortable.

Maggie rolled her eyes, thinking it takes more than just sleep deprivation to get to the level of crazy he's at. "You know, I could drive if you need rest," Maggie offered, also remembering how ridiculous it was for someone who was only around during the era of horses and buggies to do all the driving.

"And guarantee being hopelessly lost? No thanks," Kol replied cheekily.

Maggie shot him a glare and shook her head. Typical male, she thought to herself, even the thousand year old ones had too much pride to receive help or god forbid stop and ask for directions.

Maggie tried to relax in her seat as Kol leaned his head back and closed his eyes. The vehicle was silent, save for the pattering of the rain against the windshield and the roof. She stared aimlessly out the window into the darkness, which she had to admit even with their vision was rather difficult in the heavy rain.

"Have you ever been an aspiring artist?" Kol broke her from her thoughts, only his mouth moving as he remained still.

"What? No," Maggie replied quickly in confusion at the randomness of the question.

"Great, don't start now," Kol said cheerily.

Maggie frowned and looked down at herself, then she realized that her fingers were tapping anxiously against the frame of the door. Freezing at being caught, she pulled her hand back and with a slight huff folded her arms over her chest. "Jerk," She muttered softly.

Kol just smirked without even bothering to open his eyes.

Maggie tossed and turned in her seat quite a bit before she was able to settle down. She tried to focus on the sound of the rain and less on her thoughts, which had been plaguing her throughout this entire trip. Eventually, she managed to close her eyes, nodding off for a bit at a time here and there before real sleep finally overcame her.

* * *

Her head was leaning against the glass when she woke up with a sharp inhale. It was still a discerning feeling going to sleep and not needing to breath. Each time she woke up, it was like coming up for air from an ocean of water for the first time. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and she squinted as she noticed there was a lot lighter around them than she fell asleep to.

It was early morning dawn. The rain had relented to only the occasional drop here and there. Stem rose off the pavement and the ground from the heat, creating a thick layer of fog around them. Maggie's eyes widened as she realized they must have slept through the night. She turned her head from side to side, stretching her neck before shifting in her seat to look at Kol.

His arms were folded loosely over his chest and head tilted a bit to the side. He remained completely unmoving with his eyes closed. Any urge to wake him up to continue driving died as she gazed at him. It was the first time she had ever seen him perfectly at ease. His features were relaxed, not hidden behind any smug expression or masked emotions. For once, he just simply looked like the devastatingly handsome young man he was and not some dangerous predator.

Maggie turned on her side in her seat quietly, trying not to disturb him. She took in each of one of his features, her eyes roaming over his closed ones, the angle of his nose, the lines of his jaw, the slight dimple on his chin, and the thin set of his lips. Her face flushed slightly at the memory of those lips on hers and the taste of him. She had to resist the urge to reach out and stroke along his jawline, just to feel his skin.

Kol stirred, as if sensing someone was watching him. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he took in the morning light. He turned his head towards Maggie and paused when he found her staring shamelessly back at him. Any snarky comment about letting him sleep the night away ceased with the way she was looking at him.

Maggie didn't look away, even though she had been clearly caught. In fact, she didn't find herself feeling particularly embarrassed either. Kol looked at her with a mix of wonder and curiosity.

"When did you figure who I was?" Maggie broke the silence with a soft whisper, but even then the underline intense feeling the air still remained.

Kol tensed a bit at the question, knowing it would probably come up at some point. For all the questions she had asked, none of them had directly related back to him until now. He didn't answer immediately as he thought back to the moment he knew for sure. It had been with Nikalus and Elijah at the mansion. It was the dinner of the day that Elijah returned, one of the few times the four siblings would all sit down for a meal these days. Niklaus had mentioned the Leavey doppelganger to Elijah, clearly fishing for more information about the ritual. Rebekah didn't care in the least bit about the conversation. Just as did Kol, Elijah didn't give away much, but Elijah wasn't aware that Kol had any knowledge of the doppelganger's significance. That was why Kol had to straighten out his fork underneath the table, out of Elijah's sight, which had been bent to match the groves of his fingers.

"The night before the Founder's celebration," Kol finally answered her, bringing his mind back to the present. He hadn't heard about Niklaus' negotiation with the Salvatores until after the fact when Kol came back to Mystic Falls.

Maggie swallowed thickly, for a brief moment wondering just how close she really had come to losing her head that night when she slapped him. If death was already on his mind, she certainly had made it easy. But yet, she walked away and continued to walk away each time after that. Her mind lingered on the fact he had still taken away to the waterfall and the kiss on the rooftop. The night she swam and danced with him, he had personally delivered her safely to her home afterwards.

"But you changed your mind, didn't you?" Maggie voiced out the only reasonable explanation she had been able to come up with in a slightly hopeful tone.

Kol thought about leaving it alone right then and there. She was pushing to make sense of things that had befuddled him for a quite a bit now. He could look away, dismiss it and they could keep driving on. Instead, her gaze kept him trapped. He nodded once and admitted in a gentle tone, "Yes, you caught my interest."

Maggie inhaled sharply at that one word. Interest. It was so simple, but could be loaded with so many different meanings. Interest could be as brief as admiring a painting before forgetting about it. Interest could be the kind that Elijah spoke of when regarding her family. Interest could be the fascination with an unusual or new toy. But then, interest could take on deeper meanings and ones that she admittedly was a little afraid of because she didn't know how to handle it.

And with Kol, she couldn't be sure what kind of interest he was alluding to.

"When?" She had to know when everything shifted for him, what she had done and what moment it had been.

Kol thought back to all the times he had told himself that he was just going to wait a little longer before killing her. It had been a halfhearted thought each time. She had grabbed his attention and he hadn't been ready to let that go. But since when did he have to justify any of his actions to anyone, he stubbornly thought to himself.

However, as he looked at her, he knew he had really never denied anything she asked of him.

Just when Maggie thought he wasn't going to answer, his gaze dropped slightly as he sighed. "The town square," He stated resolutely.

Maggie thought back to the night with Carl and the walker. More importantly, she remembered the confrontation with Kol and how she got up in his face. That must have been the moment, she figured. "The bon fire," Maggie nodded in understanding.

To her surprise, Kol shook his head in disagreement. "No, before then," He corrected her quietly, thinking how he hadn't even thought about for a moment killing her that night. His mind had already been made up by that point.

Maggie's brow furrowed slightly as she tried to think of the other times she had been in the town square with Kol. The Founder's celebration, she was in the town square when he found her looking for Damon. "When I slapped you?" She questioned the first instance that came to mind. She had metaphorically and literally gotten under his skin in that moment?

The corner of Kol's lip quirked up slightly at the reminder. He had been so livid any mortal had the audacity to strike him. Afterwards, he had found the boldness of her amusing.

She took the small facial reaction as confirmation. Maggie bit the inside of her cheek as she thought about it and her gaze dropped from Kol's face.

"No," His voice pulled her back up and the slight smirk was gone.

The confusion on her face faded into wonder as she felt her throat start to tighten a bit. She could almost feel her undead heart starting to beat faster in her chest. She waited to see if there was any trace of humor or something else in his face, but he remained firm and his gaze bore into her. "But, Kol, that only leaves…" Her voice trailed and she shook her head slightly, her eyes darting away from him a moment.

"When we first met," He finished for her, realizing his interest in her began the day he overheard this feisty woman swearing and flipping off Damon Salvatore. She drew him in from that point on.

Maggie's eyes snapped back to him and she was struck by the sincerity in his expression. Her heart rose into her throat and all of the sudden the air in the vehicle was charged, but suffocating her. She felt her emotions were naked and vulnerable under his gaze. She couldn't hide them from him here.

So Maggie did the one thing she always did when it became too much for her.

"I need some air," She suddenly declared, sitting up stiffly in her seat. She didn't bother waiting for a response or looking back as she reached for the door handle.

She shut the door behind her quickly as she was met by the humid, warm air. It wasn't much of a relief. She almost wished she could still feel the cold as she did when she was human that would slap her with harsh reality. The humidity wasn't enough to bring a sweat to her skin or her hair to cling to her forehead, another reminder that she wasn't human anymore.

Another car door opened and closed behind her, but she didn't turn around. Her fingers rubbed at her eyes and temples, as if trying to wake up from this convoluted ongoing dream.

Kol wasn't the type to allow anyone to run away from him. She confronted him and made him admit to things he had barely acknowledged himself. She wasn't going to get away that easily after that. He walked around the side of the SUV and stared at the profile of her back.

If there was one simple truth he had to take away from this conversation that she made him realize, it was that fact he saw_ her_ before he knew who she was. Staring at this young woman, he still saw her, struggling and lost, but more beautiful and powerful in ways she didn't even realize.

He stepped up slowly behind her and she didn't move, her hands remained on her face. She could sense him there, but she didn't want to turn around.

Kol tilted his head to the side slightly as he delicately reached up with stroke a few fingertips down the side of her neck. The touch caused her to tense and shiver a bit as his fingers reached down to her shoulder.

Her fingers began to slip away from her face as he felt both of his hands brush against her shoulders, drawing a chill at the direct skin contact. His hands wrapped gently around her shoulders, his thumbs stroking against her skin, leaving a blaze in their wake.

Maggie clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, her knuckles white from the tight grip and the rigidness remained in her frame. She closed her eyes when she felt him lean towards her and a soft touch on the side of her neck where his fingers had been.

His hands slide down to her upper arms, almost holding her in place if she decided to bolt. But Maggie realized she couldn't when he began placing soft kisses. One, two and three times she felt his lips on her skin. She closed her eyes and let out a small warning, "Kol…"

It sounded more like a whimper to him. He didn't stop until she broke the contact by turning around to face him. Her eyes were wide, he thought he could actually see some fear in them. But he didn't wait long enough to give her a chance to speak or say anything else, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

It only took her a moment to realize what was happening and in the next her lips were moving against his. Her reason and worry disappeared as Kol moved his arm to wrap around her waist and pull her against him. The kiss upon the rooftop seemed pale in comparison to this, feeling him with her renew senses. She moaned gently into his mouth as her tongue plunged into his mouth, savoring the taste of him on her lips.

His hand ran up along her spine and to her shoulders, the sensation pushing her restraint even further to the edge. Her fingers knotted in his hair while the other slipped underneath his jacket, feeling his chest through the fabric of his shirt. The digging of her fingers into his scalp caused her back to be pressed up against the side of the SUV a moment later. She didn't care about the Beretta that dug into her lower back as his hands ran down her sides, greedily searching for more flesh by the hem of her tank top.

The hand on his neck reached around to gently stroke her fingers down the length of his jawline as his tongue fought for dominance over her. Her mind began to get fuzzy between the feeling on his hands on her body, the taste of him, and the rising desire that she couldn't distinguish between wanting him sexually and the bloodlust.

She slowly and reluctantly eased back from the kiss, but remained trapped between his body and the car. With a few more soft pecks, she pulled away enough to open her eyes and found him staring back at her. He let out a shaky breath before a confident smirk made its way up on his face.

Her hand remained on his face, reaching back to run through his hair once more while she tried to calm herself down. "What are we doing?" She breathed in a helpless tone, more wondering what in the world she was doing…

* * *

_Author's Note: One word, Kolie! Do I need to say more?_

_What do you guys think of Maggie's decision to torch her home, burning another symbol of her humanity?_

_Okay, serious note here – My updates are going to be coming at a slower rate from now on for two reasons. One, I have a lot of course work and practicum this semester. Second, the last couple of chapters there have been a significant drop in responses/reviews, especially for this late in the story, which is frustrating to spend hours writing these chapters when readers don't bother spending five minutes to leave feedback. So unless there's a sudden increase in demand I'll probably start posting chapters once a week from now on. I'm sorry if it sounds mean, but I have other more important priorities._

_(I'm not in any means directing that message to the people who HAVE been posting reviews. I love you all to death and I hope you continue to stick with me.)_

_Review responses – _

_IrishBeauty: The reason I decided not to have her bury anyone is because I figured with the way those characters died, they would have been ripped apart and devoured to a point beyond recognition. (It sounds morbid but I thought of that with the episode Daryl was looking for Sophia, they found the camper that hung himself and he pointed out how the legs had been picked clean by the walkers) But yes, you're spot on with the trusting her bit and we'll see her drinking from humans soon… as in possibly the next chapter. ;D_

_Wileby: Haha yes, it's safe to say that Kol will not be killed in this story. I'm not a huge fan of mass vampire genocide that would wipe out all the main characters. _


	39. Chapter 39

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: (I hope you take the time to listen to these songs, they're pretty powerful!)_

_Imagine Dragons – Bleeding Out_

_Scene: Maggie hunting_

_Linkin Park – Leave Out All The Rest_

_Scene: The Grill_

_Chapter Thirty-nine_

She slowly and reluctantly eased back from the kiss, but remained trapped between his body and the car. With a few more soft pecks, she pulled away enough to open her eyes and found him staring back at her. He let out a shaky breath before a confident smirk made its way up on his face.

Her hand remained on his face, reaching back to run through his hair once more while she tried to calm herself down. "What are we doing?" She breathed in a helpless tone, more wondering what in the world she was doing…

* * *

Kol's fingertips traced circles lightly against Maggie's skin as he stared down at her. While her words were rational and impossibly implied stopping, her body said otherwise. He could feel the slight shake in her hand against her chest and he knew it had nothing to do with the cool water all over her back from being pressed against the rain soaked vehicle.

"Just having some fun, darling," Kol purred as his lips hovered inches away from hers. Just because he took an interest in her that didn't mean it had to mean anything, he told himself. Before she could protest further, he leaned back in and captured her lips once more.

His answer was hardly satisfying, but Maggie couldn't deny the commanding movements of his lips against hers. Her eyes closed tightly as her hand held his head close to hers, her hand on his chest sliding down his abdomen. The gentleness of his lips and the confident grip of his hands on her hips caused to her let out a whimper of a sigh against him.

She had thought she was in trouble the night she swam and danced with him, but now she realized she was getting into it deep. It wasn't just physical. She was playing this one too close to the heart.

Sensing her hesitation, Kol eased back slowly and leaned his forehead against hers as he opened his eyes again. She felt paralyzed under those black eyes as she tried to fight the urge to push that jacket off his shoulders and continue it further. But she couldn't let herself lose control, not when everything got so complicated.

Kol didn't make it easy as he reached up with one hand, cupping her cheek tenderly and stroking his thumb over her lower lip, swollen from his kisses. The playful smug smirk came back to his expression.

"As much as I enjoy your idea of getting some air," Kol teased her before adding seriously, "We should probably keep moving." At the end of the day, getting frisky on the side of some country road where a walker could be a potential mood killer at any point wasn't his ideal situation.

Kol dropped his hands away from Maggie, stepping back with a lasting smirk before turning to head back towards the driver's side. Behind him, he left a rather dazed and shaken Maggie. She didn't move as she heard the car door open and close on the other side.

She took a few minutes to calm down her breathing, even though it wasn't short from exertion, but nerves. She slumped against the side of the SUV, reaching one hand up to her mouth. Her lips still tingled with the feeling of his.

The starting of the engine stirred her to life again with a slight jump. She returned to the passenger seat, climbing in without a word to Kol and a moment later the vehicle began moving again.

* * *

Riding with Kol, it was like the road side stop hadn't happened. If anything, it was like the trip on the way down. Kol was back to his usual arrogant self with the perpetual smirk. The subdued nature from the farm disappeared, which in some ways was probably for the best.

It threw Maggie though. He could act like that didn't happen, but it was definitely on her mind. Somewhere the lines were getting blurry and messy when it came to Kol. At one point or another, he wanted most of her family dead and maybe that could change. He was also that shadow that lingered in the wings, keeping an eye on her. And he was attractive in the most dangerous sort of ways.

Maggie fed from a few blood bags on the way back to Mystic Falls. Just like the first time, Kol noticed the way it made her sick and uncomfortable. Without even asking, he launched into another story. He picked up shortly after where he left off with the last one, sharing his experience when he helped escort the Russian delegate at Vienna in 1814. While he didn't participate in the Congress, it still captivated Maggie to hear about it and how it didn't seem as grandeur as she recalled studying it in school.

It was the late afternoon by the time the landscape began to look familiar again and they pulled up to the yellow flags of the county line. Her nerves were starting to eat away at her again by that point. The time was quickly dwindling away before she knew she would have to confront Damon and explain why she disappeared for two days.

The vehicle came to a stop before the county line. Maggie looked over to Kol to see him with a slight smirk and a quirked eyebrow. She knew exactly what he was thinking this time. She gave a sigh and just nodded her head, "Yeah, go ahead…"

That was the last thing she recalled before stirring again with her head slumped to the side. She inhaled sharply and groaned loudly at the stiffness in her neck. She swore she felt a few bones shift and crack as she lifted her head again. Her hand rubbed at the sore muscles agitatedly.

"Does that ever get better?" Maggie grumbled, thinking her neck getting snapped the second time was just as bad as the first time.

"Nope, a thousand years later it still sucks," Kol answered cheerily.

Maggie looked up to notice they were pulling up to the Mikaelson mansion. Apparently she had been literally dead for the drive through Mystic Falls. She took a deep breath as the SUV came to a stop for the last time and he cut the engine. There was another SUV parked in the driveway, similar to the one she had seen before they left.

Nervously, Maggie climbed out the car and took a moment to stretch. Vampire or not, being cooped up in a car for that long left her a bit cramped. Kol was already out of the car and moving around to the trunk, popping it open and looking at the supplies to unload.

"Do you have a vehicle to carry all this in?" Kol asked her when she came around the back. He eyed up the boxes and the suitcases, which were definitely too much to just run with.

"No, I don't," Maggie scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she realized she hadn't really thought that one through yet.

"Here," Kol said, causing her to look up and just in time to catch the car keys flying at her. "Help me unload and it's yours," He reached for the first couple of canisters.

"Are you sure?" Maggie questioned in disbelief, fingering the cool metal in her hands.

Kol nodded and already started turning away for the front door. He didn't care about the SUV or particularly feel the need to mention it had previously been used by some of Niklaus' now dead hybrids.

Maggie was reaching into the car and pulling out the empty blood bag cooler when she heard the front door open. Kol was immediately greeted by the sound of Rebekah's voice as she came down the grand staircase.

"Finally! You're back. All these juvenile vampires have been completely insufferable while you were gone!" Rebekah snapped in irritation.

"Hello to you too, sister," Kol greeted calmly with a grin as he set the first couple of canisters down, completely ignoring the apparent tirade she was going on.

"Don't play coy with me, Kol. Now, tell me what this garbage they were prattling on about is? Something about you kidnapping their doppelganger?" Rebekah folded her arms over her chest, brushing off the faux innocent look from her brother.

Kol just smirked, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking towards the front door as Maggie was stepping inside with the cooler in hand.

"Hello Rebekah," Maggie greeted in a slightly sheepish tone, this time remembering to use her full name.

Rebekah's mouth gaped open in shock a moment as she stared at Maggie. It took a few seconds for her to recover from the surprise before she spun back to Kol, her eyes narrowing sharply. "Seriously, Kol? You_ really _did kidnap her?" She hissed in annoyance, not appreciating having those vampires practically banging down the door of the place.

Kol raised his hands in innocent surrender. "Actually, she volunteered," He grinned, looking over to Maggie setting the cooler down by the canisters and wiping her hands on her jeans as she stood up right.

"What?" Rebekah shook her head as if she misheard him and her eyes darted to Maggie a moment.

The doppelganger gave a slight half shrug, not bothering to disagree with Kol. It had been her idea to go in the first place.

"Where did you go?" Rebekah asked quickly. She was used to Kol taking off whenever he felt the urge, but for him to have company was another matter.

"Georgia," Maggie answered her simply, starting to feel uncomfortable when she realize she was standing in a foyer with two vampires who's combined age was over two millennium.

"What could possibly be in that filthy state?" Rebekah's lip curled up slightly in disgust. Undead or not, she had never been too impressed with Atlanta and the rest she didn't bother with.

Maggie's jaw clenched slightly at the sneer towards her home state, but Kol was the one to beat her to responding.

"Sweetheart here was kind enough to not only show me, but help burn down a White Oak tree," Kol's smirk fell away from his face as he finished his statement, looking seriously at his sister.

Rebekah's head jerked back as if she had been slapped and a hint of panic entered her eyes. "That's impossible," She immediately denied. They had worked so hard to burn every last piece of that abdominal tree.

"Oh it is, sister, I saw it myself and I would guess it was a little shy of two centuries old," Kol corrected her pointedly. The two siblings paused, staring at each other and Kol could see the gears turning in her mind. Chances were that tree must have been a sapling of the one that Salvatore milling company had cut down in 1912.

"And you burned _all _of it?" Rebekah shifted anxiously on her feet.

"Every last leaf and twig," Kol announced confidently, while his attitude seemed nonchalant, he knew they would be discussing it at length later.

Maggie glanced towards the door, wondering if she should continue unloading when Rebekah suddenly turned to face her. "And just _why _would you help my brother?" She inquired suspiciously with a hand on her hip, not understanding why she would help any member of her family after Klaus killed her.

Maggie's shoulders tensed, but she kept her chin up as she stared at the blonde Original. "I want payback for what Klaus did to Carol, but not at the cost of her life," Maggie explained, ignoring the way Rebekah's eyes narrowed on her sharply. "And my bloodline or not, I have no interest in causing mass vampire genocide." Even with her qualms with Elijah, Maggie couldn't say she disliked the other three Originals enough to want something as final as death for them.

Maggie added with a frank shrug of her shoulders, "Besides, I quite honestly don't trust anyone to not use the oak anyway."

While she might have some sway over Damon, she couldn't be sure that he wouldn't use it against Klaus anyway. She certainly wouldn't be able to stop Elena and Stefan, which based on what she's been learning about Mystic Falls she wouldn't put it past them to go behind her and Damon's backs. There was also to consider the fact of killing one Original would likely bring the wrath of the others.

Rebekah refolded her arms across her chest as her eyes bore into Maggie. Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm while she considered her words and searched for face for any sign of deceit. The brutality of her words were surprising, but refreshing at the same time. Maggie's poisonous green eyes didn't falter as she stared back at her.

The slightly sour expression on Rebekah's face shifted to ease before the corner of her mouth pulled upwards into a smirk.

Her eyes checked Maggie up and down as she finally spoke with an approving tone, "You're right, Kol. She is the fun doppelganger."

Kol gave a broad, wicked smile behind Rebekah.

It only took a few minutes to unload the rest of the car and Maggie found herself standing outside with Kol. There was nothing left for her to do, but get in the car and go back to the boardinghouse. She sighed as she leaned her hip against the driver's door. She couldn't say she was exactly looking forward to it, but it was unavoidable.

"Well, I suppose it's time I go face the firing squad," Maggie announced with a halfhearted smile. Kol stands in front of her, as always just a little too close, as she fiddles with the car keys.

"I could always go with you," Kol offered with a devious grin. He reached up towards her and his fingers pulled away some hair from her face, playing with the ends idly. The gesture was, dare she say, affectionate and she tried not to let it distract her too much.

"Right, because you would definitely diffuse the situation," She muttered sarcastically with a snort. For all the times she made Damon angry, this would reach a new level and she was admittedly nervous to see what happens this time.

Kol just smirked in response to that. His fingers let her hair go to stroke the tip of his thumb down her cheek. Maggie swallowed thickly at the attention. The mischievous look in his eyes didn't do anything to help calm her either.

Kol changed the subject, reminding her gently, "Remember, once those blackouts stop, we'll go on a proper hunt."

"Sure," Maggie nodded numbly, unsure how else to really respond to that. The way he spoke, he made it sound like it was just a casual lunch date they were discussing, not premeditated murder.

Her eyes fell from his face as she thought about what to say next. What kind of goodbye do you say after the turmoil of the last two days? Somehow thanking him for helping torch her home and the making out afterwards, which she wasn't sure what it meant now, didn't quite seem to cover it.

Before she came up with anything, Kol took control of it with the hand on her face reaching around to the back of her head and pulling her towards him. He pressed a firm kiss against her lips. Despite the way her eyes closed tightly in a mix of surprise and confusion, Maggie found herself responding to his ministrations.

When he pulled back, Maggie rolled her weight back onto the heels of her feet, only then realizing she had lean up into him. She didn't make any move to wipe the smug expression on her face, unable to tell what his motive was at this point.

"Kol, what –" Maggie began to question him, her eyes searching for something under that mask of his.

"Send Stefan my regards," Kol cut her off while the hand on her neck dropped to reach into his jacket pocket. The mention of the youngest Salvatore caused her thoughts to come to a grinding halt.

Maggie watched his actions with confusion as he pulled an object out of the pocket and held his hand out for her to take it. Hesitantly, she let him drop it into her open palm and that was when she realized it was a ring.

A large silver ornate ring with a deep blue stone set in it and an unmistakable 'D'.

Maggie's stomach dropped with a lurch and any color left in her face drained. She inhaled sharply and her fingers began to shake as the reality she was holding Damon's daylight ring stared her in the face.

"Kol… _What. _Did. You. Do?" Her voice came out low, almost a growl with each word. A sense of dread started to fill her. Two days he had Damon's ring in his pocket. Two days she traveled with him while evidence of the worst possible thing that could happen to Damon now lay in her hand.

Kol flashed a large predatory smile. "Oh, I just roughed him up a bit, darling," He answered her nonchalantly, turning away from her and beginning to walk back in the direction of the front door.

Maggie didn't make any move to stop him, unsure whether or not that was the entire truth and partly afraid to find out if it was more than just that.

Kol paused to look over his shoulder with a slightly thoughtful look that she couldn't tell if it was sincere or not, "Though, now that you mention it, he didn't look so good."

He then added on in a tone of mock remorse, "It would be a pity if he didn't wake up before the sun came up."

* * *

The cell phone slide open and closed repeatedly with a click. The screen was black and it had been useless for almost a year now. It was times like these he really wished he could just directly call everyone and find out what was going on. He didn't truly appreciate just how much time could be saved with a simple text message or snarky voicemail until they were gone.

It had been Alaric that dragged his ass indoors when he found him outside with the baseball bat hanging out of his gut. He was trapped in his apartment by the sun while the school teacher, wannabe vampire hunter, went over to the boardinghouse to check on Maggie. Needless to say, Damon knew better than to take a threat from any Original lightly.

Alaric went to the boardinghouse, the Greene house, and Carol's cottage but didn't find any sign of Maggie. He let Sheriff Forbes know to keep an eye out for her, but hesitated telling the rest of the Council about the fact they couldn't find a newborn vampire. When night fell, Damon caught up with Stefan at the boardinghouse.

Damon confronted him about where Maggie had gone. Stefan gave a bored shrug and said that she gave him the slip and she would probably show up sooner than later. The nonchalant attitude of his brother really grated Damon's nerves, especially since Stefan's demeanor made him doubt very highly he kept all that close of an eye on her. He explained what Kol had promised to do and under any other circumstance Damon would have enjoyed watching the way his brother's face fell.

For a second, he saw the look of genuine guilt pass through his features.

It only lasted a second because that was exactly the amount of restraint Damon had before punching Stefan square in the jaw.

In hindsight, that may have been a little preemptive and impulsive. But Damon felt totally justified later when they went over to the Mikaelson mansion and found out that Rebekah hadn't seen Kol since the night Maggie disappeared.

Damon dropped the cell phone on the coffee table in exchange for taking a deep gulp of the whiskey in his glass. Two days being cooped up in the house during the day was more than he had the patience for, especially with all the time he was losing when he could be looking for Maggie.

His attention drifted away from his thoughts when his ears picked up the sound of a car engine roaring up the driveway. He sat up in alarm when he heard the sound of tires screeching against the ground from the slamming of brakes.

"That's never good," Damon muttered to himself as he stood up from the couch in the living room. The front door slammed open in the next instance.

A figure appeared in the hallway, marching determinedly.

"Maggie?" Damon questioned in disbelief, taking in the frantic appearance of her. She wore jeans he hadn't seen before and a tank top. For a brief moment, he thought he saw something black tucked into the waist of her jeans before she whirled to face him. Tears clung to the corners of her eyes and she gave a relieved cry at the sight of Damon.

In a blur of movement, she rushed at him and he barely caught her. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, his wound around her frame just as eagerly. For a moment, his hand brushed against the Beretta, but he didn't give a damn enough to ask about the gun. He was just relieved to see her again. He was beginning to believe that he might have lost her. Damon closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, catching the scent of her while one hand cradled the back of her head.

"I'm so sorry, I had no idea. He showed me the ring and I just assumed the worst, I didn't even know until now," The words flowed out of her mouth rapidly next to his ear, barely pausing to breathe in between them. He could feel her shaking against him.

"Whoa, whoa, let's slow it down a bit," Damon interrupted her gently, he pulled back enough to look her in the eyes, dropping his hand so both were on her waist. "How about we rewind that and try it in English?" His smirk was only faint, as the relief and shock still dominated his expression.

Maggie gave a short laugh, only then realizing just how hysterical she probably sounded. She moved to her hands to his cheeks, framing his face and taking in his cerulean eyes, noticing how much she had missed them. She took a dramatic deep breath to show her slowing down before stating, "Okay, how about… I drove here like a complete psychopath, going out of my mind thinking you could be dead when I heard what happened."

Damon gave a slight grin. He didn't have many people that would care enough about him getting hurt like that. "And I just about went ballistic when I couldn't find you," Damon responded to her before swiftly leaning forward to kiss her. It didn't matter to him that her lips were a little saltier than before from the tears she shed on the way here. It was a short and desperate kiss, but at least he got to feel it again.

Maggie let him pull away, her hands slipping down to his shoulders during the kiss. It didn't stir her as much as the other ones she felt lately, but she chalked that up to her panicked adrenaline.

Damon opened his eyes and concern laced his voice, "Where have you been?"

Maggie stiffened at the question she knew that would be coming. Any consideration she had given to how to tell him disappeared when she thought she would only come back to find a pile of ashes. Now, she just had to treat it like a band aid and get it over it.

"You love me, right?" Maggie countered in a feeble tone, her hands running up and down his biceps anxiously, holding him while he's still calm because she knew it wouldn't last.

"Yes…" Damon drew the word out slowly at the sudden odd tone in her voice. His eyes narrowed slightly, "Usually when someone says it like that… it's followed by something that might cause them to doubt it."

Maggie swallowed thickly with a guilty look in her eyes.

"Where did you go?" Damon repeated the question, the humor and relief disappearing from his expression.

"I went to Georgia," Maggie admitted. The confusion immediately filled Damon's eyes and she continued on, "Remember the dream you showed me? The one with my mother's tree and the farmhouse?"

Damon gave a short nod, his brow furrowing at the direction this was going. "So you decided to take a trip down memory lane without bothering to tell anyone?" He asked sharply.

"No," Maggie said quickly. She paused to mentally damn herself before saying to him meaningfully, "My mother's tree… It wasn't just _any_ ordinary oak tree."

Damon's face deadpanned as he processed just exactly what she was implying. Was she really suggesting that tree was a white oak tree? Idiot, he thought to himself! He should have realized that sooner and not been so wrapped with Rose then. But if she figured it out… His thoughts turned when he noticed the hesitancy in her eyes and felt the nervous tension in the hands on his arms.

"I don't suppose you brought back a branch… or three," Damon commented, really hoping that he was reading her completely wrong right now. Maggie wasn't quite sure if that was a coincidental choice of words or confirmation of Damon's intentions.

Maggie shook her head. She looked down when she felt Damon's hands dropping from her. He stood up a little stiffer in front of her. "Kol and I burned it," She admitted in a quiet tone.

Damon stepped back from Maggie and her hands fell limply to her side. She saw a mix of emotions flicker through his eyes. Shock, frustration, and most distinctively betrayal. They came and passed quickly before he tried to bury them behind an expression of indifference.

A heavy silence fell between them as he turned away slowly back towards the coffee table.

Maggie watched him pick up the glass of whiskey he had been working on earlier. In one knock back, he emptied the glass and he barely felt the burn as his mind was spinning. "Let me rephrase this for comprehension," Damon's sarcastic edge took on a darker tone.

"You figured out the location of a White Oak tree, the only thing that can kill an Original," Damon stepped back towards Maggie with the glass in his hand. His eyes pierced into her unpleasantly. "And your first instinct was to take off with one of them and destroy it?"

Maggie's stomach turned uncomfortably. "Damon, that wasn't –" Her voice was cut short by the shattering noise of glass. She visibly jumped and closed her eyes, turning her head away from the direction of the noise. While he hadn't thrown the glass directly at her, he might as well have.

This was the reaction she had been dreading. No matter how much she tried to mentally prepare herself for it, that didn't compare to the awful feeling of now experiencing it. What made it worse was knowing that she had brought it entirely upon herself.

By the time, she opened her eyes Damon was on the other side of the room. His back was turned to her and his hands knotted harshly in his hair.

"Damon?" She tried to plea softly with her voice. Her feet were rooted to her spot and she was unsure about approaching him.

"Leave," He growled out with his eyes clenched shut. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and it was taking everything in him not to lash out directly at her right now. But it hurt so bad to know that past few days he had been going insane, thinking he had lost her, she was willingly off doing that with _Kol_ of all his enemies.

"What?" Maggie slipped out in disbelief, her eyes growing wide. While she expected a bad reaction, she hadn't really considered the possibility of him throwing her out of the boardinghouse.

Damon inhaled deeply through his nose before hissing between his teeth, "Just… _go_." The proper words failed him. It would really be best if she didn't stick around for this.

Maggie hung her head and felt the distance between them grow considerably. Instead of getting up in his face and fighting him, she just let her shoulders sag. "Okay," She resigned, "I'll just get my things first…"

Damon barely heard her and didn't respond. A part of him hated how easily she took it, but it was for the best right now. She couldn't be around until he calmed down.

Seeing him unmoving, Maggie turned away from the living room and went down the hall to the staircase.

Going into Damon's room and getting her duffle bag was an absentminded blur. Her movements felt hollow from the sickening numb feeling taking over her. The blood in her veins flowed through an empty cavity where her heart belonged. She wasted no time in gathering anything of hers from the bedroom.

She walked down the stairs and paused to look in the living room. Damon was gone. She could hear something slamming around in the basement. Maybe she was a coward or maybe it was best to leave him alone, but either way she didn't dare go after him. Instead, she paused at his liquor table and placed to objects next to where his glasses belonged.

One was his daylight ring and the other was her set of car keys for the Camaro.

Carrying the duffle bag on her shoulder, Maggie made for the front door. She halted with the door open to look back towards the direction of the basement.

"I love you too," She barely whispered, honestly not sure if it was loud enough for him to hear or not, before she shut the door behind her quietly.

She tossed the bag into the passenger seat of the SUV as she climbed back inside of it. A lump choked her throat and she tried not to let her hands shake too much as she started the engine.

With a heavy heart, she pulled away from the boardinghouse. If there was one thing she had figured out during her frantic drive over here was the idea of losing Damon forever scared the hell out of her. And after everything, in some way or another, she did love him.

* * *

The black SUV rolled up the gravel driveway towards the cottage on the edge of the woods. Its shiny black paint glistened in the sunlight and the tinted windows made it hard to distinguish the driver. It stopped in front of the house next to a pickup truck, which Maggie presumed was now Daryl's.

She stepped out of the vehicle with the duffle bag strap over her shoulder. The drive across town hadn't done much for clearing her mind. At first, she wasn't quite sure where to go before she realized this was the only place she could go to now.

Maggie stepped up the porch and to the front door. She gave a firm knock before waiting. A moment later, Carol opened the door with a mixture of surprise and relief. Apparently, she had also been informed of Maggie's disappearance.

Before she could question her about it, Maggie beat her to the punch. "Hey, do you think I could stay here a while?"

"Of course," Carol immediately said and ushered her inside. It would never be a question whether or not Maggie could stay there. They were family after all.

Most of the remaining daylight was spent explaining to Carol where she had been and what happened. She didn't bother going into the kisses with Kol, there was a time and place for that conversation, but now wasn't it. Carol held her, running a hand up and down her back soothingly as Maggie tearfully explained her worries about Damon and her reasoning for her actions. Carol was supportive and touched that Maggie would go to such lengths even after everything to protect her.

The sun was beginning to set in the sky as they sat on the living room couch. Maggie leaned her head against Carol's shoulder, for once feeling like the lost young woman she was instead of some struggling monster. Talking it out helped a little bit, but she couldn't shake the persisting awful feeling. Her emotions were so much stronger now and they were nearly making her physically ill from all of it.

"If he's as crazy about you as you say he is, he'll come around," Carol tried to reassure her, thinking back to all the stories Maggie had told her about Damon. She couldn't really say she saw what Maggie did in him, but she wasn't going to argue with it.

"You didn't see the look on his face…" Maggie mumbled doubtfully while her arms hugged her legs to her chest.

"Just give him some time," Carol remained adamant, "Lord knows we have enough of that these days."

Maggie snorted slightly, her lips tugging upwards a bit. She supposed that was another perk to being a vampire now. She sat up slowly and started wiping away some of the tears from her face. She hated feeling like her emotions were ruling her. "Thanks, Carol," She said gratefully.

Carol offered her a small smile and smoothed out some of her hair gently. "Of course, dear. How about a blood bag?" She suggested. Maybe a little blood would help take some of the edge off and make her feel better.

"No thanks," Maggie said quickly. The idea of drinking a blood bag to add to how she felt hardly seemed appealing.

Carol just nodded sympathetically and got up from her seat, heading towards the kitchen to grab one for herself.

Maggie glanced out the window towards the last golden hues in the sky of the day. Another night of darkness was coming with nothing to ease the amount of pain she felt. She believed what she did was in the best interest of her family, but she still felt guilty about hurting Damon in the process. And she definitely didn't like the feeling of not being able to go to him now. It was the first time he ever had pushed her away. Had she gone too far this time?

"I'm going to go hunting," Maggie announced, making a snap decision. She rose from her seat on the couch. She was so sick and tired of feeling constantly miserable.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Carol's voice carried from the kitchen, she could hear the surprise and hope in it. Carol didn't really think that Maggie was that interested in hunting animals, but she wasn't going to pass up any opportunity for company.

"No, I'd rather be alone for a while," Maggie turned her down politely before making for the front door. She didn't spare a look back towards Carol leaning into the hallway and watching her go. The door shut behind her loudly and Maggie took off in the direction of town.

She didn't bother telling Carol she had no intentions of hunting animals.

* * *

"_We are predatory creatures… You're depriving yourself of the very nature of what you are."_

Kol's words ran through her mind as she wandered through a residential section of Mystic Falls. She came into it from the woods she cut through from Carol's cottage. She didn't pay much attention to how long it took her to get there and she moved at an unnatural pace anyway. Her mind was moving just as fast as her feet.

There was no denying what she had become, more and more she was beginning to see that she needed to do to fulfill that need of her nature too. What had held her back before was Damon though and the fact that Council would come after her if she killed anyone. But there was a whole lot in between life and death. She could drink without having to kill.

Her control with the blood bags had gotten so much better lately. She could just compel and heal her victim. What was that method that she had heard Damon refer to before? Snatch-eat-erase. No one would have to know and she could send them on their way with a complimentary compelled smile. How hard it could it be?

At least, that had been the idea.

She made her choice when she came across a small park. There were a few basketball courts next to the plastic play set. There was only a few teenagers, packing up their things and moving on from the diminished daylight. The last one carried a basketball in his hand, which pounded and echoed through the air as he idly dribbled it.

He was young, almost as young as the girl she cornered last time. He had a dark mess of curly hair and a wiry build. He wore some loose basketball shorts and a shirt with the sleeves cut off. She didn't particularly care about his looks. He caught her attention because of the scrap on his knee. The blood had been wiped away, but the broken skin was still there and she could even smell the clear fluid of the epidermis from where she stood.

She hardly realized that she was stalking her prey until she was standing with her back against a tree trunk and her hands behind her by the exit of the park. She waited and listened to the footsteps of the boy get closer before he walked by the tree, oblivious to the silent predator. The monster within her stretched and itched with excitement in each passing second.

"Hi," Maggie's voice came out as sickly sweet.

The boy startled at the voice behind him. He dropped the basketball to the ground with a loud swear as he turned to face her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Maggie pushed away from the tree trunk with an apologetic tone that would seem sincere to anyone unaware of the monster underneath her eyes.

"Uhh... it's cool," The boy stammered out nervously. He was going to bend over to pick up the basketball, but stopped at the way Maggie approached him. Her eyes flickered up and down his frame shamelessly and a smirk lingered on her features. He didn't see the gun that was still tucked into her jeans.

"Can I help you?" He asked hesitantly at the way she blocked off his path and he forgot about the ball on the ground. He wasn't sure what to make of the sudden attention from the attractive older woman.

Maggie smiled broadly, flashing her white teeth. "I think you can," She answered him vaguely before looking him directly in the eyes.

"Is anyone waiting for you?" She questioned firmly.

The boy stilled and a vacant expression entered his eyes. "No, my parents' are visiting a friend's house tonight," He answered in an automatic tone.

"Perfect," Maggie purred out gently and tilted her head to the side as she studied him. "What's your name?"

"Andrew," He gave, but she could see that he was torn between backing away and seeing what she wanted from him.

"Hmm… I don't know any Andrew's," Maggie mused loud for a moment. That name had absolutely no meaning to her whatsoever, just like the fact he didn't particularly remind her of anyone either. "No matter," Maggie's voice took a chirper tone before dropping into a dark one, "You're going to be still and quiet."

Andrew's hands remained by his sides obediently under the compulsion. Satisfied with her ability, Maggie raised her hands to his shoulders, grasping them firmly. The air was silent and thick around them as her eyes dropped down to his neck. Those veins pumped viciously with anticipation just for her in that moment. There was no one to pull her away this time and stop her.

She felt her fangs push down from her gums. The whites of her eyes faded into black and red as the veins formed around her eyes. She barely wasted another moment before her fangs plunged into his neck.

The coppery taste was as thick as the blood itself, but soothing on her burning throat. Her hands tightened as she began gulping down the red elixir eagerly. Each mouthful tasted more wonderful than any blood bag she ever had. It eased the fiery pain in her throat and warmed her skin, particularly down her throat and on her chest.

Maggie's eyes closed and she moaned loudly as her teeth dug deeper. That feeling, it was the type of release she had never felt before. It tingled all the way down to her toes and she didn't want to lose it for a moment.

She wanted it to last so badly. It couldn't fade away. She wouldn't allow it. She would keep it.

Time slowed down. Her clock was the beat of his heart, which echoed through her mind, but only as a dull tapping. She savored each bit of the crimson liquid that entered her mouth and she clutched him tightly, just letting herself get lost in the sensation of it.

* * *

When Maggie came around, she was kneeling on the ground. At first, all she saw was red. It was red everywhere. Her hands were covered in it, her fingers and palms were covered and it dripped down her forearms to her elbows. It was smeared all over the front of her, running down from her chin and pooling on her chest.

What alarmed her more was the unmoving body lying on the ground before her. Andrew's eyes were closed and his face had gone completely pale. His head was slumped to the side on the ground, exposing red on his neck. What she had thought was a clean bite was a gaping wound, the flesh torn and raw from teeth digging further into it.

"Oh, god," She moaned in horror as her fingers grazed over the red on his shoulders. Where her hands had been was now distorted beyond recognition. Blood covered the mess of flesh that had been pierced and torn by the bones crushed underneath. When had she been holding him that tightly?

"No, no," Maggie began groaned over and over as her face twisted in anguish. She didn't need the lack of heartbeat in the air to tell her what she could see in front of her. Andrew was dead.

Dead.

She killed someone.

How had this happened? She wondered to herself. She had only wanted a taste, she just wanted to know what it was like. She thought she had better control than this. It was just supposed to be a small bite. She would've healed him and sent him home.

Now, she was kneeling on a sidewalk with a body in front of her. She wanted to run and get away from it. But she was frozen as she stared down at the lifeless boy. She didn't wonder who he was or who would miss him, but she wondered how she had lost herself that badly and so quickly.

Then she began to panic. She couldn't leave a body here. Someone would find it, sooner or later and then they would know what happened. The Council would find out about it. With shaky hands, Maggie leaned forward to pick up the boy gingerly. She wrapped one arm around his torso and the other under his legs.

His arms hung loosely, mostly mangled by her superhuman grip. Maggie gave one last look around her, thankful it was silent around them before taking off into the night.

Once she was deep in the woods, heading back towards the cottage, she moved at a human pace. She couldn't take her eyes off the dead face. It was pale and empty, in many ways, reminding her of the bodies she had seen on almost a daily basis during the past year. Except, this time it was different, she was the direct cause of it. That was a concept that she didn't really know how it settled with her. Maybe she was just too numb to fully appreciate it.

Andrew turned before she made it back. One moment, she was staring down at the dead boy and the next the creature stirred with a snarl. His eyes shot open, glazed over in a murky cloud and lunged forward aimlessly. Maggie let out a startled cry and dropped him immediately.

It gave an agitated groan, which gurgled through the mess of its throat. Quickly, Maggie pushed it back up against a tree trunk with a hand on its chest. She stopped, gritting her teeth as the walker fought uselessly against her grip. What made it worse was the fact it couldn't even raise its arms. She had destroyed its shoulders that badly. It just snapped its teeth together and blindly tried to throw off its agitator.

Maggie's face broke as she stared at the features of a boy that had only hours ago been smiling with his friends was now just another undead corpse.

Keeping the hand on its sternum, Maggie reached behind her with her right hand to pull the Beretta out from her waistband. Her fingers slipped a few times from the sticky blood on her fingers before she was able to click the safety off, trying to ignore the guttural noises coming from the undead creature.

Maggie stood completely alone in the forest as she raised the barrel of the gun and pressed against the forehead of the walker. A tearless sob ripped through her as she stared at it. Their eyes never really met because it didn't truly see her, confused from being restrained but not smelling anything living around them.

She squeezed the trigger and the shot echoed through the air. The body slumped against her hand and she pulled the gun away to see where the bullet had plunged directly into the skull. She clicked the safety back on and tucked the gun back into her pants, still hot from the round.

* * *

The lights were on and pouring out of the windows of the cottage. The front door had been propped open, airing out the warm house from the day heat. The luxury of air conditioning wasn't something to be had likely ever again. The only inhabitant that actually bothered sat in a chair on the front porch. A crossbow laid by his feet. It wasn't the same one he always had, but he was just happy to get his hands on one again.

Daryl chewed on his tongue as he held the knife in his hand and worked on whittling out some improvised bolts for the crossbow. He paused to inspect his work when he heard boots coming up the gravel driveway.

Looking up, Daryl froze at the sight of someone approaching, carrying another in their arms. He squinted until the figure came into the light of the porch. It was then he realized that was Maggie, but his eyes zeroed in on the state she was in. He didn't budge as he took in the sight of her covered in blood from her chin to her chest and smeared all over her tank top. More importantly, he narrowed on the dead body in her arms.

"What happen?" Daryl's voice came out in its usual gruff while he calmly set down the bolt and knife form his hands.

Maggie stopped a few feet short of the porch. He slowly stood up. It wasn't the first time he saw a dead body and certainly was used to seeing some more gruesome than that. He was just confused to see Maggie cradling it against her like a sleeping child and the way her lips quivered as she struggled with herself.

"I… I lost it, I didn't mean to…" Maggie stumbled over her words and she shook her head back and forth. "I don't know what to do, Daryl! If the Council finds out… they'll come after me."

Daryl took in the genuine fearful look in Maggie's eyes, understanding why she was so panicked. It also unnerved him to see her like this, looking so much different than the farmer's daughter they had first come to know her as. While he had seen her covered in blood before, it was never by her own design.

"Alright, stay here," He grunted after letting out a sigh. He didn't wait for an answer before disappearing into the house and heading for one of the storage closets.

Confused by Daryl's demeanor, Maggie stayed rooted to the spot. Even though it didn't actually strain her, the body felt like a burden of dead weight she never experienced before. Within a few moments, Daryl emerged from the house carrying a roll of rope and a blue bundle. He dropped the rope casually to the side and threw open the plastic, spreading out a tarp on the porch.

"Lay 'em down here," Daryl ordered tersely. Maggie complied immediately and placed the body on the tarp, letting it slip from her fingers. She stepped back and watched as Daryl quickly began wrapping it up, tying it off with the rope.

He looked up at one point and caught her questioning gaze. He stopped, kneeling on one knee as he thought back to the incident Carol had shortly after her transition. "Through the woods a way is a gap where they ain't finish the wall… I'll dump it past the county line," Daryl explained quickly while rubbing at the scruff on his chin.

"Are you sure?" Maggie questioned in disbelief. Daryl was always no nonsense and straight to the point, but she didn't expect this.

He just nodded and went back to work with getting the body ready for him to drag and carry through the woods. Absentmindedly, he thought, at least she picked a scrawny one. Much larger it would have been a problem for him to carry alone. It was never a question to him whether or not to help. They had always looked out for the group and each other. That didn't change just because things got sideways when they got to Mystic Falls.

Numbly, Maggie watched him and thought about offering to go with him. But it was Daryl, he always did everything on his own. Also, she knew she would be useless as soon as they got to the county line. Instead, she stopped him by touching his shoulder.

Daryl looked up to see her holding the gun out to him, the barrel pointing down for him to take. "Be careful," Maggie requested. Daryl took the gun carefully from her with a flicker of appreciation in his eyes.

Maggie stepped into the house and left him to it. Maybe she should have helped him, but she just wasn't in the state of mind for it. Mechanically, she walked down the hallway and slipped into the bathroom. She flicked on the lights and caught her reflection in the mirror.

It should have startled her more than it actually did. In fact, she barely blinked as she stared at the blood covered woman. It was too familiar to the many times she had seen it before. The only difference was the blood ran from her mouth this time. But she's been covered in blood before, walker blood, Carl's, Lori's, it all ran the same shade of red.

She turned on the water and stared down at her hands as she began to wash them. No matter if it was a walker, a wounded boy, or someone she cut into or tore open with her hands, blood stained her hands just the same and clotted underneath her fingernails in the same way.

Maggie was cleaning up her face when she realized that she was beginning to calm down considerably. Her fingers trailed down her chin when she understood that was because the body was being taken care of and she wouldn't have to worry about the Council coming after her. She should feel guiltier about making her first kill. But instead, all she felt was shame for not being able to control herself. She was supposed to drink on her terms and do it her way. Now, Daryl was disposing of a body that shouldn't even be there.

She just killed someone and she only cared about getting caught.

Had becoming a vampire made her that much of a monster?

Maggie gave a hysterical snort of a laugh when it dawned on her that this began long before she transitioned. Growing up, she had always been a little bit selfish and didn't care about others, unless they were close family and friends. That stayed true especially through the outbreak and even before she died.

She thought back to her argument with Elena about the people that Kol killed. It was so true then and she still believed it, if anything even more now. Right now, she couldn't bring herself to care about the family she had just taken their child away from. It would always come down to her and her group above everything else, especially if it means their survival.

No, when it came down to it, she started becoming a monster from the first moment she helped break the legs of the chickens to feed to the walkers in the barn. It only grew from there. Every walker she killed without a moment of hesitation, the outsiders that they condemned to death without giving them a chance. It all built up to this.

Becoming a vampire didn't turn her into a monster, it only brought out what was already there. With a frustrated snarl, Maggie punched the mirror, shattering the image of herself as the glass cut deep into her hand.

Her own blood was added to the red being washed down the sink.

* * *

Maggie raised the glass to her lips and let the whiskey burn down her throat. The burning ache of bloodlust that had always been there was much duller now. In the couple of hours it took her to get down here, she noticed that she didn't get physically ill from the feeding. If anything it was the best she felt physically in weeks. Now, she just had to make these pesky emotions go away to properly enjoy it.

But no matter how hard she tried, they were still there. She was beginning to think the vampire switch was just some made up hoax. Instead, now she stood at the bar and stared at the pictures she had lined up along the counter. Some of them were in frames, others from pages of a scrapbook, and others were wallet sized, but she propped them up along with the framed ones. A few candles were mixed in and she barely paid any attention to the flicker of the flames.

Her mind was on the faces that the photographs held.

A bitter smile lingered on her face as she thought about the one staring back at her right now. She could still remember the hours he would spend on top of the RV in that silly lawn chair with the shotgun lying across his lap. If you asked him, he was always keeping watch, but she thought it was a pretty good way to steal an afternoon nap.

Dale had always been the one to keep their morals in sight. She often wondered how different things would have been if he had survived a little longer. Would he have pulled Shane back? Would Rick have made the same decisions that he did for the group?

Maggie heard the vehicle outside the Grill come to a stop and a car door open, but she didn't bother turning around. The whiskey bottle sat on the counter and she kept her other hand buried in the black jacket pocket as the front door opened. She heard the heartbeat before she heard the footsteps enter the room. Between the alcohol and the recent feeding, it didn't tempt her nearly as much as it normally would have.

She turned her head a bit to look at the newcomer and that was enough for them to identify it was her.

"I have to admit I was expecting a different vampire here when I was driving by and saw the lights on," Sheriff Forbes acknowledged from across the room. At first, she thought a certain blue Camaro would be parked outside this late, but the SUV threw her off. It was similar to Alaric's, the one that had been wrecked, but different.

Maggie buried her reminiscing behind a faint grin as she emptied her glass. She ignored the reference to Damon, not particularly wanting to think about him right now. Setting the glass on the counter, she reached into her pocket. "I don't think it counts as breaking and entering if you have a key," Maggie replied, jingling the set of keys she had from when she was working in the air. She never had returned them since the night she died.

"Not usually, no," Sheriff Forbes conceded as she slowly approached the bar area. When she first opened the door, she wasn't quite sure who it was. She didn't recognize the black jacket Maggie wore, which sat a little too large on her frame and her short brown hair was rather nondescript in itself. It wasn't until Maggie turned towards her that Liz realized it wasn't a stranger or a hybrid breaking into the Grill. Had she not been recently informed of Maggie's return, she would have been more surprised to see the newborn vampire.

Maggie's eyes narrowed slightly as she noted Sheriff Forbes stopping a respectful distance from her and the hand that was hovering by her holster on her belt. If the uniform she wore wasn't such a dead giveaway, her demeanor screamed cautious law enforcement officer.

For a full minute they just stared at each other, sizing the other one up. It was the first time Maggie really had seen the Sheriff since her transition. While Maggie was perfectly at ease, she could see the tension in Sheriff Forbes' shoulders and hear it in her heart rate.

"Relax, Sheriff. I've had entirely too much to drink tonight to be of _any_ threat to you," Maggie announced with a smirk at her own double meaning and also doubting highly anyone had noticed the missing boy yet. After washing up she wasn't able to rest, she changed and didn't give much thought until she realized she was shrugging on Kol's jacket. Something about it just seemed right, she needed the strength to go through the boxes in the SUV and there was only one place she could think with large amounts of alcohol.

Sheriff Forbes dropped the hand from the holster with a tight grin. She could smell the alcohol. Apparently she had two alcoholic vampires to worry about now, which didn't really surprise her terribly given how much Maggie had hung around Damon. At least she had some experience in dealing with them, which was the only reason she decided to comply with Maggie's request and came to stand next to the vampire.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked gently, nodding to the pictures along the bar counter. She didn't recognize any of the faces in them.

Maggie pocketed the keys and picked up the whiskey bottle to pour a new glass. "Have you ever been to an Irish wake?" Maggie countered as he topped off the glass.

Liz shook her head and Maggie gestured with the bottle towards the impromptu memorial she setup to pay her respects, "Well, this is the next best thing."

Maggie offered the glass out to the Sheriff while keeping the bottle for herself.

Liz's face fell as she hesitantly reached out for it. "You lost all these people?" She asked in an astonished tone, looking at the photographs with a renewed appreciation.

Maggie nodded shortly. She raised the bottle towards Liz with a bitter grin, "Cheers."

Despite the concern deep set across her features, Liz returned the gesture and the glass clinked a moment. It certainly wasn't the typical wake involving a viewing and celebration, but the vampire had managed to get the booze part down. Liz took a deep gulp of the whiskey, not bothering with trying to hide behind formality. It wasn't like she had an image to uphold here with just the two of them.

Maggie looked away from her and towards the pictures, pointing with one finger while still grasping the bottle and starting at the end of the counter. "That's Jacqui. And Jim with his wife and two kids," Maggie explained, said pictures were slightly singed from having been pulled from the RV by Kol. She didn't really know much about them, but they were a part of the group at some point nonetheless.

"Andrea and her sister, Amy," Maggie moved on the next one with a slight grin at remembering how headstrong and stubborn Andrea could be at times, always refusing to women's work as she put it. Andrea stood next to her little sister at what looked like Amy's high school graduation.

Maggie let out a sigh as she continued onto the next one, which was a wallet sized picture. "That's Sophia, Carol's little girl," She would never get the image of her coming out of the barn as a walker out of her mind after how hard the group had tried to find her.

"T-Dog and his sister, Felicia, and his niece," Maggie had to take a moment to think of the names she faintly recalled T-Dog mentioning from time to time. He had been always looked out for the group without question. That sort of loyalty was hard to come by and sorely missed, especially when his tooth smile stared back at her while he half hugged his sister and the little girl.

"Dale Horvath and his wife, Irma. He was our moral compass, he always pushed us when we were losing sight of ourselves," Maggie recalled the books he carried with him and the moral code that he tried to set for them, to hold onto their humanity and not let the new world get to them.

Liz listened in stunned silence, her eyes darting from each photograph that Maggie pointed out to the vampire's controlled expression. It both amazed and alarmed her how collected Maggie appeared to be. There was only the slightest of flickers in her expression and the hint of pain behind those green eyes. Otherwise, she was just rattling names off casually as if she was discussing the weather.

"Shane Walsh, he was an officer and Rick's best friend," Maggie pointed out the next photograph, which Shane's hair was considerably longer and curlier as he remained stoic in the deputy photograph. With the way things had ended there, she didn't miss him terribly, but it still affected Rick.

The following photographs came from the scrapbook, opened to a wedding image of a brunette woman with deep waves and a sleek white gown. Maggie tried to focus on her maternal nature and that image instead of the last one she had of cutting into her abdomen to deliver Judith. "And that's Lori," Maggie faltered slightly at what to label her, there wasn't exactly divorce courts these days.

"Rick's wife," Liz cut into her thoughts quietly, quickly realizing the image of who she was staring at.

Maggie turned to her slightly with a quirked eyebrow.

"He told me a bit about her," Liz explained briefly at the questioning gaze from Maggie and she didn't look too comfortable to say much more than that.

A smirk tugged at Maggie's lips, not particularly surprised to hear that. "I had a feeling there was another reason than just doing his part around here," Maggie mimicked Rick's words from when the two came into the Grill while her and Damon were there. It also made sense why he seemed so embarrassed the morning she caught him outside the house after coming back from the boardinghouse.

Liz didn't say anything and avoided answering by busying herself with another deep gulp of the whiskey.

"Rick's a good man," Maggie stated between taking a sip from the bottle herself and looking back to the photographs. "He just needs someone to save him." She frowned a little as she stared at the picture of Lori Grimes.

"We all do," Liz answered her meaningfully while staring at Maggie, not referring to just Rick, but the young woman standing in the Grill alone. Even though the vampire heard her, she didn't react to the Sheriff's words.

Maggie just inhaled slowly before moving on down the line of pictures.

"That's Jimmy and his two brothers, Beth was dating him for a while," Maggie continued on, ignoring any sentiment that Liz was trying to stir up. The three boys were sweaty and covered in mud from a messy game of backyard football. She didn't think he was the best for Beth, but he stepped up when they needed him and his last act had certainly been brave.

"Louise Bush, she was our neighbor ever since I could remember," Maggie pointed out the fair haired woman from a photograph of a Fourth of July picnic that had been thrown at their house.

"Otis and his wife, Patricia," Maggie thought fondly of the way Otis played guitar for them and how Patricia always helped out around the house. They might as well have been direct family with how much time the couple spent at the Greene farmhouse.

The last couple of photographs were the hardest ones, but Maggie just swallowed and carried on, the mask giving away little of the pain she felt.

"Shawn, my step-brother," Maggie stated simply, she didn't need to explain further about him. She had a lifetime, although short, full of memories.

"Annette, my step-mother," Maggie tried not to wince at how long it had taken her to warm up and begin to see her as a mother. But there just hadn't been quite enough time in the end.

Maggie stopped at the last photograph, which stood up in a frame and she had forgotten it was hanging in the living room. Kol must have grabbed it while she was upstairs packing. She barely recognized the young woman with the cowboy hat sitting on Nelly. She remembered it being taken a few days after they got the horse.

"And you," Liz finished for her, studying the picture of Maggie, several years younger and carefree with a radiant smile on her face. Liz didn't know what to say, words were only shallow when looking at the loss of twenty-four faces and the people they had been.

Maggie chugged a bit more whiskey with a bitterness in her eyes as she nodded in confirmation. The last image just seemed to be a mockery of who she used to be. She knew that she was still the same person, but she couldn't pretend to say that she hadn't changed considerably.

Pulling the bottle away from her lips, she flashed a sarcastic smirk, "I hope it's not too egotistical to throw my own memorial."

"I don't think so," Liz answered her seriously, recalling the bits and pieces she had heard about the funeral Caroline had decided to have on her birthday. The only shame here was that Maggie was doing it alone.

Maggie gave her a spectacle look, which prompted the Sheriff to explain. "You lived your life," She stated in a blunt, but not harsh tone. "And then you died… But now you have to make a new existence for yourself."

Maggie's lips pressed together as she stared at Liz thoughtfully. She gave a humorless snort and glanced back to her liquor. "Careful, Sheriff. You're on the verge of sounding profound," She teased and tried to deflect from herself. Maybe the alcohol had loosened her up enough for teasing, but the fact she didn't want to talk about how she was feeling didn't help either.

Sheriff Forbes gave a short laugh and finished off her drink. "It's been known to happen from time to time," She countered and set the glass down on the counter with finality. "And please, call me Liz."

Maggie just gave her a solemn nod as Liz started to turn away from the counter. Liz could tell that her presence wasn't necessary anymore and she didn't want to linger much longer than that.

The vampire didn't look up as she began to walk away from the counter. She paused a moment, looking back at her and thinking while it didn't look like it now, there was more people that cared about Maggie than she realized. She thought about telling her that, but she knew better than to push her luck with intoxicated supernatural creatures.

"Lock up when you're done," Liz said to her instead with no expression of rushing Maggie.

Maggie didn't move an inch, not even the rise and fall of her breathing. It still unnerved Liz from time to time how unnatural vampires could be and the quiet formidable nature of Maggie tonight was one of them.

Even after the door closed behind Liz, Maggie remained staring at the faces in front of her. Despite not wanting to think about it, she found herself mulling over Liz's words. Living, dying, and existing, she found it interesting they all seemed to be very different terms when she put it like that.

She thought back to everything that happened since she transitioned and what she had to show for it. She got thrown out of her family's home and could not face them right now. She burned down her birthplace. And now, she had been thrown out of the boardinghouse as well. To top it off, Daryl was disposing of a body for her during this very moment.

She frowned thoughtfully at the idea of making a new existence for herself. "I guess I haven't been doing a very good job of that lately," She muttered aloud to herself and polished off the whiskey bottle.

Maybe it was time for her to do something about that.

* * *

_Author's Note: Phew, longest chapter yet._

_Okay my Kolie's, please don't hate me for Kol toying with Maggie's emotions at their goodbye there… it's just so Kol! And my Daggie's, I know it's looking pretty bleak right now, but there's still hope!_

_Maggie's first kill! Yikes, a bit brutal, no? Let me know what you think. We're seeing a bit of her 'Ripper' style, she tries so hard to control her emotions, it seems fitting that she almost literally squeezes the life out of her victim trying to hold onto that control._

_And I hope Maggie's company at the Grill was an unexpected, but pleasant surprise! Between dealing with Damon all the time and having Caroline as her daughter, if there's anyone that would 'get it' it would be Sheriff Forbes._

_Now we're heading into the last third of the story (I may extend it beyond 60 chapters) and it's time for Maggie to start pulling herself together! For some reason, this chapter reminds me of the concept from the Dark Knight trilogy about seeing just how far we fall before rising again. _

_So we have some tearful reunions to be had next chapter and maybe even some doppelganger confrontations!_

_Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!_

_Review responses –_

_UrieNanashi: Thank you for the review and kind words, I really appreciate it! I would totally agree, cute is probably not the right word for them. Cute makes them sound all innocent haha!_

_IrishBeauty: Haha I honestly love your enthusiasm! But yeah, she's starting to develop these scary things called feelings. :D _

_And you do bring up an excellent point with the walkers… They could go out and slaughter the several million walkers in the United States alone, but that wouldn't make for a very interesting story here. xD;_

_Thanks for the awesome words! I really appreciate it and it definitely helps motivate me to keep writing._


	40. Chapter 40

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: _

_James Carrington – Ache_

_Scene: Maggie and Damon_

_Leona Lewis – Footprints in the Sand_

_Scene: Maggie, Beth and Jeremy_

_Seether – Fake It_

_Scene: Elena and Maggie_

_Chapter Forty_

She thought back to everything that happened since she transitioned and what she had to show for it. She got thrown out of her family's home and could not face them right now. She burned down her birthplace. And now, she had been thrown out of the boardinghouse as well. To top it off, Daryl was disposing of a body for her during this very moment.

She frowned thoughtfully at the idea of making a new existence for herself. "I guess I haven't been doing a very good job of that lately," She muttered aloud to herself and polished off the whiskey bottle.

Maybe it was time for her to do something about that.

* * *

Carol came back to the cottage a few hours before the sun would rise in the sky. She didn't hear any sign of Daryl and just figured he was still out hunting. Hopefully, he wouldn't try to skin any squirrels in the kitchen this time, she mused to herself. Carol busied herself with setting a teapot up to make some tea. Faintly, she heard Maggie move and scuffling around in the room they had offered up to her.

Carol waited until the pot began to whistle and it was when she was turning down the heat and finishing her tea that she heard it. At first it was just a gargling and splashing noise that she couldn't quite place with her vampire hearing. But then she recognized the sound of dry heaving coming from the bathroom. She quickly grabbed her mug and started walking towards it while calling out, "Maggie?"

When she didn't get an answer, she opened the bathroom and gasped at the sight of the broken mirror and the fragile woman sprawled on the floor. Her back leaned against the wall next to the toilet. A splatter of dark red filled the seat. The mixed stench of old blood, bile and alcohol assaulted Carol's noise.

Maggie was dressed in some sweatpants and a t-shirt, as if she was getting ready for bed before this hit her. Carol quickly placed the mug on the counter and crouched in front of Maggie, taking in the unusual pale complexion of her face and slightly stained lips. "Oh lord, what happened?"

Maggie leaned against the back of the toilet, her cheek pressing against the cool porcelain. Her eyes were only half open as she managed a weak smirk, "Fun fact: as a vampire, I can drink twice as much… but the hangover is ten times worse and faster." Her mind was thoroughly muddled as she tried to focus on the older vampire in front of her. Praying her respects to twenty-four people took a copious amount of alcohol, even for a vampire apparently.

Carol pulled out a towel and quickly started to wipe up some of the mess. She shook her head and chanced a glance at it, "I would say a bit more than alcohol had to do with it…"

Maggie managed a half shrug, "Eh, so maybe there was a bad blood bag in there too…" It wasn't a complete lie, maybe. She had been drinking blood bags lately that made her sick, but she wasn't going to fess up to her last meal. Maybe it would take more than one feeding to keep it down. Maggie's head stirred slightly as she tried to focus more on keeping her eyes open than her befuddled thoughts.

Carol's face just scrunched in disgust before she flushed away the offending liquid. She didn't quite know what to make of the situation, but Maggie clearly wasn't in the state of mind for an interrogation. Carol used a hand towel with some cold water to help clean up Maggie's face gently. The vampire didn't bother fighting against her mothering. She was physically exhausted and emotionally completely burned out for one evening.

"So, on a scale of shitty to really shitty, how do I look?" Maggie tried to joke lightly, her voice coming out more as a hoarse whisper from the burning in her throat.

Carol sighed and stood up, pausing at the sink to ring out the towel and soak it again. Her eyes flickered over the broken pieces of glass around the counter. She looked over at Maggie with her legs out in front of her in a mess of limps and her hands loosely in her lap. "I've seen people who spent a week in Tijuana come back looking better than you do right now," She muttered dryly.

"Ouch," Maggie replied with mock hurt as Carol crouched in front of her and touched the cloth to her forehead. Maggie closed her eyes lazily as Carol cooled off her face. She knew this definitely wasn't her finest moment, but she didn't find much strength to do anything about it.

"Sorry about the mirror," Maggie apologized feebly, forcing her eyes open again to look at Carol.

"Its fine," Carol dismissed with a wave of her hand as she stood up and started cleaning up the pieces of broken glass. "It took me three days before I was able to look at it anyway."

Maggie's brows furrowed slightly, not budging an inch from her spot on the floor. "Why?"

Carol hesitated sheepishly before tossing the pieces into the trash can and moving back to Maggie. "I wasn't sure if I'd have a reflection or not," She admitted.

The two women exchanged a look before Maggie broke out into a small fit of giggles. Who knew a couple of weeks ago that she would even have to consider ridiculous vampire stereotypes.

Satisfied with her clean up, Carol then declared, "Alright, drunkie, let's get you to bed and later you can explain to me what happened."

"Yes, ma'am," Maggie slurred slightly, greatly appreciating the idea of bed and a soft pillow. Instead of standing up, she reached her arms up towards Carol and groped the air with her fingers like a needy child with a slight grin. Carol gave a snort before shaking her head and bending down to help Maggie.

* * *

Maggie didn't expect the cottage to be left alone through the next day. She recovered in the morning, sobering up and gaining her strength back. It alarmed her to lose the blood again, but she held onto it much longer than ever before, so she counted a small victory in that. She showered and tried to wash away the bitter emotions that had coursed through her at the memorial, but in the end, she recognized that it was something she needed to do.

When Daryl came back to the cottage around noon, Maggie came to clean to Carol about why he was gone. The disappointment was in her eyes, but overall she was sympathetic. It was while talking to the two of them that Maggie confirmed her suspicions that an accident had occurred shortly after Carol's transition. That explained why Daryl had seemed so equipped to deal with the body.

It was late afternoon when the knock she dreaded came at the door. She wasn't exactly sure who to expect there. Carol and Daryl were lying down for the day, still used to a mostly nighttime schedule. Maggie pulled open the door and froze at the sight of Damon standing on the porch.

Any urge to smile or wrap her arms around him died with his rigid posture and the seriousness in his piercing eyes. His hands were buried deep into his black leather jacket and she could see the Camaro parked behind him next to her SUV.

Maggie stood up straighter at the tension that radiated off of him.

"Two people are dead and one is still missing as of this morning," Damon announced sharply, skipping any basic pleasantries.

Maggie's eyes narrowed on Damon, but her face didn't give away any other thoughts or emotions. "You came here to give a police report?" She questioned dryly and folded her arms over her chest. This wasn't exactly the way she pictured seeing him again would go.

Damon's lips pressed together tightly in irritation before replying, "Not exactly… Two of those people died in what appears to be a _terrible_ car accident and the other high school student went missing without a trace." The accusation was clear in his tone, but Maggie didn't back down.

She just gave him a blank stare. "How tragic," She deadpanned. She wasn't going to give away her curiosity at the so-called car accident. Like there's even enough traffic to legitimately get into one anymore.

Damon took a step closer, going toe to toe with the invisible barrier of the household and Maggie held her ground. "You seem so moved," Damon commented sarcastically. "Sheriff Forbes doesn't seem to think you had anything to do with it, since you apparently drank half the liquor in the Grill last night, but I'm not quite convinced someone didn't get the munchies."

Maggie ignored the slant at her compassion and gritted her teeth while taking a deep breath. She couldn't help the sneer that came out next, "That sounds like an interesting theory, detective." She hadn't really expected that to work out as an alibi for her, but she would take it. She just wasn't too pleased at the idea of any details about what she was doing at the Grill being shared with others.

Damon had to keep himself from getting out a growl of frustration from Maggie's lack of direct answer. Instead, he leaned his face closer as far as he could towards Maggie. His voice came out as a low hiss, "Let's skip innocence routine. I don't like taking credit for other people's handiwork, _especially_ if I have to worry undead surprises showing up."

Maggie glared at Damon calling her bluff. At least that made it obvious what happened to the other two people, she thought. Apparently, she wasn't the only one rather upset last night and that didn't surprise her in the least. She thought about slamming the door closed in his face, but maybe she was a glutton for punishment and didn't really want to get rid of him.

"No," She growled out instead in one short syllable.

"No?" Damon quirked an eyebrow, wondering at what point his statement had been a yes or no question.

"No, you're not going to find a body," Maggie clarified in a resolute and firm tone.

Damon's irritation and anger fizzled out in an instant when he leaned back and understood her words. It was as close to admitting that she did it that he would get. His eyes darted up and down her a few moments, looking for some sort of further reaction. There was no guilt in her face and her expression remained the impassable mask that he never could seem to break through.

Silence fell between them and Damon realized he was waiting for something that wasn't coming. This wasn't Elena or some other bleeding heart that he was dealing with. There were no angry tears or remorse ridden tirades about losing compassion and humanity. He wasn't quite sure what to expect when he came over here. Maybe Maggie struggling in a mess, unsure of what to do with herself and the boy. But definitely not the unmoving woman in front of him so casually accepting her first kill. But then again, he wasn't even sure if that was her first kill since she was gone two days with Kol.

At least he didn't have to worry about burying any bodies, saving him some time. "Good," He muttered unconvincingly. He wasn't quite sure how this settled with him, but he never had been very pro-human life. At least, not before he came back to Mystic Falls. "Let's go," He stepped to the side and gave a nod towards the vehicles.

"Excuse me?" Maggie tilted her head slightly, but didn't move an inch towards him.

Damon sighed before explaining in impatiently, "Well, clearly you're feeding from humans now, but you need to learn how _not_ to kill them. I prefer not to have the Council coming after you or me with a stake."

Maggie dropped her arms and clenched her fists. If he was trying to punish her by making her feel like a burden, he was doing a good job of it. Everything in his posture and expression said he was acting like if yesterday hadn't happened, but the tension of it was still there.

"Fine, I'm driving," Maggie declared before disappearing into the house a moment without waiting for an answer. She grabbed her car keys from the dining table, as well as the Beretta left out by Daryl. She paused to check the bullets, only two were missing, before tucking it into her jeans and heading back out the door.

While she slammed the clip back into place, she clenched her jaw in annoyance towards Damon. He threw her out without giving a chance to explain herself yesterday and now he shows up like this! She knew he was being stubborn and possibly expecting an apology from her, but she wasn't going to give it. If he wanted stubborn, she would show him who's really stubborn.

She didn't bother pausing as she slammed the door behind her and started walking towards the SUV.

Damon looked after as she went, choosing to remain a few steps behind her. His eyes zeroed on the gun sticking out from her jeans. "Why are you carrying a gun?" He questioned out loud, also wondering where she had gotten it in front the first place. It wasn't the same one that she pointed in his face when they first met.

"Same reason you're always wearing that leather jacket," Maggie countered shortly as she pulled open the driver's door.

Damon shot her a sour look. He wasn't quite sure what he was more unhappy with, the jab at his fashion sense or climbing into the passenger seat of one of Klaus' vehicles.

* * *

The car ride was mostly silent and tense as Damon directed her towards downtown. They parked off a side street and he was quick to lure a young blonde girl into one of the side alleys. At first, she questioned the wisdom of something so close to other people in broad daylight. Damon just countered that people noticed less of what was right in front of them and more of the suspicious activity in the dark sometimes.

That was how Maggie found herself drinking deep gulps from the supple neck. The blood ran down her throat, easing the soothing burn and the raw emotions coursing through her. Her hands grasped onto the girl's arms tightly and she ignored the tears that streamed down her face. They would be compelled away later.

The monster reveled in the feeling, enjoying the taste and feeling the energy of the girl's life pulsing through her veins. Faintly, she heard another voice shouting at her, but she tried to ignore it. She didn't want this good feeling to go away.

Next thing she knew, she was being yanked away and pinned against the opposing brick wall. She hissed angrily, her eyes black and red with rage from being interrupted and her hands fought against her restraints.

"Maggie! Look at me, snap out of it," Damon's voice penetrated into her mind and her struggling eased up. Her head jerked from side to side until she was able to see Damon and those blue eyes instead of red.

"Damon," His name passed her bloodied lips barely. For a moment, he looked like the man that had cared and held her when she needed it. The one that began to make her appreciate what it meant to feel alive again.

"There you go," He coaxed gently as he watched the veins starting to lighten and recede from around her eyes. It threw him to see her vamp out at first. He couldn't honestly recall seeing even Rose vamp out so it was a different experience for him.

She kept her eyes focused on his face as her breathing calmly down and she eased against his hands. "Is she alive?" Maggie asked, partly afraid to try to look behind Damon and see if there was another dead body on the ground.

"Barely, but congrats, you successfully broke both of her arms," Damon muttered sarcastically when he saw Maggie calm down, ignorant of what was going through her mind.

And with just that attitude, any tender feeling was overtaken by the memories of the numerous times Damon had forcibly restrained her to keep her from attacking him.

"Now let's clean this up before someone finds it," Damon decided and let go of her wrists. Maggie leaned back against the wall and glared at him coldly. Damon started to raise his wrist to his own mouth, but was stopped by Maggie's hand.

"Let me," She stated. She wasn't particularly thrilled that he had just gone ahead and lured the girl in without letting her to do it, so she wanted to see it to the end now. Besides, the motion of him about to bite into his own wrist brought back memories of what happened last time she saw that.

Maggie stepped around Damon and approached the young girl. Tears ran down her cheeks and her shoulders shook with silent sobs. Maggie swallowed thickly at the visible breaks in her upper arms, in the shape of her hands. The compulsion was the only thing keeping the girl standing and quiet.

Without taking her eyes off of her, Maggie raised her wrist and bite down into her own flesh. The pain was sharp and it felt weird tasting her own blood for a split second before she forced it up to the girl's lips. "Drink," She ordered with some direct eye contact.

Maggie winced at the pulling feeling from her wrist. It certainly wasn't pleasant to be on the donating end in these circumstances. The air echoed as the girl's bones cracked back into place and Maggie held her breath, shifting uncomfortably from the sensation on her wrist while watching the wound closed up on girl's neck.

From behind her, Damon quickly produced a towel to help clean the girl up. Maggie took her time to wipe away the blood from the girl's neck and check there was no blood left anywhere else before wiping her own mouth. Damon remained a few feet behind Maggie, curiously watching to see how she handled herself.

Maggie tucked some of the girl's hair behind her ear as she compelled her, "You're going to go home and rest the rest of the day. Be sure to eat and take care of yourself. You're not going to remember anything that happened in this alley."

The girl nodded mechanically and Maggie gave her a slight nudge to send her on her way in a daze.

"You seem pretty confident in that compulsion," Damon commented, in the closest thing to a compliment in that moment, or so she thought until he added, "Almost like you've done it before."

Maggie stood up stiffly, thinking back to the coaching she got from Kol and the compulsion she's used since then. She knew that Damon was fishing for explanations. "I have," She answered shortly, not biting.

* * *

After that Damon explained she would need to feed roughly every twelve hours to keep the bloodlust under control. She didn't say much on the car ride back, just letting him do the talking. It was all vampire business, if that made any sense, between them during it. He didn't even broach the topic of the previous day and therefore never did she. He said he would come back to keep an eye on her through the process and coach her through it. The offer would've been flattering and appreciated, if he didn't seem so irritated the entire time.

She lost the blood again when the sun was setting. This time it wasn't nearly as bad as the previous night, which she wasn't sure if that was because of the amount of blood or amount of alcohol she had. Either way, she was able to contain it better this time. Carol heard it anyway though and fussed for a bit, offering to make her tea until Maggie pointed out it was a silly human comfort that wouldn't do her any good.

True to Damon's word, he did return during the night. Carol was out hunting. Maggie was lying down on the couch with a paperback book she picked out from an abandoned house in her hand. The knock came at the door and she glanced up from the living room and towards the hallway. The entryway to the kitchen was directly opposite the living room. Daryl was sitting at the dining table, tinkering with the crossbow when he heard the knock too.

"I got this," Daryl declared confidently in his gruff tone. It didn't take him much to figure out exactly who was at the door. Maggie frowned and closed the book as he quickly shot up from his seat and swung the crossbow to lean against his shoulder.

He strode quickly for the front door and Maggie's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what he was intending on doing. "Daryl, no!" She got up on her feet and started after him.

Damon thought he heard some voices coming from within the cottage, but didn't get a chance to ponder it before the front door was yanked roughly open. His eyes caught the sight of a crossbow leveled at him and he jerked his body to the side. But even for a vampire, there wasn't much he could do to keep the point blank shot from lodging deeply into his shoulder.

Damon let out a loud swear as he backed up a few steps. Maggie shoved Daryl to the side to get past him as she went for Damon on the porch. "That's for Merle," Daryl snarled out, letting Maggie brush past him. His brother may have been a bastard, but that didn't mean he wanted him dead and this was the first chance Daryl had to properly express how he felt to the one that did it.

Maggie had Damon backed up against the post of the porch to keep him from going after the redneck, household barrier or not. "Seriously?" Damon grumbled and she wasn't sure if it was directed more at Daryl or her.

Daryl didn't bother saying anything further and just slammed the door closed behind him before going back to the kitchen, as if nothing had happened.

Maggie didn't say anything, because she knew Damon deserved that and maybe then some. Her hands wrapped around the shaft of the bolt and she was about to pull it out when she heard Damon's response. "I could easily arrange a family reunion," He groaned, but didn't fight back against the other hand on his chest.

Maggie gave the bolt a harsh twist instead, causing a slight hollow from Damon. She glared at him in a warning tone, "Serious or not, no threatening my family members."

Damon bit his tongue and didn't throw Maggie off of him, even though he easily could have. Instead, he leaned towards her and hissed, "News flash, Maggie, your family hates me."

"Well, gee, Damon, I wonder why!" Maggie barked out sarcastically with a roll of her eyes before continuing on seriously, "You directly or indirectly had us all kidnapped. You compelled Rick! You killed Daryl's brother!"

Maggie's eyes had to drop from Damon's stubborn face to keep herself from shouting at him. Her eyes fell down to the bolt in her hand. The last point she gave out with more of a defeated sigh than anything, "I broke up with Glenn because of you."

And look where that's gotten her, she thought bitterly. Maggie didn't look up to see the way Damon's expression softened considerably before she gave a rough yank to pull the bolt out. He winced a bit from the pain, but he was more distracted by what she said. It was one thing to have Elena harping that in his ear at the Founder's celebration, but to hear confirmation of it from Maggie herself quickly subdued him.

Maggie glanced down to the crimson on the wood and a hint of metallic hit her nose. "Maggie?" Damon's voice came out as a soft whisper when her eyes were closed and she turned her head away from him. Damon tensed when he saw the veins beginning to move around her eyes while the wound in his shoulder healed up.

The beast roared within her from the small hint of blood in the air. She threw the bolt down as if it stung her and moved to step off the porch towards the vehicles. "I need to feed, let's go," She cut short Damon's concern, needing to put some distance between her and the blood before she completely lost her mind.

"Clean yourself up," She called behind her while she went for the passenger seat of the Camaro.

Damon frowned as he stared after her confusion, wondering what exactly had just happened. He took his time to go to the trunk of the Camaro, where he kept a few emergency body disposal supplies just in case feeding with Maggie ended badly. He used a towel to wipe away the remaining blood and he dabbed some bleach on his undershirt to help kill the smell.

When he climbed into the driver's seat, she wasn't looking at him.

* * *

The next week passed in a blur of highs and lows. Like clockwork, Damon came around to the cottage to pick up Maggie and go hunting. He taught her a bit more each time, helping her perfect her compulsion by teaching her about the different ways it can be used to create images in the minds of the victims or alter their emotions. With each day, she found herself getting more creative with her compulsions and her victims were no longer tear stricken and shaking with fear by the end of the week.

Like drinking with the blood bags and the coffee mugs, her control got a little better with each feeding. Her grasp was always too tight, but some control began with her starting to pull away when she felt the heart rate of the victim fluttering dangerously slow. As annoyed as she was with Damon, she had to admit he knew his stuff when it came to feeding and had plenty of tips to offer her in the process. He taught her to read the health of her victim and talked her through restraining herself when she no longer needed him to pull her off them.

While they saw each other each day and worked closely together to feed, they still remained emotionally distant. Between the snarky comments and the bitter banter, Damon never pressed for an explanation of what she did with Kol and why. She didn't offer one up to him either and refused to apologize to him. She knew it hurt, but she still believed what she did was right.

But each day that passed made it harder to stick to her stubbornness too. He still had moments that made her want to reach out to him. Particularly when she would catch him looking at her a bit softer than he intended to or the approval she would get when she picked up a skill quickly. She knew he was having a hard time with it too, because of the simple fact that he kept coming back every day. They were angry with each other, but still unable to keep away.

When Maggie wasn't with Damon, she spent a lot of time with Daryl and Carol. The older vampire showed her the stable that she began helping out at night with. Because of the time of day, Carol mostly helped with cleaning stalls and such, but Maggie greatly appreciated being around horses again. The first time she went, she asked about the fact most of the mares appeared to be pregnant. Carol just shrugged and said something along the lines of cars not being able to run forever.

During one of the nights, Maggie brought the boxes of the photographs and possessions over to the Greene house. Only a couple of the lights were on when she pulled up and the trashed Camry remained there. She thought about knocking on the door, but in the end, she just quietly left the boxes on the porch. She didn't leave a note or anything. They would figure it out themselves. Those memories belonged to her human family, not her.

It was the fourth day that Maggie began going off on hunts of her own. She didn't tell Carol or Damon about them. But she found that more frequent feedings started to make controlling her urges with Damon easier. It gave her a chance to test out some of the things he taught her on her own, like tracking and observing her prey before picking a target. Sometimes she found that more enjoyable than the actual feeding, keeping tabs on which neighborhoods she already hit and the profile. She didn't want to develop a pattern in case anyone started to notice a particular group of people feeling faint and lightheaded lately.

Another reason for the frequent feedings was the constant physical highs and lows. She started to notice she had the same reaction with the blood bags as from the vein, except it was even more magnified. The feeling of drinking form the vein and the strength she got from it afterwards was much better than any blood bag, but it still made her sick. The sickness wasn't as quick and intense as the blood bags, it usually took several hours before she retched it back up. As the days when went by, Maggie came to accept it was just a price to pay for being what she was.

The constant shift in her physical state did make her irritable and the situation with Damon didn't help either. Sometimes she went out with Kol's advice in mind. She came around one time to several abandoned storage lockers turned inside out. Another time she lost it in the woods, but came around to find a deer pinned beneath her, thrashing for its life. She mused at the fact she cleared her head before it was dead for a minute or two while she restrained the helpless animal before snapping its neck. Daryl was happy to eat well that night at least.

The isolation in Carol's cottage gave her a lot of time to think about what she wanted and formulate a plan. Sheriff Forbes' words still ran through her mind and as much as the past burned her, she needed to begin moving forward.

Which was why at the end of the week, she found herself sitting on the picnic table near the parking lot. It wasn't the picnic table in the town square by the Grill, but actually the one of the tables outside of Mystic Falls High School. The clock in the SUV told her it was the afternoon when she got out of the vehicle and she glanced towards the school doors, knowing students would be pouring out of it any minute.

Maggie rubbed the back of her neck anxiously as she sat on the table top. "I am one bottle of hair gel and a creepy obsession with the social outcast away from being the worst vampire cliché," Maggie muttered to herself as she squinted in the sunlight towards the doors. She tugged the cardigan around herself, just to make sure the gun in her waistband wasn't in complete sight. Then again, if any Council member saw her here, they would probably be more concerned with the newborn vampire near school children than the firearm.

Maggie looked up from her hands when she heard the doors open. Chatter of voices and the thumbing of heart beats carried to her ears as children of various school ages began to pour out of the building. Not too far away from where she parked, one sole school bus was waiting for the children that lived on the far side of town. It didn't stop at each house, but it helped by cutting down some of the walking distance.

Her eyes searched the crowd quickly as students began to disperse. It still felt weird for her to see children with textbooks and backpacks after everything she's been through, but at least there was some semblance of normal life carrying on.

She rose to her feet when she spotted a familiar brunet that she hadn't seen in three weeks since her transition. More importantly, she spotted the blonde he had his arm thrown over her shoulder that she hadn't seen in two weeks. It was the longest time she went without seeing her since the outbreak.

A faint grin pulled at her lips when she saw him whisper something in Beth's ear, drawing out a shy blush from the girl. Then almost as if sensing someone was watching them, Jeremy Gilbert looked up and stopped at the sight of Maggie. The humor disappeared from both of the humans' faces to be replaced by shock, but also apprehension from Jeremy.

Maggie heard him say something about telling Beth to wait there while he quickly approached Maggie. Jeremy's eyes darted around them, wondering if anyone else realized there was a vampire there, but then he remembered not many people knew Maggie at all.

"Hello Jeremy," Maggie acknowledged him calmly.

"Maggie? Should you even be here?" Jeremy questioned as he nervously clutched to the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. It looked like he was also carrying the brunt of Beth's books, too.

Maggie inclined her head slightly as if to shrug, letting her eyes flicker around them before settling back on Jeremy. "It's a risk, I know, which is why I fed before coming here," She answered him, not divulging the source of feeding. There was also a cheap bottle of Scotch she took a few gulps from in the SUV just for safe measure.

Jeremy nodded, not really able to argue with that, but still seemed on edge.

"I need to see her. She's my sister, Jer," Maggie's tone softened as she looked to Beth. The blonde was fiddling with the hem of her denim jacket she wore over her sundress as she remained where Jeremy told her to stay.

"I know," Jeremy remain conflicted, knowing how he would feel if it was Elena. But he could also think of how many people he knew that accidentally got bit by a newborn vampire. "But I know you think you're in control…"

"Which is why I need your help," Maggie cut into his words, causing the youth to stop in confusion. "Do you have one of those vervain darts on you?"

"Uh, yeah," Jeremy brought the back in front of him and quickly rummaged through it. He produced one of the familiar darts she had been knocked out with before. Between having a self-acclaimed vampire hunter for a guardian and a vampire sister, he kept them close by at all times.

Jeremy held the dart in his hand, but Maggie didn't make any move to take. "Let me talk to her. If it looks like I'm losing it, even for just a moment, I need you to put me down," Maggie said determinedly. Considering how she reacted to vervain as a human, she wasn't thrilled about potentially seeing if it'll knock her straight into next week, but she'd do it for Beth.

"Alright," Jeremy conceded, the misgivings were still on his face but he couldn't really argue against her logic. He also hoped her having a couple weeks under her belt would help her control.

"I'm serious, Jeremy. Don't hesitate, I can't hurt her," Maggie reaffirmed before the teen nodded.

Jeremy kept the dart in hand and walked back towards Beth. Maggie heard him exchange a few brief words with Beth before the pair came back over to the picnic table. Beth slowed as the distance closed between them, leaving Jeremy standing off to the side between the two. He clutched the dart tightly in his hand, ready to spring in if needed.

"Hey," Maggie's expression softened considerable as she drank in the sight of her sister. She didn't look as tired and upset as the last time she saw her. There was still the weariness and sadness in her eyes, but she held herself a little stronger.

"Hi," Beth replied and struggled a moment to form words, considering the last time she saw Maggie she was clawing and begging for an invitation in their house. "How are you doing?"

Maggie managed a forced grin, before admitting honestly, "It's hard… But I'm doing my best to cope with it." Maggie wanted to reach out to her, but she forced her hands to remain at her sides. "How is everyone?"

"We're… managing," Beth frowned, unable to describe how hard their father was taking Maggie's death. The house was much quieter, even with the amount of time Jeremy and Sheriff Forbes spend at it lately.

"Thank you for bringing the pictures," Beth changed the subject sincerely. She thought about how Carl and her found the boxes on the porch when they came home from school. When they brought them in the house and found out what they were, it brought Hershel down to the floor shakily and they spent the afternoon going through it. This also led to a long discussion between her and her father that no soulless monster would do such a thing.

Maggie tried to blink away the stinging in her eyes and nodded, "I saved what I could." She could only imagine what the pictures of Lori meant to Rick and the ones of Annette and Josephine meant to Hershel.

They fell into a short silence as Beth didn't want to consider what she really meant by saving and what could have happened to the farmhouse during their absence. Maggie pressed her lips together as they quivered between wanting to smile at the relief of seeing her sister and knowing the pain she had caused her in the process.

"Beth…" Her voice wavered as she thought back to that night. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to tell you like that, especially after everything we've been through…"

Beth picked up immediately what she was referring to. She inhaled deeply, the breath getting caught in her chest while Maggie struggled with her apology. "I know," Beth stopped her. She chanced a glance towards Jeremy before surprising Maggie even further and added, "I understand why you did it now."

Maggie's eyes widened and she let out a relieved sigh. She noticed the look that Beth sent Jeremy and could only wonder just how much he has helped her these past weeks. She would definitely have to remember to thank him later. The first tear broke from her eyes as she pleaded gently, "I never wanted to hurt you."

What Beth did next stunned her. She stepped forward suddenly and wrapped her arms around Maggie's torso. Maggie went completely stiff, still as a statue and Jeremy took a startled half step forward. The vampire squeezed her eyes shut as the first human contact that wasn't meant to be food.

Shit, Maggie thought to herself, this was a serious miscalculation. She had been so worried about her self-control, she didn't think about Beth's.

Maggie kept her eyes shut as if she was physically in pain and didn't breathe. She tried not to think about the warm body full of blood and the pounding heart so close to her own.

No, this was Beth. This was her baby sister, the one she taught to ride a horse. This was the little girl she used to braid her hair for Sunday school, right after she berated Maggie for trying to go in jeans. No one was allowed to harm a hair on her perfect little head while she had anything to say about it.

Maggie let out a shaky exhale as she slowly opened her eyes. She chanced a look to her left and saw Jeremy staring at her with a focused determination. The dart in his hand was only inches from puncturing her shoulder. He was studying her closely for any vampire features surfacing in her face.

Beth just clutched onto her older sister, not seeing Jeremy's stance or the struggle on Maggie's expression.

Maggie managed the slightest shake of her head while she looked at Jeremy before slowly raising her arms from her sides. Carefully, she wrapped her arms around her little sister, like if she was a porcelain doll, afraid to break her. She tucked her chin on top of Beth's head as she focused on breathing in and out.

Instead of listening to her heart, Maggie fixated on the sound of Beth's quiet sniffles against her shoulder. Jeremy eased off a bit, but still remained tense. Maggie looked up at the blue sky, silently saying her blessings for being outside in open air for this.

"I'm going to beat this," Maggie decided aloud as she chanced a hand to delicately touch the back of Beth's head, smoothing down her blonde locks.

"It's not going to be today or tomorrow or maybe even years from now, but I _will_ beat it," Maggie knew she had a long struggle ahead of her to get the bloodlust under control, but her family would make it worth it. "And I want you to know, no matter where I am at, I will _always_ look after you and protect you," Maggie promised fiercely, even if it meant from afar.

"I know," Beth squeezed Maggie a little tighter, not that it could hurt her and for a moment it was hard to tell which sister shook more. "And I'll keep working on Daddy," Beth promised in return, knowing it would take some more time for their father to come around.

"I love you," Maggie leaned down slightly to whisper in her ear.

"I love you too, sis," Beth answered her quietly.

Shortly after, Maggie had to pull away from Beth, reaching the limit of her shaky control. She exchanged a few more brief words with the couple before deciding she needed to get out of there. Before she went, she asked Jeremy if it was okay for her to come by the Gilbert house later to talk to him, Elena and Matt. After that, she took a long time to get acquainted with that bottle of Scotch on a quiet road away from people to calm her nerves.

* * *

Elena Gilbert laughed at the spunky attitude of her blonde friend. It had been weeks since she had been able to see her and she was glad to see her back in town. It had been the first time they could just catch up on girl talk. It wouldn't be long before she got back knee deep into the drama of Mystic Falls, so Elena was appreciative of the relief the afternoon brought.

She was following out the front door, since Caroline had agreed to meet with her mother for some overdue catching up as well.

"Oh!" Caroline whirled on the front porch, sending her curls flying, as she pointed an excited finger at Elena. "And you're helping me setup the party at the Lockwood's. It's next week."

"You just got back into town and you're already planning a party?" Elena couldn't help but teasing with a smile.

"Of course, we found this party favor warehouse, which normally I wouldn't get so excited about given how hard it is to organize anything these days it was like Christmas. I found all these paper lanterns that gave me the best arrangement idea…" Caroline's voice carried on quickly and Elena wasn't sure if she was breathing or not between words.

Elena smiled at her enthusiasm, but her worries nagged at her thoughts and brought it down while Caroline prattled on. "That's great, Care, but aren't you worried about Klaus? He could show up at any point," Elena bit her lip slightly.

"I know, Tyler and I… we just wanted to come home for a while. We missed everyone," Caroline sighed gently at Elena's concern. While it was wonderful to get away and do all the exploring they want, they still missed their friends and family in Mystic Falls.

"But you know what," Caroline breathed in, as if the air was literally picking her determined spirits back up. "If Klaus tries to crash my party, I will take my paper lanterns shove them up his Original hybrid –"

"Caroline!" Elena quickly cut her off, not just for what she about to say, but because both vampires spotted the black SUV pulling up in front of the house. There were no other vehicles in front of the house since Caroline ran and the Gilbert vehicle was at the Grill.

"Who is that?" Caroline nervously asked. They were both familiar with the style of the vehicle and the tinted windows, which made distinguishing the driver carefully as the engine was shut off.

The car door opened and pair of jean clad legs stepped out of the vehicle wearing heavy black boots. The black jacket was pulled tightly around her as Maggie closed the door behind her, giving a stern thoughtful gaze towards the Gilbert house and the two vampires on the porch.

"It's Maggie," Elena relaxed, receiving a confused look from Caroline. She recognized the woman from the town square over a month ago, but didn't get around to getting her back story. As Maggie began walking up the front walkway towards them, Elena looked to Caroline and reassured, "I'll see you later, okay?"

The blonde nodded reluctantly and chanced a quiet glance at Maggie before blurring out of sight.

Maggie didn't think much of the blonde vampire's disappearance. Her attention was more focused on Elena Gilbert, who stood with her arms folded lightly across her chest, like if she always trying to hold herself together nervously.

"Hello Elena," Maggie acknowledged her calmly with her hands in the pockets of the jacket.

"Hi, what can I do for you, Maggie?" Elena asked politely, but the anxiety was in her eyes. Needless to say, their last conversation had been less than savory.

"I would like a word with Jeremy as well as you and Matt, if that is possible," Maggie gave in more than a statement than a question.

Elena looked her over a minute, before conceding quietly. "Sure, let me get Jeremy," She said before opening the front door. While she had her apprehension, she didn't really have a good reason for denying Maggie.

Maggie saw Jeremy coming down the stairs from the open doorway. He glanced quickly at the vehicle that Maggie drove here and his gaze lingered oddly on the jacket before he invited her into the house. She hid a slight smirk at the feeling of gaining the went upstairs to speak while Elena remained downstairs. Maggie could hear her moving around in the kitchen as she closed Jeremy's bedroom door behind them.

Jeremy took a seat awkwardly on the bed as he rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't really used to hosting vampires in his room. At first, Maggie didn't say anything as she looked around the room and took in the details. The dark green walls seemed unusually somber for the boy, but she didn't see him through his worst apparently. There was some of the typical mess in the room to be expected from a teenage boy. She moved over to his desk where she noticed many sketches and drawings strewn across it.

She picked up one in particular that featured a young woman with frizzy curled hair pulled back into a ponytail. She would recognize those doe eyes anywhere. Maggie quirked an eyebrow and looked over to Jeremy, angling the paper so he could see it.

"Uhh… yeah, I hope that's not creepy or anything," Jeremy said sheepishly and Maggie could see him almost blushing from the fact she found the drawing of Beth.

Maggie mused over it for a moment. At least Jeremy was a sweeter kid than Jimmy ever was. "One picture is cute," Maggie decided as she set the drawing back down. "But start covering the walls and we'll have another issue," There was a ghost of a smirk on her face as she looked at Jeremy.

"That's not why I came here though," Maggie decided to save him from the embarrassment of having to answer her statement. With a serious expression, "I believe I owe you some explanations."

Jeremy sat up straighter and nodded eagerly. He had heard Damon's version of events lately, but he hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Maggie himself. She held a higher regard for him than most of the others since he had helped her from the beginning. "Yeah, what happened exactly?" Jeremy asked getting down to business.

Maggie paused before countering, "What do you mean?" As she spoke, she casted a meaningful look towards the bedroom door and touched a finger to her ear. If she could hear Elena opening the refrigerator door, chances were she could hear what they were saying. So much for a private chat, Maggie thought.

Jeremy picked up on it and nodded towards the conjoining bathroom. Maggie lingered by the doorway as he turned on the water facet and for good measure also turned on the shower. She could almost imagine Elena letting out an indignant huff downstairs. Turning back to Maggie, Jeremy lowered his voice a bit, "Damon told us that you went off with Kol to burn down a white oak tree?"

"That's right," Maggie nodded and folded her arms casually over her chest as she leaned against the frame. "We drove down to Georgia, burned it and came back. I stopped at my house to pick up some belongings too."

"I just don't understand why. Did he make you go with him?" Jeremy shook his head slightly, trying to figure out how Maggie was going on road trips with someone that threw an arrow through his chest.

"He didn't compel me if that's what you mean," Maggie's brows furrowed slightly at the suggestion.

"Are you sure?" Jeremy caught her slightly offended look before explaining his rational, "I mean, you disappeared for two days without a word and now you show up in one of Klaus' cars, wearing Kol's jacket and a daylight ring I'm sure you didn't get from Bonnie."

It had taken him a minute to recognize the jacket since he had mostly seen Kol wearing it in Denver. Maggie stiffened a bit and mentally swore at herself for not realizing that Jeremy would recognize her particular wardrobe selection. The oversight didn't appear on her face, she kept her face collected before deflecting by looking down the ring on her finger, "The ring isn't from Elijah if that's what you're thinking."

Jeremy gave a sigh, "No, I'm not trying to accuse you of being an Original groupie…" His face softened with concern, "I'm just worried about you, Maggie."

Some of Maggie's defensiveness died with those words, they seemed so innocent and genuine. "Don't be," Maggie replied, "I went because I wanted to. I couldn't risk any of the oak coming back to harm anyone from my bloodline or Carol's."

"But we're so close to figuring out the bloodlines… You have no idea what that family has done to us," Jeremy had trouble trying to express his frustration without getting upset with Maggie. Despite the teen's agitation, Maggie remained calm, having been half expecting such a reaction.

"And what, Jer? Let's say you kill… Rebekah," Maggie threw the name out there with a wave of her hand. "You said it yourself, they're family. You don't think Klaus, Kol, and Elijah wouldn't come after you for that? They would hunt you down and kill all of you. And if they don't succeed, think about all those vampires attached to Rebekah's bloodline. How many of them have friends and families like yours? They could show up at any point without warning wanting vengeance. Do you want to bring that kind of hell on yourselves?"

She wasn't saying to because she was scared or she wanted to scare him, but someone had to be realistic here. Jeremy's gaze dropped as he listened to her words and he took him a while to respond. His hesitation was enough for her to know that she had him seriously thinking. "I don't know, if we at least had the white oak that might get them to back off…"

"A deterrent, seriously?" Maggie's eyebrows rose incredulously. For all the supernatural problems they've been through, Maggie had to remember these were just school children at the end of the day. Between the three that lived in this house, none of them even had a legitimate high school diploma. "This isn't some Cold War era arms race. If anything, that would just give the Originals even more incentive to come after you."

Jeremy gave an aggravated shrug, running out of straws to grasp at. As much as he didn't like it, he had to admit that Maggie made a good point. "This just sucks…" He grumbled, hating how powerless he felt against the monsters that had taken so much away from him and Elena.

Maggie nodded, but she wasn't going to pretend she knew what he felt. "I will help find a way to make Klaus suffer for what he's done to my family, but I'm not partaking in killing any Originals," She declared. She didn't feel the need to voice if they went after Klaus or Kol with death in mind, they would have her to deal with.

She could see the appreciation in Jeremy's eyes, but he was still a bit conflicted, which she sensed had less to do with her. But at least, she seemed to have won him over a bit.

Maggie reached out to Jeremy and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I don't mean to dump this on you, but I wanted to talk to you myself after everything you've done for me and Beth. I can't thank you enough," Maggie said sincerely.

Jeremy seemed a bit taken back by the gesture and the words. The running water helped drowned out the noise a bit, but she could still barely make out the fluttering rate of his heart. It was a bit refreshing for him that someone was coming to him directly, instead of being treated Elena's little brother and finding things out secondarily.

"Of course," Jeremy loosened up a bit, seeing that vampire or not, she was still Maggie.

Maggie managed a reassuring smile before dropping her hand from his shoulder. Previously, she would have hugged him, but she didn't want to push her luck for hugging humans in one day.

"Well, I suppose I should go try to talk some sense into your sister now," Maggie decided, leaning off of the frame to stand more upright.

Jeremy gave a weak chuckle, "Good luck. She's been on a bit of an anti-Maggie campaign lately."

Maggie gave an amused snort before musing out loud, "Probably because she thinks I'm sleeping with Damon." She could still remember the look on Elena's face when she knocked on Damon's bedroom door that morning, so hearing that didn't really surprise her.

Jeremy's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline at her crassness. Before he could help himself, he questioned, "Are you?"

A playful smirk came across Maggie, choosing to deflect by teasing him, "Why, you envious?" Not exactly saying yes or no to his question.

Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly and this time she was sure she caught him blushing. Either he was a prude or maybe he did have a little of a crush on her. "Nah, I'm starting to think blondes are more my type," He recovered quickly, also thinking his track record with brunettes wasn't exactly the best.

Maggie smiled and retorted, "Yeah, and I prefer older men." She flashed him a wink before leaving him in the bathroom to shut off the running water while she went downstairs.

* * *

"Can I get you something to drink?" Elena asked as she busied herself with the coffee pot. She dealt with her anxiety by keeping her hands busy, like how she went through an entire sink of dishes while she fretted over not being able to hear Jeremy and Maggie's conversation. Now having the vampire in question in the same room with her didn't do anything to calm her down.

"No thank you, I fed before coming here," Maggie answered her smoothly and Elena could feel her eyes boring into the back of her head.

Elena's hand halted slightly on her coffee mug, inhaling sharply. Okay, blood wasn't exactly what she was referring to, she thought to herself. Filling her cup, she turned around to see Maggie sitting at ease at the dining table, her fingers tracing idly over the grain of the wood while she waited for Elena. Unlike Elena, who wore her emotions on her sleeve, she couldn't read much from those piercing green eyes.

Elena moved to take a seat across from Maggie, wrapping her fingers around the warm mug. "So what did you want to talk about?" She flashed a polite forced grin.

"Why I burned down the white oak tree," Maggie stated simply, skipping the fake pleasantries and getting straight to the point.

That launched a brief, but necessary discussion with Elena that was similar to the one she just had with Jeremy. The difference with Elena was that she kept her voice controlled and her expressions limited. Call it a poker face, but Maggie wasn't giving away anything to the younger doppelganger. Elena's discomfort was evident in the way she clutched to the coffee mug and the rigidness in her shoulders. Maggie left out the personal details of their conversation and stuck to the simple fact she wasn't going to sacrifice the safety of her family under any circumstance.

It left Elena shaking her head slowly. "I don't know, I think you should have come talked to us. We could have worked something out together," She voiced her concern, not having been happy to find out about all this after the fact.

Maggie inhaled slowly, having to bit back her initial snippy thoughts she would've liked to voice, but not help the situation. "Can you really trust that Stefan or Damon would have kept Carol's best interests in mind if they had that oak in their hand?" Maggie countered, knowing neither Salvatore brother would likely feel such an obligation.

Elena remained uneasy and pressed her lips together. She couldn't honestly answer for the brothers, but something about the way Maggie carried herself right now really unnerved her.

Maggie decided to drive her point even further with her next line in the faintest hint of a condescending tone, "Put yourself in my position. Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing with Elijah if it meant protecting Jenna… or Miranda."

Elena's back went ramrod straight as she sat up in her seat. Her eyes widened a moment before narrowing sharply and defensively on Maggie. The older woman didn't move an inch, contrasting Elena's posture greatly with the way she remained leaning back casually.

"_How_ do you know about them?" Elena questioned firmly with her glare.

Maggie amusedly wondered which part of her statement struck the larger nerve. She definitely noticed how them wasn't specific to Elijah, Jenna or Miranda.

"I observe and read," Maggie deadpanned. "Journals can be particularly fascinating."

Elena's fingers tightened around the coffee mug, really not liking anyone talking about her aunt or her adoptive mother like that. Maggie couldn't lie and say that she didn't enjoy riling her up.

"No need to feel threatened, Elena. I was actually hoping you and I could come to an understanding today," Maggie continued on with the corner of her lip tugging upwards just a little.

"An understanding?" Elena choked out incredulously.

Maggie tilted her head slightly. "Yes, it seems I'm going to be staying in Mystic Falls so it would be good for us to learn to tolerate each other, especially since we have something in common," Maggie paused then to amend her statement meaningfully, "Or someone I should say."

"Damon," Elena realized and remained on the edge of her seat.

"Yes," Maggie confirmed. The next part she wasn't particularly thrilled to talk about, but she didn't let the displeasure show on her face. "You love him, don't you?"

Elena stilled and Maggie could see the turmoil in her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was from how uncomfortable she was making Elena or her own indecision. A long gap of silence lingered between them before Elena managed a slow nod. It was then she realized who Maggie reminded her of in that moment. Her words and mannerisms were similar to the way Isobel spoke to her.

What Maggie said next floored her though and she couldn't look away from her unblinking green stare, "So do I."

Elena's eyes widened and Maggie swore she could almost hear her undead heart beating again. Loving Damon and being in love with him was a minor discrepancy that Maggie hadn't worked out yet, but she didn't feel the need to point that out to anyone.

Elena didn't really know what to say. She had a feeling something was going on with Damon and Maggie, but she didn't think it actually meant anything to Damon. He had distractions while he was here over time, but she thought the only one she had compete with for his genuine affections had the same face as her and that ceased a while ago.

"So I want to make one thing very clear," Maggie shifted in her seat to lean forward, coldly looking Elena directly in the eyes. "If you hurt him, _I _will be the one to pick up the pieces."

Maggie then flashed a sickly sweet smile, "And then I will come after you… and I don't give a damn about Klaus' blood bag plans."

If anything the night she died proved, it was that Damon was still in love with Elena since he went back for her. But Maggie was going to be damned if she would just sit back and watch Elena toy with his emotions while still technically being with Stefan.

Elena squirmed under the obvious threat with an obvious loss for words.

Before Elena could come up with a response, the front door opened and an unsure voice called out into the house. "Hello?"

Maggie leaned back in her seat, in an instant the coldness was gone from her eyes. Elena struggled with tearing her eyes away from Maggie and the new arrival.

"In here, Matt," Maggie called back to him lightly with a smirk, her eyes refusing to leave Elena.

* * *

Matt Donovan was nervous at first when he pulled up front of the Gilbert house and spotted the black SUV parked there. He quickly went to the front door and didn't hear any loud noises coming from inside, but he only had human ears. He opened the door, calling out and hoping he wasn't going to find any hybrids in the house.

The voice that answered him surprised him, but also came at a relief. Shortly after Matt came home, Jeremy emerged from his room again. Elena stood up from her seat the table and busied herself in the kitchen. The two boys were ignorant to the tense discussion between the two women and it didn't show in Maggie's expression.

Elena mechanically started putting away the dishes she had cleaned earlier while Maggie was upstairs with Jeremy. Her thoughts were racing while she gave an ear towards the two boys settling into the dining table, since Maggie wanted to talk to both of them. She was speaking to them in a friendlier manner that she hadn't spared for Elena.

"How've you been doing?" Matt asked her eagerly as he tore into some leftover food he had brought back from his shift at the Grill. While it was becoming a repetitive question, Maggie appreciated his sincerity all the same.

"Just taking it one day at a time," Maggie half shrugged with a slight smirk.

Matt snorted slightly, "Sounds like AA."

Jeremy grinned and added on, "Does that make Damon your sponsor?"

"Something like that," Maggie muttered vaguely still smirking. Her eyes couldn't help but dart over to Elena's back, seeing the doppelganger pause a moment before putting away a coffee mug.

The boys threw around a few more lighthearted comments, which reminded her of the times she enjoyed working with them before she died. It didn't take long before she wanted to get down to business. Elena never left the kitchen, obviously not wanting to leave Maggie alone with them, but that didn't matter for what she wanted to say to them.

"I actually wanted to talk to you guys about coming back to the Grill," Maggie declared, glancing between Jeremy and Matt. It had been up to them for her to start in the first place, so it only seemed fair to come to them to request her return.

Elena's head whipped up quickly, but Matt was the first one to beat her to saying anything. "Are you sure you're ready for that?" His tone was dubious.

Maggie gave a slight nod, "I believe so, my control is starting to get better. I'm not saying full time work, maybe just helping with stock when there isn't… much temptation." The meaning of her words was clear. On a well fed diet and with as little humans around as possible, she could slowly work her way back up to being around people again.

The boys exchanged a look as they thought over the proposition. Jeremy rubbed his chin slightly as he thought it over. "I don't know, I suppose it could work… at least if something happened to me, I have this," He lifted up his hand, pointing out the Gilbert family ring.

Elena looked like she was sucking on a lemon from across the room, not liking the way her brother always talked so casually about the ring. But she wasn't feeling too confident about butting into the conversation.

Matt shrugged his shoulders slightly, "And I practically shower in vervain…" Maggie's nose wrinkled immediately at the mention of the plant, causing Jeremy to chuckle slightly. Matt wasn't too concerned about the idea of working with a vampire, he was already living with one as it was.

Jeremy waved a casual hand, "I suppose we could give it a shot then." He looked back at Maggie to confirm, "But only if you're sure?" He had a little more respect for her self-control after seeing her with Beth today.

Maggie nodded eagerly, "I am. I need to start moving forward with my life again and the Grill was a part of that."

Maggie left shortly after they settled on some times for her to work with Jeremy or Matt during odd hours of the day, reducing chances of other people around. It wasn't the busy schedule that she kept before, but it was the start of something at least. After that, Maggie was eager to get out there so she bid Matt and Jeremy a warm goodbye and a cold glance towards Elena.

Once she was in the SUV and pulling down the street, she was able to let loose the composure she fought so hard to keep throughout the visit. She really needed a drink and it didn't matter to her what kind.

* * *

Matt came walking back into the kitchen after seeing Maggie out the door. Elena was helping herself to a blood bag from the refrigerator while Jeremy was debating whether or not to get something to eat himself.

"I don't trust her," Elena declared once she was sure the vampire was out of hearing and struggling to contain her agitation. She took a deep gulp from the cap of the blood bag.

Jeremy just rolled his eyes while seeing himself to a plate from the cabinet. "Here we go again," He muttered.

"I'm serious, Jer!" Elena huffed out in frustration. "You need to be careful around her." For a moment, she almost mentioned his judgment of female companions in the past but she kept it quiet with another mouthful.

"Why exactly don't you like her, Elena?" Matt was the one to speak up, at least trying to be diplomatic about the situation. He wasn't one to get involved in cat fights, but even he was thrown by how strongly she was reacting.

Elena sighed, knowing the boys didn't see what she saw. "You should have seen her. It felt like I was talking to Katherine or something. I don't like it," She shook her head, struggling to describe the bad gut feeling she had.

"Whoa, ease up," Jeremy spoke up defensively, his voice rising from the surprise at what Elena said, interrupting her from saying anything else.

Matt even winced a bit, "Seriously? That's a bit of a harsh comparison…" Matt wasn't going to pretend he knew everything that was going on, but from working with Maggie, he liked her and never would put her in the same category as Katherine.

Jeremy shook his head incredulously, wondering how other than looking in a mirror could someone remind Elena of Katherine that badly. He almost pointed that out, until he went with a lower blow. "Yeah, at least she's not the one still trying to keep two brothers around," He added onto Matt's words before Elena could get a word in edge wise.

Her mouth fell open as if he had just slapped her.

"Jeremy, wait!" She tried to call after him, but he already left the room with the plate of food in his hand. His other hand was clenched tightly, seriously annoyed with his sister for talking about Maggie like that.

* * *

That night Rebekah wandered into the mansion, hearing a humming coming from one of the studio rooms. She didn't bother taking her jacket off before immediately finding the source of it.

"When did you get back?" Rebekah frowned slightly, pausing at the glass French doors into the room.

Klaus sat on a stool with a paintbrush in hand, working on the setting rays of the sun for a new landscape. The brush didn't pause in its strokes against the canvas as he sensed his sister's arrival and heard her words.

"Just this afternoon," He answered her calmly, looking down to gather some more orange paint, trying to get the right shade from his memory.

"How long are you staying, Nik?" There was a slight pout in her voice. She didn't how much time he always spent away from what was left of their family, always leaving her behind for those bloody werewolves.

"Only a few days, love. I have business in New Orleans to see to," He ignored his sister's tone and smirked at the thought of the werewolf family that he found. He had to get them situated with the proper protection and arrangements to be made.

Rebekah let out a sigh, not entirely surprised by his answer. She pressed her lips together thoughtfully while folding her arms over her chest. "Well, could you do me a favor?"

"Possibly," Klaus replied casually, although he was listening and not willing to commit to anything until he heard what it was.

"Try not to give the doppelganger too much grief," Rebekah paused before continuing with her words, almost as if she was still getting used to the sound of them, "I sort of like this one."

Klaus nearly dropped his paintbrush right then and there. The painting was quickly forgotten as he spun around in his seat. It was one of the few times pure unadulterated shock occupied his expression. "What on God's earth has Elena Gilbert done to endear herself to you?"

Rebekah's face screwed up immediately in disgust and she let out a scoff, "I'm not talking about that back-daggering bitch."

Klaus' expression shifted into a perplexed one, causing Rebekah to prompt him in an obvious tone, "Maggie?"

The shock and surprise faded away from Klaus' face quickly, slipping into the quiet serenity that typically came before the rage. "She's alive?" He wanted to clarify, slowly setting the paintbrush down to the side.

"No," Rebekah said, not seeing the thoughts passing through Klaus' mind. "But she's a vampire now."

"Who turned her?" Klaus asked in a polite, but forceful tone. Hearing another doppelganger evaded permanent death from him was not something that he found pleasing.

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders, not bothered by her brother's attitude. "Probably one of the Salvatores, what does it matter?" She didn't honestly know nor particularly cared, but she didn't know just how much Maggie being alive mattered to Klaus.

* * *

_Author's Note: Uh oh, Klaus is back and he's not happy. (Then again, when is he ever?)_

_No Kol this chapter, sorry my Kolies, but he'll be back next chapter and I promise it'll be worth it. _

_And talk about stubborn pride this chapter, but what else would you really expect from Damon and Maggie? Who do you think it's going to give it up first?_

_How about the tension between Elena and Maggie? Could cut it with a knife, right? _

_We're also beginning to see the differences between Damon and Kol when it comes to reading Maggie's emotions, particularly while she's vamped out._

_I hope my TWD fans really enjoy the scenes with Carol and Daryl!_

_Anyway, there's a lot of points about this chapter I would love to hear what you guys thought about. So PLEASE REVIEW!_

_I decided to post this chapter early since everyone was so awesome about reviewing the last one! _

_Next chapter, we're going to see more of the MFG…. like perhaps some Alaric… And all of the Originals. ;D_

_Review responses –_

_Poohxnyah: I'm glad you're liking Maggie, she's definitely starting to become tougher and more assertive now! I'm actually really curious to hear why you think Maggie has more compassion than Elena? I didn't think Maggie extended much compassion towards random strangers._

_Wileby: I think it's safe to say that Damon did not hear her. ;D_

_UrieNanashi: Haha yeah it's safe to say that Maggie will not be a Mary Sue vampire, as Kol puts it, and I wouldn't expect that to be her last kill. And I wouldn't give up on that twist idea. ;) Just spoke a little too soon. _

_IrishBeauty: Yeah Kol is frustrating, but he'll make up for it next chapter. ;D And if not that one, definitely by chapter 42. Your comment about Maggie's confession literally made me laugh out loud! Thank you for that. I'm caught up on the TV show and all I'll say is that I love Jeremy, but that's karma. I don't feel bad for Elena, you kill Kol and that's what you get. But don't worry about Daryl, it would take a lot more than that to take him down. It's Daryl after all! _

_Thesummersky: Haha, well ask for another chapter and you shall receive!_

_I think this chapter we begin to see how Damon's taking Maggie being so different than Elena's transition. But I wouldn't expect a huge angsty amount of guilt from him, that's more Stefan's gig. And yeah, Kol is being equally as annoying lately, but the poor guy. He spent centuries wanting to kill the idea that Maggie represents and now he's struggling with it as he's getting to know her, so it's very confusing for him. You got it spot on with the analysis of the Maggie burning everything and throwing the wake, I'm really glad I was able to convey that!_


	41. Chapter 41

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: _

_The Gods of Macho – Reno_

_Scene: Beginning at the Grill_

_Sara Bareilles – Gravity_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie at the cottage_

_Andrew Belle – In My Veins_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie_

_Chapter Forty-one_

"No," Rebekah said, not seeing the thoughts passing through Klaus' mind. "But she's a vampire now."

"Who turned her?" Klaus asked in a polite, but forceful tone. Hearing another doppelganger evaded permanent death from him was not something that he found pleasing.

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders, not bothered by her brother's attitude. "Probably one of the Salvatores, what does it matter?" She didn't honestly know nor particularly cared, but she didn't know just how much Maggie being alive mattered to Klaus.

* * *

The truck beeped as it backed up behind the Grill. Jeremy waved it forward towards the back doors, minding the distance. Matt hung out of the driver's window and crept the white vehicle back until Jeremy's hand waved him to stop. The younger Gilbert had to stifle a yawn behind his hand in the early morning hours. They hadn't really been expecting the supply run to come in this early and he certainly wasn't a morning person, but you do what you have to do.

Matt jumped out of the vehicle and the two teens set about to unlash the ties holding the overhead door shut. With a push, they slid it open and took in the sight of the boxes they would have to unpack and put away. It was mostly canned goods that had been picked up from somewhere in North Carolina, according to the guards at the gate that Matt met with.

Matt pulled out a box cutter to get rid of the tape while Jeremy disappeared inside to come out with a dolly. They briefly checked each box before starting to stack them, Matt passing them heavily down to Jeremy. It didn't take them much to begin working up a sweat, especially for Matt standing in the truck.

When the dolly was full, Jeremy moved around to the handles and was ready to give it a push to roll it back onto the wheels. It was a bit heavier than he really expected it to be at first and he was wondering if he overloaded it. Before he gave it a firmer push, a hand clasped over his on the red metal bar. He froze and looked up to be met by green eyes.

"Allow me," Maggie smirked at Jeremy, standing just off from his shoulder. While he didn't jump out of his skin, she could hear his heart beating almost out of his chest. She thought about making her presence more known, but she couldn't resist the chance to sneak up on the boys.

"Uh, sure," He slipped his hand out from under hers. Matt snickered at the two of them, but didn't say anything as he wadded up some of the tape from the boxes.

It took little effort for her to push the dolly back onto its wheels. The seamlessness of her motions seemed almost comical since she probably only had half of the human strength as Jeremy. She took the dolly with both hands and pushed it towards the back door, letting Jeremy have his personal space again.

Jeremy's eyes followed after Maggie as she went, taking in the light tank top she wore and the tight jeans tucked into her boots. There was a little pep in her step, causing her hips to sway a bit, which the boys didn't realize stemmed from the morning drink she had.

A ball of tape hit Jeremy in the back of the head, causing his head to duck slightly. "Hey!"

"Don't be an idiot," Matt chuckled and shook his head from his spot in the truck, seeing the way Jeremy had been ogling the girl he was seeing's older sister.

"I wasn't!" Jeremy groaned defensively before going back to the boxes with Matt. The blond just grinned at him.

Matt dropped his teasing when Maggie came back outside. The three of them made quick work of unloading the truck. For every box that Matt and Jeremy carried, Maggie had two or three, tucking them under her arm or over her shoulder easily.

They started figuring out where to put the boxes and supplies, stocking the shelves. Maggie picked up one of the boxes that would stock some of the space behind the bar counter. She was carrying it out into the front of the house when she noticed there was someone else sitting at the bar. He had already helped himself to a bottle of liquor, despite the early morning hour.

"What are you doing here?" Maggie snapped as she slammed the box down a bit roughly on the counter.

Damon ignored her attitude and just flashed a cheeky grin, "Just here to make sure you don't munch on little Gilbert or the quarterback."

Maggie gritted her teeth a bit as she opened the box and started pulling out the cans. "No worries, coach, I already had a taste of the wide receiver this morning," She hissed lowly at him, knowing that Jeremy and Matt were in the back and out of earshot from them.

Damon's eyes narrowed slightly on her and watched as she bent down under the counter. "No you didn't," He called her bluff.

Maggie's head appeared from behind the counter again with a frankness in her eyes, "Scrawny little thing, black hair and a little grabby," She paused slightly with a dark smirk, "B negative if I recall correctly."

Her head ducked back down under the counter to finish what she was doing. Damon clamped his mouth shut, which hung agape. "Okay, maybe you did…" He muttered, "You're drinking on your own now?"

Maggie let a sigh out before she stood upright again, but didn't answer him. She just reached into the box for some more cans, refusing to look at Damon. She hadn't meant to let that slip, but being around Damon always ratcheted up her emotions like that and couldn't help dishing attitude right back at him.

"You take drinking from humans so calmly," Damon tried prodding her to talk. For every time he's gone out drinking with her lately, she never really seemed to show signs of remorse or guilt towards what they were doing. The frustration was evident, but that seemed to be more directed at herself.

Maggie pressed her lips together, still keeping her gaze down from him. Maybe it was immature to be giving him the cold shoulder, but she didn't care. She didn't feel like explaining her rational. It was just drinking and erasing, it wasn't like the humans she picked even remembered it so what was the harm?

Damon rolled his tongue across the back of his teeth impatiently when he got more silence. He changed up his tactic, throwing on a smirk, "I heard you went all Mean Girl on Elena yesterday. I wish I had seen _that_."

"Did you?" Maggie muttered noncommittal, not buying into his humor. Go figure, she thought, so that was how he knew that she would be here this morning.

"She wouldn't tell me what it was about though…" Damon's voice trailed as he tried to press further. Elena was pretty upset, but she wouldn't fess up to what exactly she and Maggie had been talking about. He just got the half about Maggie's reasoning for burning the tree.

Maggie got frustrated._ Now_ he was trying to talk to her. This was hardly the time and place for it. She looked up at him with her hand on her hip. "If I wanted to talk to you about it, I would have made sure you were included in the conversation, Damon."

She almost turned to walk away from him, but she stopped and added, "And what are you really doing?" She waved her hand in a slight circular motion in front of her, gesturing to the whole situation. With how closed off he had been lately, this made her immediately suspicious.

The smirk dropped from his face and Damon said in a rare moment of sincerity, "I just want to talk to you, Maggie."

"We talk every day," Maggie remained stubborn, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Snarky comments around after dinner cocktails are not what I had in mind," Damon replied with a hint of aggravation in his tone.

Maggie glared at Damon as she looked him up and down. He was Damon, sarcastic and infuriating at best. But yet, there he was anyway sitting in front of her no matter how nasty it got between them. It took him almost a week to finally want to hear what she had to say.

"Fine, we'll talk. But not while I'm working, Damon," Maggie conceded with a shrug, not wanting to feel like she was becoming the vampire version of that girl who brings their boy troubles to work. Not bothering to wait for a response, she turned her back on him and went into storage room to check on Matt and Jeremy.

By the time she came back out again, Damon was gone from his bar stool. Maggie was grateful he got the hint, but knew he wouldn't stay away for long.

The morning blood hit her while she was still at the Grill. She ducked away from the boys and went into the bathroom. Of course, even with all the supernatural challenges they faced and the zombie apocalypse, nothing scared teenage boys like the idea of going into the women's bathroom. Maggie left the water in the sink running while she emptied her stomach. She took a few moments to rinse and wipe her mouth out.

When she came out of the bathroom, Maggie looked up to see someone else in the Grill. This time wasn't Damon sitting in his bar stool, but Alaric sitting in the one next to it.

"Hey Ric," Maggie acknowledged curiously while her hands quietly tucked the bloodstained towel in the trash, out of sight from the older man. "How are you?"

Alaric's eyes passed over Maggie. He took in the pale and slightly tired expression of her, at least unusually pale for a vampire. He didn't hear what she was doing in the bathroom. "I'm doing alright… wearing my seatbelt these days," He offered a warm smile.

Maggie tried not to wince, even though Alaric meant it lightheartedly. She hadn't really seen him since the night she died. He was there at the hospital, but she had been so overwhelmed with everything else at that point. The last real image in her mind was his broken body in the wrecked upside down vehicle. She just nodded barely and dropped her gaze down from his face.

"How are _you_ doing though?" He turned the question around, clasping his hands gently in front of him on the counter. While he hadn't been around for her transition directly, he's been hearing about it through the grapevine, being mostly Damon and the Gilberts when he's at the house. Needless to say, there are many varying opinions.

"I'm fine," Maggie said shortly. Even though Alaric meant well, she was really getting tired of that question. It was like she was attending her own funeral.

"Are you really?" Alaric challenged with raised eyebrows. He didn't come across as aggressive, which was why Maggie didn't get immediately defensive by it.

Also the fact she was still feeling worn down physically from the blood reaction didn't help her instinct to be more stubborn about it. She let out a soft sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "Listen, if there was manual to how I'm supposed to handling all of this, I'm all ears… But I'm just doing the best I can."

"I know you are," Alaric's tone was not accusing and gentle. For a moment, she wondered how anyone who could be that patient and understanding could deal with Damon as a drinking buddy. "I know I haven't really been around much to help, but I wanted to give you this."

Maggie watched him curious as he reached into his jean pocket for a small object. He held it out to her and Maggie took it slowly. It was a small gold key on a ring, which likely held other keys at one point. She frowned slightly at it, trying to figure out what it was for. It didn't have the black plastic emblem of a make, so she doubted it was for a vehicle.

"It's a key to my apartment," Alaric answered the silent question in her eyes.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow and pressed her lips together at first, certainly not expecting that and she wasn't entirely sure how to take. "I'm flattered, Ric… but you're not really my type," She almost held the key back out to him. Apparently her type came with fangs and about physically fifteen less years.

Alaric chuckled and shook his head, having to avoid the urge to cover his face with his hand. "No, I didn't mean it like that…" He waved his hand in front of him a bit, as if to ward off the idea before saying seriously, "Between the Gilbert's and Meredith's, I'm never at the apartment anymore."

Maggie looked at him thoughtfully as he went on to explain, "The lease for the place expired around the outbreak, so any vampire can get into the place now… which doesn't exactly make it safe, but at least it's some place for you to go to. I haven't told anyone I was going to give you the key, not even Damon."

Maggie held the key with a renewed interest, staring down at the metal in her hand. She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought it over. "Why?" She had to ask, wondering what it was that possessed him to do this for her.

"What you're going through is a lot, it's tough and I can't pretend to know what its like," Alaric gave a bittersweet reassuring smile as he spoke, "But I can appreciate how important it is sometimes to have somewhere to go that you can be alone and get away from it for just a little while. At least this you can be alone without having to go far."

Maggie wasn't sure if it alarmed her or not that he was able to so easily pick apart the feeling she got. As much as she liked the boardinghouse, everyone that came and went there was always walking on eggshells, like if she was about to explode at any moment. Which unfortunately wasn't far from the truth, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it.

"How did you know?" She voiced her thoughts. She wasn't really that close to Alaric, aside from the occasional discussion they had while she was locked up in the basement cellar or while she was working at the Grill.

Alaric just gave a nonchalant shrug before grinning. "I'm a school teacher… spotting troubled teens kind of comes with the territory."

Maggie gave a slight snort. While she didn't exactly fit the profile of his typical students, she appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. Her fingers closed around the key tightly. "Thanks, Ric."

* * *

After the supply run was taken care, Maggie helped with some of the morning prep before she took off. She didn't want to stick around for when people started coming into the Grill. She drove the SUV back to the cottage to pack a small duffle bag and head over to where the apartment was. Alaric stuck around to give her directions and talked to Jeremy and Matt for a bit before he left.

Her curiosity wanted to check the place out. It didn't take her long to find the apartment complex. Sure enough, as he said, she didn't have any trouble getting into the place. She took a little time to scope it out. It definitely was decorated like a bachelor rarely ever home. The walls were mostly bare, showing the brickwork of the building. The studio layout left it open, but the lighting was naturally pretty dim. On the bright side, it was on a part of the working power grid so there was electricity. The kitchen was empty and Maggie was grateful he had at least at the sense to clean out the fridge before leaving.

Most of the bookshelves were empty and there was the obvious evidence of some things having been moved out. Overall though, the place was still mostly furnished. She left the duffle bag at the foot of the bed. She didn't particularly feel comfortable just moving into the place, but she didn't see anything wrong with leaving a bag of backup clothing in case she ever did want to take up his offer.

Maggie spent the rest of the day back at the cottage, only once running out for supplies, mostly gasoline for the two vehicles. She took the time to wash some of her clothing. Normally it was something that Carol did, but Maggie didn't want to add more for her to do. The process took a lot longer than it used to, considering they opted to save power and water by not running the machines in the cottage.

It was late in the day when Maggie was pulling dry clothes off the line at the side of the house. She heard a vehicle turning down onto the long gravel driveway. It was still weird to her sometimes to hear things so far away. Maggie pulled down the last couple of shirts before tucking them into the basket and walking out to the front of the house in time to see the blue Camaro coming to a stop next to her SUV.

"I didn't peg you for the domestic housewife type," Damon taunted as he climbed out of the car.

Maggie shook her head slightly as she dropped the basket by the porch steps. "Not the best way to start if you want to get me to talk," Maggie growled out in a warning. Even though she knew he was coming, she still hadn't quite figured out what she wanted to say to him. She kept her eyes on the clothing in front of her and began to fold it. She had to keep her hands busy.

"Yeah, well, neither is overhearing why you were in Georgia from little Gilbert and Barbie Ken," Damon threw back at her instantly. Something about hearing Jeremy explaining to Matt something about a discussion with Maggie in his bedroom really rubbed him in the wrong way.

The fabric of a pair of jeans smacked together louder than necessary as Maggie folded it roughly. "You should have thought about that before you threw me out of the boardinghouse," Maggie snapped at him while Damon closed the distance between them.

He came to lean against the post of the porch while Maggie still refused to look at him. "That's funny," He started in a sarcastic tone. "I've replayed that conversation in my mind over and over… and I don't recall ever telling you to pack your bags, but you took off and never once came back."

Maggie's hands stopped in midair with the shirt in her hands. There was a startled hint in her eyes as she looked up at Damon. Her jaw shook the slightest bit as she thought back to that conversation. "You wouldn't even look me in the eye and you told me to leave," Her voice came out low and forced, not willing to believe she could have possibly overreacted. It wasn't like she had two days to fret about his reaction.

"Yeah, I did, because I didn't want you to be around when I completely lost it and risk hurting you," Damon's voice started to raise a bit and his eyes burned fiercely. "I couldn't_ stand_ the thought of you being alone with that psychopath for two days and hearing you were willingly off doing that drove me insane."

The levee of Maggie's restraint broke with those words.

She slammed the article of clothing in her hand back into the basket. "You did hurt me, you idiot!" Her voice came out as a shout as she turned to face him.

"I cried over you!" Maggie raised her hands and gave him a frustrated shove in the chest. It wasn't strong enough to budge the older vampire, but the effect of it showed in the way he clenched his jaw and his nostrils flared.

"I killed someone!" Maggie gave another shove against his chest, just as aggravated as the first one.

"And that still didn't make it better," She raised her hands to shove him a third time, but Damon stopped her by grabbing onto her upper arms tightly. He didn't push her back or pull her close. Her hands knotted up tightly against his shirt. He opened his mouth to say something, but she didn't give him the chance. "Maybe I could have done things another way, but I'm not going to apologize for protecting my family."

Her eyes watered a bit, but she couldn't tell from what exactly with the mix of emotions raging through her veins. "And I get that I hurt you by doing it. I didn't want to, but I did… and maybe you can't trust me again because of it and I'm going to have to live with that. But there's one thing you are going to give me."

Maggie pulled on his shirt, drawing their faces closer together and her eyes burned as she commanded his. "Your forgiveness," She declared before he could ask what. "You're going to forgive me for hurting you and walking out. Just like I'm going to forgive you for not fighting harder, I hate that feeling of waking up and not having you there."

Damon's grip on her arms was tight, it would have bruised if she was still fragile. It was like she was water and he didn't want her to slip through his fingers. Her words cut into him, the desperate tone shook him to the bones for several reasons. He hated hearing her voice sound like that and he also hated the fact it mirrored how he felt over the last week. He closed his eyes tightly and answered her in a quiet, stubborn tone, "_Why_?"

"Because that's what people who love each other do!" Maggie said without thinking. Damon's eyes snapped open and Maggie froze for a moment as she realized the words were out. She bit her bottom lip. They were out and she didn't feel the urge to take it back, so she added in a resolute tone, "They forgive each other."

Damon's lips were mashed against hers in next moment. Maggie returned the kiss hungrily with the emotions pouring through her. Neither of them was gentle as her hand went up to his hair, tugging on it roughly and his hands slid down to her waist, his fingers digging into her skin. The longing moved their lips and the anger fueled the fight for dominance between their tongues. Damon's teeth pulled harshly on her lower lip and her nails dug into his shoulder.

Slowly, she began to simmer down. She eased up on the pressure as the tension began to leave her and her movements became slower, more tender. One hand on her back slide up to the nape her neck before disappearing into her hair.

Damon was the one to pull away, but not far. He leaned his forward against hers as he took a shaky exhale in, which had nothing to do with an actual need for air. "You love me?" He asked in an awe filled tone, needing to hear those words one more time before it could really sink in.

Maggie swallowed thickly before answering him. Her hand slid around to touch his cheek lightly. "I think so," The uncertainty rang through the air. She didn't want to lie to him about this.

He opened his eyes and there was a slightly guarded hint to them. "That doesn't sound very convincing," He pointed out and she could feel his hands begin to loosen on her as he pulled his back slightly.

She shook her head, but refused to let him go. "I know it doesn't," She took a deep breath before deciding to be honest with him, "Because I'm not sure of anything… But it's what we do. We fight, we scream and yell at each other, we hurt each other."

Her other hand on his chest, smoothed out against his chest, resting over his heart. "But yet we still end up back here," She looked down between them and the embrace he held her in. "Most of the time I don't understand it."

Maybe he was a glutton for punishment, but Damon softened up a bit. He let out some of the tension in his shoulders to shift his body to hold her reassuringly against him. He gave a nonchalant shrug with his smirk, "I've never been the poster child for healthy, normal relationships." If anything, this was probably the healthiest one he's had in a while, but he didn't want to get into that.

Maggie gave a slight snort and a small smile. For once, she was actually a little grateful for his usual attitude. She moved her arms to wrap around him, instead of being mostly between them and hugged him properly. His hand ran soothing circles along her back. Maggie tucked her chin against his shoulder and took a few minutes just to calm herself down.

In doing so, she realized that he wasn't going anywhere. Without needing to say it, she knew he had forgiven her and he was still standing by what he told her earlier. "_It's right, just not right now_." There were still other things between them, but it gave her the small hope that maybe things would work out to be okay.

Maggie gave an incredulous chuckle, causing Damon to quirk an eyebrow even though she couldn't see it. "We really should hate each other," She voiced her disbelieving thought out loud, thinking to all the things they've done to each other since they met.

Damon grinned half seriously, "The heart wants what it wants… I've learned its best not to argue with it and just go with it."

He pulled back enough to look at her. Damon leaned up a moment to press a light kiss against her forehead. The affection of the gesture reminded her of the mornings she woke up with him and she had missed that sensation.

"Will you come back to the boardinghouse now?" He teased her with a childish pout, but she could also see the genuine hopeful glint of his eyes.

"I don't think moving back in is the best thing for me right now," Maggie answered honestly. Being in the boardinghouse since her transition hadn't exactly been the most ideal situation. The smile began to fade away from Damon's expression.

Before the hope could die in his eyes, Maggie pulled out a smirk and played with some of the hair on the back of his neck, "But I wouldn't be opposed to a few sleepovers…"

* * *

Damon left shortly afterwards since Maggie still wanted to get a few chores done before she had to head back to the Grill. She had agreed to help Jeremy with some of the end of the day clean up, partly so he could go over to the Greene house afterwards. While she couldn't check on her family directly, at least she knew that Jeremy would help look out for them.

She drove the SUV into downtown as the sun was starting to settle down in the sky. What surprised her was to see more activity in front of the Grill than she was expecting. She parked a bit from the doors to get a chance to glance over the place before approaching. It was still a stark reminder of what happened the night she died to see the front of the building. A large section of the wood exterior had to be replaced and an obvious new coat of paint was layered over it. There was still some tape around the windows that had to be replaced too.

What caught her attention was the white utility truck parked in front of the Grill. She frowned slightly, trying to figure out what exactly it was for, but she was no expert. She just made out the large wheel of cables on it. Two voices also carried over to her as she walked towards the doors and she noticed two teens sitting in chairs of one of the outdoor dinette sets.

"I'm just waiting for him to finish up," The dark skinned girl with straightened black hair explained. Her back was to Maggie as she looked over at Jeremy.

"I don't think it's smart what you're doing," Jeremy pointed out in concern, but also with disapproval. He wore a white shirt and a loose dark blue zip up hoodie, leaning back in his seat and obviously taking a load off from his feet after working most of the day.

"We're_ just_ friends," Bonnie remained adamant with her forearms against the heavy metal of the black seat.

Jeremy was about to shake his head, but he stopped when he saw Maggie standing behind Bonnie.

"Hello Jeremy," Maggie acknowledged him lightly. Her voice caused Bonnie to jump a bit, but Maggie wasn't looking at her. Bonnie twisted in her seat to get a look at the vampire and panicked for a moment wondering how much she heard of their conversation. Maggie's eyes were over by the truck and she frowned slightly as she could faintly hear voices coming from within the Grill.

"What's going on?" Maggie asked aloud, referring to the Grill and not their conversation. She didn't particularly care what it was about or who she was just friends with. Maggie had her own issues to deal with than getting involved with other drama.

Jeremy shifted more upright in his seat. "Hey, yeah sorry about this… The Council decided to make an installation today. I didn't know anything about it until now…" He then cleared his throat a bit, "It's probably best if you wait outside until they're done." He casted a nervous glance towards the door, knowing there were three very human utility workers inside.

Maggie pressed her lips together as she mused over his words thoughtfully. Then she gave a shrug, "Fair enough." She stated simply, not really being able to argue with that or do anything to change it. She moved to take a seat at the table with the two teens, sitting between Bonnie and Jeremy.

Her eyes darted over the witch briefly. She wasn't really sure what to think of her at this point. Maggie wasn't happy with her meddling in the past, but she couldn't ignore the fact she had tried to help save her either. Bonnie gave her a forced polite grin and remained unusually quiet.

"So what exactly are they installing?" Maggie broke the semi-awkward silence. There was obvious past tension between the other two as they sat across from each other. She tried not to smirk too much when she remembered Damon's comment about Jeremy's past supernatural girlfriends.

"New phone lines," Jeremy was eager to change the subject. "They're just starting to put in the lines in all the town buildings." When he said town buildings, Maggie already knew that was all the Council run ones and the homes of the Founding families. Even in societies that tried to pass themselves as communal still had a pecking order. "They're just starting the process now that one of the other water turbines finished, but hopefully in a few weeks we'll have some telephones again."

"Working phones," Maggie muttered out loud with impressed raised eyebrows. The grin on Jeremy's face showed just how excited he was at the prospect too, even if it was just a handful to start with. Maggie chuckled slightly, "I never thought I live to see the day."

Maggie noticed the way that Bonnie winced a bit at her word choice. She just smirked and turned her gaze towards the witch. "Okay, so I'm using the term living loosely, but I'm trying to look on the bright side of death here," She amended her statement.

"The bright side of death?" Bonnie asked dubiously as she fidgeted with her fingernails a little under the table.

Had Maggie not smoothed things out with Damon earlier, she might not have had patience for the questioning, but instead she just shrugged her shoulders casually. "I died and I'm still here," She gave simply.

Bonnie didn't really have a remark for that, but the apprehension was still clear on her face. It caused Maggie to look at her thoughtfully now that they were on the subject. "Which reminds me," She voiced aloud, "Why did you try to save me that night?"

Bonnie held her chin up a little higher. "Lucy found your original doppelganger curse," Bonnie stated, causing Jeremy to lean forward eager in his chair. Maggie didn't react much, it wasn't news that would surprise her, but she was curious to see what she had to say. "You were intended to be a cure."

"A cure?" Jeremy exclaimed while Maggie regarded the witch calmly.

"For the werewolf gene," Maggie answered Jeremy's unspoken question while never taking her eyes off of Bonnie. Her expression remained pensive, thinking back to the story that Kol told her.

"That's right," Bonnie nodded, her brows furrowed at the fact that Maggie already knew what she was referring to. "So what's why we had to try to save it… you."

Maggie's gaze dropped down to the table, staring down at the design absentmindedly while she thought that over. It was only confirmation of what Kol had already told her and it was odd. "Well, even though we know the ritual was botched," Maggie declared, feigning innocence to how it was. "I think it's safe to say that cure wouldn't have worked anyway."

"Actually it did," Bonnie corrected her quickly, causing Maggie to look up with sharp imploring eyes.

Maggie turned her head a bit in disagreement. "No… I think that hybrid would beg to differ if he wasn't too dead to do so," She commented, remembering the way he was covering up the black liquid before seizing up and turning into the ashy grey of a dead vampire. It certainly looked like a terrible way to go as well.

"It did cure him, but it also killed him because he _forcibly_ took your blood," Bonnie insisted, knowing she wasn't wrong with the way that her and Lucy poured over translating that grimoire before going to the Grill that night.

Maggie stilled at her implication, finally understanding what exactly she meant. Her mouth parted slightly in wonder as she considered the prospect. She thought about the way her blood had been so unappealing to vampires as a human. It would make sense if it was never meant for them or it was that unattractive because they tended to take blood by force. She had never given her blood willingly to anyone, so it wasn't like she could have known what it would've done.

But what did that mean now? Kol already attested to the fact that her blood no longer held that same repulsion to it. And now that she thought about it, she had given her blood to several humans now through feeding and they didn't seem to have any adverse effects. Kol's word about vampirism negating the effects of doppelganger blood came to mind. If she really had been a cure, it likely died that night with her.

Even with that somber thought, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it wasn't that simple.

Before Maggie could comment on it further, the front door of the Grill opened a young man stepped outside, stressed in stained jeans with a slight tear on one knee and a work shirt. Her eyes zeroed in sharply on the familiar dark hair and her thoughts disappeared in an instant. A wave of emotions from the last time she had seen him ignited like an angry flame within her.

She didn't recall blurring out of her seat or closing the distance in front of him. The slam of the back of his head against the wood exterior of the Grill barely registered with her. Instead, she was focused on the hand wrapped around his throat, choking the air out of him as he gasped.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Maggie hissed angrily at his panicked black eyes. She could feel the fangs pushing at her gums already.

Glenn clawed at her hand, trying to pull away from her iron grip as he was held up against the wall, barely on his toes. He couldn't form any words. Jeremy and Bonnie shot out of their chairs in alarm, having been unable to keep up with the sudden vampire speed.

"Maggie, let him go!" She heard Jeremy yelling at her, but she didn't tear her eyes away from the way Glenn's mouth gasped open. She felt no sympathy towards him, remembering his expressive distaste for vampires.

Jeremy was three steps away with a vervain dart in his hand before Maggie suddenly yanked her hand away, as if Glenn's skin burned her. Maggie let out a shriek as her vision exploded in white and the pain erupted in her head, like massive pops that radiated and reverberated off her skull.

The two fell to the ground. Glenn was on his side, one hand clutching to his neck as he gasped desperately for air. His chest heaved with each must needed breathe and the redness of skin was the beginning of what would be dark bruising.

Maggie was on her knees, grasping her head with her eyes clenched shut. She let an animalistic snarl of pain. Each burst was quickly replaced by three others and she became completely disoriented, barely being able to feel her body as it stabbed through her mercilessly.

"Bonnie, don't!" Someone shouted, but she couldn't distinguish who. All she felt was the searing in every nerve of her head.

When it stopped, she realized her forehead was pressed against the concrete of the sidewalk. Her fingers were digging into her hair just behind her ears as she hunched over. Immediately, she snapped up and looked towards the only presumable source of whatever that was. The veins were already around her eyes and the green was gone to black and red. Her fangs showed as she growled.

The monster within her was completely furious as she started to push herself back to her feet. "You filthy witch whore, I will rip your –!"

Maggie fell back to her knees without another strained cry. Bonnie kept her fists at her sides as she glared coldly down at the vampire, tilting her chin upwards a little more.

"This is what vampirism does to people, Glenn. It changes them," Bonnie said darkly, feeling the power that stemmed from the emotion of losing Seamus because of Maggie. It also came from every other person she lost in the process because of vampires, Grams and her mother. It took away her two best friends, changing them from the people they used to be.

Glenn wasn't really listening to her. He struggled to understand what was happening in front of him. The vulgarity of Maggie's words was completely uncharacteristic of her.

Maggie's body balled again as the pain returned, this time much worse than the first. It was vicious, tearing into her and ripping her nerves to pieces. It didn't relent or show the least bit of mercy as it completely blinded her.

At first Jeremy and Glenn didn't move, stunned by the vampire reaction and the animalistic noises stated to turn into very human cries of pain. She wasn't even aware of the hot tears that began to stream down her face as her nails dug into her own scalp, unable to release any of the tension.

"Bonnie, stop! You're killing her!" Glenn was the one to speak up as he shuffled closer to the cowering form of his ex-girlfriend. While he had been so furious with her, she broke his trust and ripped his heart out, he couldn't stand to see this. He had loved her. He didn't for a moment wish for any of this to happen to her.

"That's enough, Bonnie!" Jeremy was at Bonnie's side, trying to get in her face and get her attention away from the vampire. The witch wasn't having it as she stared at the shaking woman, whose cries had become weak and pitiful sobs. She was hunched as if the weight of the pain was literally crushing her.

"Stop this now!" Jeremy shouted at Bonnie and stepped in front of the witch. This time he grabbed her by the shoulders and gave Bonnie a violent shake.

The assault stop as Bonnie's concentration was broken. She snapped out of the cold daze and blinked a few times before really seeing Jeremy in front of her.

The lingering effects still ran through Maggie as she shuddered on the ground. She gasped, saliva mixing with some of the tears on the concrete, and a sob ripped through her. She felt ill, as if the pain had turned her stomach inside out. It ached through her veins, causing her to shiver all the way down to her toes.

"This is what you call under control, Jer? She would have killed him if I wasn't here!" Bonnie snapped at Jeremy, ignoring the vampire and Glenn, who inched nervously closer to Maggie. He was starting to reach a hand out to her shoulder.

"No, he would've been fine. I would have vervained her, but you were_ torturing_ her!" Jeremy gestured down to the vervain dart he had in his hand a moment ago, which laid forgotten on the ground. He shot Bonnie a look of genuine disgust, which momentarily stunned the witch.

"Maggie?" Glenn's voice came out quiet and full of concern. He couldn't see her face, blocked by her forearms and hands, which still clutched the back of her head as she leaned against the concrete. His hand touched her shoulder lightly.

"No!" She let out a sudden screech, drawing the attention of the other two. In a movement that was just short of a blur, Maggie swatted away his hand and flipped around so she was sitting upright on the ground.

She pushed with her legs and pulled with her arms, literally crawling along the ground like a cornered animal to put distance between her and Glenn. She lifted one violently shaking hand, pointing a finger at Glenn with a tear stricken face. "You do not get to touch me."

"You will _never_ touch me again," Her voice came out as a quivering hiss.

Any words Glenn had died as he took in her shattered state and he could only wonder how much of that was truly because of him.

Maggie tore her eyes away from his crushed expression and looked around her, unable to stop the tears that continued to pour down her cheeks. Bonnie was watching in quiet shock and there may have even been a hint of remorse. Maggie could see the faces of the other utility workers from the windows of the front doors. They must have heard the screams, but didn't dare step outside and intervene.

Jeremy was the first one to stir. He stepped forward to Maggie, crouching down slowly. "Hey Maggie, it's me," He lowered his voice in a gentle tone with his hands up in the air, showing he wasn't going to harm her. One lingered close by her shoulder without actually touching her.

Some of the lost bewilderment faded from her eyes as she looked to him. "Let's go for walk, yeah?" He suggested softly while offering open hand for her to take. Maggie looked him up and down a minute before letting out a shaky deep breath. She nodded numbly and placed her hand in his. Jeremy's other hand caught her arm as he helped the vampire get to her feet slowly.

Without letting go of her, he turned and casted a dark look towards Bonnie, who was bent over by Glenn. "You two should leave," Jeremy's suggestion was more of a command.

* * *

Jeremy led Maggie away into the town square and over to her and Damon's picnic table. She sat down on the bench, straddling it to face Jeremy while her fingers faintly brushed against the wood of the seat. Jeremy sat next to her in front of her with his back to the table. The Grill was still within sight, but it was enough just for her to get away.

Her head was still spinning and trying to clear up from the attack. Headache wasn't anywhere near to the proper word to describe it.

"Hey, look at me," Jeremy's voice caused Maggie to look up from the wood. He pulled the sleeve of his hoodie over his hand and reached up slowly to her face. She held her breath and remained still while he wiped away her tears, drying her face. Maggie turned her head slightly as he moved from one cheek to the other.

She gave an appreciative small grin with a humorless snort. "I just threw Glenn against a wall, threatened Bonnie, and you're here comforting me?" Sometimes she wondered if there was something wrong with Jeremy, he would literally take an arrow to the chest and be more concerned about her.

Jeremy dropped his hand from his face and just gave a sheepish shrug. "I know that wasn't really you and you didn't mean it," He said gently.

"Really?" Maggie couldn't help but question his confidence.

"Living with my sister, I know how to spot raging vampire emotions and the real thing," Jeremy teased lightly. Maggie smirked slightly, appreciating his effort to try to cheer her up.

Some of the apprehension left her, but she was far from feeling okay. Her eyes wandered back to the Grill and she let out a sigh.

"I don't even know what happened," Maggie muttered aloud, partly thinking of how angry she got and what she said to Bonnie. She didn't particularly regret it though, some part of it was still her. Her brows furrowed as she tried to comprehend it. Maggie ran a hand through her hair, "I mean, _what_ was that?"

Jeremy leaned back against the table, resting his elbows against the top before explaining, "You just had an aneurysm over and over…" He winced slightly as he thought about it, "And considering how long you were down, I can't even venture a guess to how many. It's kind of Bonnie's signature witch move."

Maggie shook her head, as if trying to get rid of the very memory of it. "I've never felt anything like that," She commented absentmindedly and really hoped she wouldn't have to go through that again.

This caused Jeremy to look at her oddly, especially since she left Mystic Falls for two days. "Really?" He rubbed the back of his neck slightly, "How did you avoid it at the county line? It's the same type of spell."

Maggie shrugged a little, maybe she was too mentally worn out from it to deflect from the truth, but she answered him honestly. "Kol snapped my neck before we crossed it each way," Jeremy's eyes widened in alarm, but she continued, "I never felt it."

Her gaze dropped down to her hands and the corner of her lips tugged upwards while thinking about it. "It was actually kind of sweet… in a demented sort of way."

Jeremy shook his head and buried his hands into his pockets. He didn't really know what to think of what she said. Sensing his indecision and seeing the movement, Maggie looked up and then realized how insensitive what she said might have been. "I'm sorry, I know it's Kol…" Her voice trailed.

"It's just weird sometimes," Jeremy admitted. "I knew him in Denver… He was actually pretty cool to hang with." Maggie tilted her head slightly as she listened to him with interest. "But then, I found he was an Original and Klaus sent him there to use me as leverage against Bonnie."

Maggie frowned thoughtfully as she understood what he was getting at. She could appreciate knowing someone and finding out they weren't what they appeared to be. Ironically enough, it was the same person.

* * *

Jeremy waited with Maggie until they saw the utility truck leave. They talked during the time, but it was lighthearted and not about much of anything, which she appreciated. When Jeremy left, Maggie gave him an appreciate squeeze of his hand, not trusting herself to do much more than that.

She let herself into the Grill after that, grateful to find it empty and went about the work she wanted to get done. She didn't bother rushing through the clean, even though she could have used vampire speed. It was just good to be busy with her hands and moving at her own pace. The delay caused her to be later than expected. By the time she was done, the sun had long since disappeared and darkness blanketed the sky.

There was no bon fire going on in the town square on this night. The square was pretty quiet after she shut off the lights in the Grill. But she stuck around to find someone to drink from, which was how she found herself sitting on one of the park benches with a raven haired girl. To the average eye, they just looked like two friends chatting.

The girl was close to Maggie's age and sat with her hands calmly in her lap in the middle of the bench, in a thorough state of compulsion. Maggie sat to her right with a wicked smirk on her features. Draped over the armrest, Maggie had Kol's jacket, which she didn't put on yet to avoid getting any blood on it and a towel to clean up any mess. One hand idly played with the girl's wavy locks as she asked her questions. Catlin was her name and she graduated from Mystic Falls High School several years ago. She lived in a part of town she didn't drink from many people yet.

Maggie was toying between biting her neck or her wrist when the two of them were interrupted.

"Mind if I join you?" The British accented voice carried through the air.

Maggie looked up in surprise to see Kol walking towards them with his usual smug expression. His hands were tucked casually into his pockets while his eyes passed over Maggie. He took her lightly dressed appearance and with some mild interest noted the jacket on the park bench. He had been wondering when he would see that again. He didn't really care much for the compelled girl, but it was good to see Maggie may have changed her diet. He was more interested in the green-eyed vampire.

Even though Maggie didn't answer him, he smoothly took a seat on the other side of the compelled girl while looking at Maggie.

Maggie dropped her hand from the girl and stared back at Kol stiffly. Over the course of the past couple of days, her mind went back and forth on what to think of him. She couldn't shake those two days from her mind, so much had happened. The story he told about her past and what he did to Damon haunted her. But also, the memory of his lips and hands all over her along with the stories about him he told her taunted her.

"Did you miss me, darling?" Kol grinned at her, throwing one arm back on the bench, but leaning forward enough to see Maggie past the girl.

"I wasn't aware you left," Maggie said in an icy tone.

Kol wasn't affected by the attitude. He just inclined his head casually. "I went to Chicago, I just got back tonight," He stated, also thinking he was glad to skip out on the gaudy family dinner that Rebekah and Niklaus insisted on throwing.

"Chicago?" Maggie quirked an eyebrow. His tone made it sound like it was just some weekend trip and not a major city desolated by walkers.

"Yes, I caught up with Elijah there, trying to get help from some witches holed up in the subway system," Kol explained lightly while Maggie tried not to let her curiosity show too much in her eyes. "He was trying to find Katerina."

Kol paused with a smirk before adding, "Which he doesn't have a prayer of a chance of finding her without my help."

Maggie wasn't sure if that was more arrogance or truth speaking. But considering what she did know now, she could see that Kol wouldn't be too eager for Elijah to find Katerina and share what she knows.

"I had a very enlightening conversation about that White Oak tree," Kol said more seriously and Maggie noticed the slightest tensing in his jaw.

"And?" She couldn't help but asking, despite wanting to remain stoic.

"It was as I suspected, Elijah had arranged for it to be there when your family first settled on that land. He claims it was a contingency plan if things got out of control with Niklaus," Kol's humor disappeared from his face to have his voice laced with bitterness. His damn family and their contingency plans, he thought, they had a persistently troublesome knack for them.

"Do you believe him?" Maggie questioned, noticing Kol didn't seem particularly pleased with the information.

Kol hesitated before answering, he had wondered the same thing. It made sense. The tree was about two centuries old. He knew his brothers were at odds during that point and Niklaus hadn't broken his curse, so white oak could be used against him. Now that didn't matter and he would never know for sure. Kol just gave a dismissive shrug, "No use worrying over burnt twigs."

Maggie nodded vaguely, but didn't comment further. Her lips remained in the slightest of frowns like she sat there, refusing to relax. In a way, she was grateful for being a vampire right now. She was still and unmoving, but if she had been still human, he would have heard the way her heart pounded away.

Kol's voice dropped into a teasing tone as he decided to change the subject. "What's a matter, darling? You don't look happy to see me."

Maggie shot him a glare, keeping her tone controlled and slow, "I don't appreciate the way you toyed with me and what you did to Damon." Only in hindsight did she truly understand his behavior when they parted ways. She figured that was the only meaning behind that last kiss too, but she was more focused on what happened to Damon.

The teasing nature dropped from Kol's face. He stared at her with his dark eyes, as if taking the time to pick his words carefully. "You are beautiful, Maggie," He said sincerely, and she would have been flattered if it wasn't for the next part, "But I will not start having Sunday tea with the Salvatores just to please you."

For a moment, Maggie mentally swore at herself for somehow putting herself between two enemies. She let out a soft sigh, letting her expression ease enough to show the worry in her eyes.

"I don't expect you to," Maggie admitted quietly. She wasn't going to change him, any woman who tried to do that would just set themselves up for disappointment. But she also had to look out for herself. "But, I hope you realize, if you ever kill Damon… You'll lose," She paused to wave a hand between them, "whatever this is going on between us."

Killing Damon would be something she couldn't forgive him for, just like her and her family being kidnapped to this place.

Kol pressed his lips together tightly as he studied the resigned honesty in her expression and words. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled at the weight of them. He tore his gaze away from Maggie to stare out blankly to the darkness around them.

"I know," He barely whispered.

It didn't comfort Maggie because she didn't know exactly what part of her statement that he was acknowledging.

The silence was nearly suffocating between them before his lips tugged upwards into a smirk. He then looked back to Maggie, his eyes flickering with playfulness. "But don't tell him that, sweetheart, it's no fun if you can no longer instill the fear in their eyes."

Maggie's mouth parted slightly and the words didn't come out right away. At first she thought she misheard him, but she knew at this point there was always some level of seriousness to his teasing. "Sure," She said numbly when she understood him, realizing that was the best she could probably get from him and she would take that.

Kol's smirk pulled into a full smile. For once, Maggie was actually grateful to have the compelled girl between them. It gave her a little more distance between her and Kol, just enough for her not to get completely lost in that devilish smile of his.

"Why exactly do you hate him so much?" Maggie forced herself to remain focused, wanting to get to the bottom of this apparent grudge match she had walked into. She knew the neck snapping had been going back and forth a while now, but there just had to be more to it than that.

The smile faded away and Kol frowned, reflecting back to the last couple of events that transpired before the outbreak hit Mystic Falls. "Him and his little friends tried to have my family killed with a linking spell. What happens to one, happens to all," Kol showed a bit of aggravation in his tone, mostly directed at his mother for orchestrating that bit. "They nearly succeeded when they daggered me."

Maggie's head jerked back slightly in surprise as she listened. Apparently she hadn't gotten to some of the more interesting parts of Stefan's journal. She was only just getting to mentions of Klaus in it. The thought of Kol daggered, grey and unmoving alarmed her.

"Niklaus had the Bennett witch break the linking spell, which kept all of us from dying when that Donovan boy staked my brother," Kol growled out his name. "They cornered him just outside the Grill and had that commoner kill him with a white oak stake."

Maggie let out a silent gasp, feeling the air stolen from her lungs. She remembered Damon telling her that killing an Original killed their bloodline, but she had never really stopped to ask how they knew that. Trying to imagine Matt Donovan staking an Original was hard to picture. But the rivalry did make sense now and she honestly couldn't really fault him for it.

For a brief moment, she thought about how she would've reacted if it was Beth. Sure, she lost her stepmother and stepbrother in the outbreak, but those were accidents and no one knew what was going on. No one deliberately planned and executed their death. This was different.

"I'm sorry about your brother," Maggie whispered in a sincere tone.

Kol's gaze shifted as he brought himself back to the present. He was bitter about it still. His brother had his suicidal tendencies and distaste for what they were, but he was their brother to deal with, not some children and adolescent vampires. He stared at Maggie appreciatively before looking down to the lap of the compelled girl between them.

"How about a toast?" Kol suggested, reaching forward to the girl's wrist and holding it open in the air.

Maggie tilted her head slightly in curiosity and looked down to the arm closest to her. She had never thought about drinking with another vampire before. Every time she went with Damon, he didn't join in because he was making sure she didn't completely lose it.

She reached forward and picked up the girl's wrist before turning it over to expose the pale skin with the blue veins, the pulse of them calling to her. She tore her eyes away from it to look at Kol, following his lead with the uncertainty in her eyes.

He just smirked at her and gestured his wrist in the air slightly, as if it was a champagne glass. "To my dear brother Finn, who finally got what he wanted." His eyes flickered with amusement. Kol could just imagine Finn on the other side shaking his head at being toasted with the very act that he despised.

Maggie didn't know the full meaning behind his words, but didn't bother asking about it as she watched Kol. He brought the wrist to his lips and she saw the elongated fangs emerge. Watching the fangs of another vampire and feeling the bloodlust burning in her throat was enough to prompt Maggie to bite down into her wrist offering.

Both of her hands wrapped around the girl's forearm as she began to greedily drink in the crimson liquid. She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes. At first it didn't seem any different than any feeding, but once she got past the first taste that was when she noticed the pull. It wasn't that the blood was being resistant, but it was like she could sense another drinking from it. Almost like it was fighting for that dominance and who had command over the slowly failing heart rate.

Initially, Maggie tightened her grip on the girl's forearm. She felt the wince of pain through the girl, but no whimper escaped from her lips. Remembering her control, Maggie loosened up her fingers a bit, but was still fascinated by the pulling sensation until she figured out what it was from. She opened her eyes, filled with red, and looked across from her to be met by Kol's black filled ones.

He never closed his eyes, his gaze remained on her the entire time as he watched her feed. Now with their stare locking, black veins mirroring each other in movements, Maggie felt an intimacy in the moment she hadn't been expecting. She didn't dare look away from him, even as she slowly felt her interest in the blood fading and leaning more towards Kol instead.

Slowly, she pulled her lips from the girl's flesh just after Kol did the same. His mouth was mostly clean, his lips only stained the hint of red while her tongue had to dart out to lick away the blood.

Without taking her eyes off of him, she raised her own wrist and bit into it for the girl to drink, who was barely awake at that point. This compelled girl, Catlin, served her purpose and now she wanted her gone, quickly. Kol remained quiet as the features receded from his face and he watched her heal the girl. Kol's bite mark had been much cleaner than Maggie's, who also had a matching set of hand shaped bruises beginning to form on the girl's arm. Maggie reached behind her for the towel and quickly wiped away any blood left on the girl's mouth and her wrists. After that, she sent her away with a compulsion to forget everything she heard and what happened on the park bench.

The girl numbly nodded and got up from her seat, walking away towards the direction she had originally come from. Maggie watched her go for a little bit before turning her attention back to Kol. He didn't move the entire time, just watching Maggie deal with the girl in interest.

Now there was no beating heart between them. There was just the small amount of distance left on the bench. Kol's arm was still relaxed along the back of the bench with the other in his lap idly. His dark eyes watched her thoughtfully, trying to understand what it was that was going through her mind. He didn't dare speak and break whatever it was. She was looking at him differently than he had ever seen before.

"Can I see it again?" Maggie asked with hesitancy in her voice. She lifted her hand and her fingers brushed just under her eyes to gesture to what she meant.

Kol's expression hardened slightly at the odd request, realizing she wanted to see his vampire face again. He didn't say anything. The silence caused Maggie to shift uncomfortably, crossing one leg over the other on the bench and for a moment she wondered if she should apologize for asking.

Kol let out a deep exhale, parting his lips with it. Then Maggie saw the elongated fangs again before the veins started to surface once more around his eyes. He wasn't used to people wanting to see that, but he wasn't ashamed of what he was. A sense of fascination came over Maggie was she noticed the veins begin to blacken, becoming more predominant around his eyes and the white faded away from his eyes. She noticed the way he breathed deeply, from the rush that came from the transformation, but he didn't move on the bench. It was controlled while letting it go for a little while.

Maybe it was because of the blood she just drank, because Maggie felt more alert and hypersensitive every time after it, but she found herself moving. She didn't move away from him, but boldly slid forward to take the place where the compelled girl was sitting a moment ago. If there was any option she could pick out in Kol's eyes, it was apprehension as she raised a hand towards his face. She paused with a fearless imploring gaze and waited to see if he would react.

Kol didn't, giving his silent permission before he felt her fingertips brush lightly under his eyes. He remained still under her touch, unsure really how to respond. This face he used to scare and instill fear in people before killing them. It wasn't meant to be admired so openly as she did. Her fingers traced lightly over the veins, drawing up a slight shudder from him.

Kol slowly closed his eyes. Feeling how close her hand was to his face, he leaned into it before he could stop himself. Maggie cupped his cheek gently and the veins slowly started to fade away under his skin. While she felt her nerves completely on edge, it wasn't from fear, but a crackling sense of excitement. The fangs slipped back into his mouth and disappeared.

When he opened his eyes again, they were still dark, but with a lust that didn't stem from the blood. Maggie felt trapped under the gaze, but she didn't want to run away. She became acutely aware of how close they were with her hand on his cheek and the other one gripping onto his shoulder. Kol began to lean forward, her hand slid around to the back of his neck naturally. She followed where his gaze moved to and understood immediately what he wanted.

Maggie tilted her head up slightly towards him with half closed eyes, feeling the same pull. His hand in his lap moved to her crossed legs, resting on top of her knee a moment before sliding up her thigh with a firm and commanding touch. While he leaned close to her and she could feel his breath on her lips, he didn't completely close the distance. A part of him genuinely wanted to see her kiss him on her own, not coerced through teasing words or taken by surprise.

She almost did, but their conversation still lingered in the back of her mind. _Damon._ She wondered what she was doing. Only a few hours ago, she had fought hard for Damon and she was supposed to be angry at Kol for what he did to him. But here she was appeased by his words and melting into his presence with her body screaming to kiss him.

"What's holding you back?" Kol whispered tenderly as he sensed her hesitancy. There was more of it there than ever before. Briefly he wondered if something had changed. Maggie saw the way his lips moved before she really understood what he was saying. When she did, her eyes looked back up to his and she tried to think of a response.

Damon was holding her back, but she tried to properly think of why. They had only just begun to work things out, but even that held no promises. They admitted to feelings towards each other, but they never talked about what happens after that.

Kol made it impossibly harder to think with the way she felt his thumb moving along her thigh, waiting for her response and remaining in her personal space. Every inhale brought the scent of him and the hand on the back of the bench moved to run his fingers lightly along her shoulders. The action drew a shudder from Maggie and she lost her thoughts.

Just as she was about to pull his lips down to hers, Kol pulled back and turned his head. His attention was stolen by the sound of an SUV approaching on the street and his brows furrowed in irritation.

Maggie let out a soft noise of disappointment before turning to see what he was looking at. A black vehicle stopped in the road a short distance away from the bench they sat on. The engine cut and the doors opened, revealing three figures climbing out of it and walking towards them with purpose.

Kol's hands dropped away from Maggie as he started to rise from his seat. There were two men and one woman, none of which Maggie recognized, but their expressions were anything but friendly. Kol's eyes zeroed in on the one leading the trio.

"Bradley, what is this?" Kol snarled out, recognizing the hybrids as one of Klaus' that he had seen around from time to time.

Maggie rose to her feet behind Kol, remaining one step behind him. Her eyes darted over the hybrids, one of which looked as if he could've passed for a biker and his girlfriend. The one Kol addressed as Bradley had more of a sport jock look to him.

"Boss' orders to tie up some loose ends," Bradley answered Kol calmly and shrugged his shoulders, "It's nothing personal, bud." There was a flicker of regret across the hybrid's features before the three looked at Maggie.

Maggie's eyes widened as Bradley then launched himself in her direction.

He was stopped by Kol, catching the hybrid roughly around the shoulders. She didn't get a chance to see what happened to them because the other two hybrids sprang into action. The girl blurred towards her in a mess of strawberry blonde locks. Maggie's instinct kicked enough to keep her from wrapping her hands around her throat as the two were knocked to the ground.

In a scuffle of grabbing and pulling on the ground, Maggie managed to get the hybrid on her stomach with her knee digging into her back. All the rough housing on the farm growing up was beginning to pay off as she wrapped her hands around the girl's head. With an angry snarl, Maggie gave her head a jerk.

While it all happened too fast for a human to keep up with the pace, it was too slow to stop the sudden searing pain in her right shoulder.

Maggie let out a cried pain as the teeth of the third hybrid dug into her flesh. The girl's head dropped from her fingers.

She looked over her shoulder to see the hybrid being yanked away roughly in the next instant by Kol. His eyes were black with rage as he grabbed the hybrid by the scalp with one hand and the shoulder with the other. Savagely Kol ripped the head straight from his shoulders and tossed it away like a bad cigarette before letting the body dropped.

Maggie wasn't watching either of them. She remained kneeling on the ground over the temporary dead female hybrid. Her eyes were on her shoulder as she stared at the gaping bite mark. It bled at first, but it clotted quickly because of her vampire nature. However, that was as far as it healed and it burned like a hot knife was being pressed against it.

The pain barely registered in her mind though. She stared in horror at it.

She was bit.

The worst fear she had for the past year was now a reality. It wasn't the type of walker bit she had dreaded, but the horror was just as much. This was a hybrid bite, half werewolf. Walker or werewolf it didn't matter, it was only a matter of time before it all led to the same thing.

"Kol?" She called out as her hands began to shake, her breathing picking up quickly. Looking behind her, she saw him staring at her shoulder. The vampire features disappeared from his face and were replaced by a fallen stunned expression.

He ran a hand through his hair before the words passed through his lips hollowly, "No, no, no…"

Maggie's stomach lurched as she heard something in Kol's tone that she never thought she would hear. It was fear. That was when she began to panic. She stood up on her feet and approached him while she started to hyperventilate.

"Kol," She choked out his name and her hands reached up, gripping onto his jacket as if it was the only thing keeping her standing. "What do I do?" This couldn't be happening.

Kol opened his mouth and the words failed at first. The natural instinct was to tell her it would be okay, but he couldn't honestly make that promise. He couldn't give her false hope. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she looked at him frantically, her chest heaving and sucking for air that did nothing for her.

Kol stirred by grabbing her upper arms firmly and looking her fiercely in the eye. "Go home and get indoors, stay inside in case there are more of them. I'll take care of this."

Maggie swallowed, noticing that he didn't say there was really anything they could do about the bite.

"Go!" Kol repeated firmly when she didn't move.

Maggie gave a jerky nod before pulling away from him and running towards her SUV parked by the Grill.

Kol's hands shook in tight fists as he watched her go. He tore his eyes away to the hybrids on the ground, one missing a heart and the other headless. The last one just had a snapped neck, but it would be missing a heart too before he left for the mansion.

* * *

A fire flickered away in the place of the dining room. The three Originals sat around the table with the remains of an unusually late meal, which was also a little too extravagant for the nature of the new world, but who was to tell that family any differently. Niklaus and Rebekah sat across from each other with Elijah at one end. There was a distinctly empty chair at the table with a clean plate setting, but neither of them was terribly surprised at the missing company. There had been a long time it was just the three of them, forever and always.

The front door of the Mikaelson mansion slammed open, causing the dinner table chatter to come to a halt. Kol marched briskly into the room, his expression hard with the anger boiling just beneath the surface.

"Kol! I see you decided to join us after all," Niklaus raised a blood-laced glass of wine in his direction before taking a sip with a grin. Rebekah turned around in her seat to catch a sight of her youngest brother in surprise. Even Elijah expressed a look of curiosity and alarm.

Kol wasn't in the mood for Niklaus' behavior tonight though.

"What the hell are you doing sending those filthy creatures after her, Niklaus?" Kol approached the table, the venom dripping in his voice.

Rebekah sat up stiffly in her chair, whipping around to look at Klaus. "What is he talking about, Nik?" Surrounded by brothers, it was rare for to hear about other females from them.

Klaus ignored his sister's question and just smiled triumphantly at Kol. "Ah, I see my hybrids found Maggie after all. Tell me, did they get her on the right shoulder? I thought there would be fitting for Damon Salvatore to watch her die the same way Rosemarie did."

Klaus barely finished his words before he was roughly pulled up from his seat by his shirt and slammed up against a wall. The crash caused the house to let out a groan and Klaus clenched his teeth from the hit. Elijah and Rebekah remained frozen in their seats as they watched Kol get up in Klaus' face, refusing to let go of him.

Klaus didn't put much of a fight against Kol's actions because he honestly hadn't been expecting them. "Now, I have to ask, what the hell is it _you're_ doing?" Klaus turned Kol's question around on him and all the lighthearted humor dropped from his face.

"That wasn't unnecessary!" Kol's voice began to rise, ignoring Klaus' question. "Her blood is useless as a vampire. It's of no threat to you anymore, you _know _that!"

Klaus teeth grinded and he moved to push Kol off of him, but the Original didn't relent. "On the contrary, it's quite necessary, brother," Klaus gave in a dark low tone. "You see, when I want someone dead, I prefer they stay that way and I really don't appreciate the likes of Damon Salvatore getting in the way. I have a reputation to uphold."

Kol gave a growl as he slammed Klaus back into the wall and letting out a shout, "He didn't turn her, _I did_!"

His voice stunned the room into silence. Rebekah's eyes grew wide and if she could've she would have gone pale. Elijah inhaled slowly and his gaze suddenly became very interested in the dining ware. Apparently he was the only other one in the room aware of Maggie's sire.

Klaus' expression froze as he stared back at Kol. His nostrils were flared and he could tell his brother was about two seconds away from ripping into him. In truth, the feeling was mutual. "_You _turned her?" Klaus repeated, just to be sure. Rebekah and Elijah weren't aware of just how deep that betrayal ran.

"That's right, brother," Kol sneered out sharply, as if his eyes also read the fact it was his blood that turned Katerina.

"Now heal her!" Kol demanded in a vicious hiss.

Klaus nearly growled out that was the last thing he had in mind of doing and he certainly felt that way. But something in his mind clicked before he felt the urge to reach up and forcibly remove Kol from him. The uninhibited anger and the hint of desperation in his voice suddenly made sense as it clicked in his mind.

It mattered more to him than just the fact she was a vampire created from his blood. Klaus' eyes remained a glacial shade of blue as his lips shifted into a slow and sinister smile. He almost broke out in a mocking laughter, but it kept at the edge of his lips as he pointed out to everyone in the room. "You care about her…" While it was a statement, there was still the hint of an awe struck question behind it.

Kol let go of Klaus, as if he found the very touch of him disgusting. There was no sympathy in the hybrids eyes or inclination he was listening to him at all. He wasn't going to stick around to receive his mocking. Kol let out a growl of frustration as he stepped away from Klaus, refusing to answer his words.

He paused to pick up the empty chair that had been saved for him and threw it roughly across the room. Rebekah was the only one that jumped from the splintering of the wood and the dent it left in the wall. Klaus' smile faded into a knowing smirk as he watched Kol go to leave the room.

But Kol stopped one more time to look at Klaus with his shoulders shaking, struggling to contain himself.

"I'm going to find her now," Kol declared, his eyes flickered briefly over his siblings before settling once more on Klaus.

"But then I'm coming for you," He vowed before disappearing.

* * *

Klaus glared after Kol, his shoulders stiff from the threat. He knew that threat was a very real promise. A tense silence befell the room after Kol left. Elijah was leaning to the side in his seat with one elbow against the armrest and his fist thoughtfully covering his mouth. He was clearly still deciding where he would stand in this matter and whether or not he would get involved.

"Well, daggers for dessert it is then," Klaus announced casually before moving to take his seat, as if to resume the meal without the interruption. His tone was low and serious before he took a much needed sip of his wine. He had no intentions of healing that doppelganger just because Kol fancied her.

Klaus was musing over how many daggered decades it would take for Kol to get her out of his system and get over this little temper tantrum he was throwing when he heard Rebekah let out a scoff.

"I can't believe you," Rebekah muttered with an expression of silent outrage. "I asked you to leave her alone and you barely even waited _a day _before killing her."

Klaus set his glass down slowly, exhaling with an aggravated sigh. He hadn't given her his word. She had no right to be upset with him. "Rebekah –"

"No, Nik, you listen to me!" Rebekah stood up from her chair. Elijah's eyebrows rose at her sudden defiance.

"While you were off looking for your bloody werewolves, Maggie went with Kol to burn down a White Oak tree," Rebekah stated fiercely with her eyes going back and forth between Klaus and Elijah. She didn't know if either of them was responsible for the tree being there, but at this point she didn't care. The existence of it spoke volumes. She was fed up.

"She asked for _nothing_ in return for burning every piece of that damn tree down. She didn't just spare Kol or the bloodline of her little friends but _all _of us, even after what you've done to her," She continued on despite how still Klaus grew from the announcement about the White Oak tree. The twitch in his jaw was clearly visible. Elijah's eyes fall back down to the table in guilty silence.

"So yes, that farm girl understands the meaning of family better than either of you two ever will," Rebekah spat out finally before spinning and leaving the room to go after Kol.

* * *

_Author's Note: So next chapter is the last chapter._

_I'm just kidding! Please don't shoot me._

_So anyone who's been reading my notes know there's roughly 60 chapters… and it would be hard to have 20 more chapters without the main character, so we'll see how and/or why Klaus comes around next chapter. :P_

_Anyway, I wanna hear your reactions! _

_Yay for Bekah finally standing up to her brother, yeah? I'm really curious about your thoughts with the Bonnie and Glenn scene. We finally see Maggie snap on a (ex)loved one, I bet that wasn't what you were expecting though. _

_And of course we have Maggie and Damon starting to smooth things over. She said she loves him...! Kind of. _

_Forgiveness is a big theme in this chapter, so I'm curious to hear what you guys picked up about it._

_Oh one thing I would like to point out since I had one reader asking about the subtle flirting going on between Jeremy and Maggie. Jeremy is about 17/18 and Maggie is 22/23, so that's the age difference physically (which isn't much different than Elena and Damon actually), so it's a little inappropriate which is what makes it fun to write (I think, haha), but no worries... it's all harmless._

_Next chapter we'll see more of the Originals, like Elijah will have lines, and where Maggie goes._

_On a side note, I somehow got this posted despite burning my hand pretty thoroughly!_

_Review responses –_

_IrishBeauty: Hmm… I haven't thought of a ship name but I would think maybe Jereth? I don't know Beremy could be confused for Bonnie and Jeremy. Alaric won't be going crazy, I never liked that whole plot point so it won't be happening in my story. So Damon and Maggie made up, but it's definitely not all sunshine and roses, especially with Kol making things more complicated. If Kolie fans aren't stoke after this chapter, they absolutely will be with the next one. ;)_

_Ellak10847: Hey there! Thank you so much for the awesome review. I sent you a PM, but I've been having troubles with my PMs lately so I'm not sure if it went through. That's amazing you read through all that so quickly and thank you so much for the kind words about my writing, it really made my day!_

_Thesummersky: Oh I know what you mean. I can't stand it. Is it bad that when I was watching the episode and they said there was only one dose I went all "HA! No cure for you!" (Seinfeld reference anyone?) But yeah, I don't make liking Elena easy in this either, especially since Maggie and her are kind of competing for the same guy. xD;_

_Wileby: You're awesome. __ That's all I'm gonna say._


	42. Chapter 42

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: _

_Levi Kreis – I Should Go_

_Scene: Alaric's Apartment_

_Louis Armstrong –What a Wonderful World_

_Scene: Intermittently played in hallucinations_

_Ed Sheeran – Give Me Love_

_Scene: Klaus and Maggie (Yes this sounds odd, but give it a chance!)_

_Chapter Forty-two_

"She asked for _nothing_ in return for burning every piece of that damn tree down. She didn't just spare Kol or the bloodline of her little friends but _all _of us, even after what you've done to her," She continued on despite how still Klaus grew from the announcement about the White Oak tree. The twitch in his jaw was clearly visible. Elijah's eyes fall back down to the table in guilty silence.

"So yes, that farm girl understands the meaning of family better than either of you two ever will," Rebekah spat out finally before spinning and leaving the room to go after Kol.

* * *

Maggie's hands shook as she gripped the steering wheel. She got into the SUV and started the engine, but then realized she didn't have the slightest idea of where to go. Go home, Kol told her, but she didn't know where that was. The last place that felt like home was now a pile of ashes several states away.

Her next thought was the Greene house, but she couldn't even get inside it. She wasn't welcomed there anymore. She couldn't just show up there now and expect them to watch her die. Again.

That thought alone drew a sob to her lips as she put the vehicle into drive. Mechanically, she drove to the closest place she could go.

When she got there, her running slowed down to reluctant steps up the stairs before she slid the key into the lock. Stepping inside, she flicked on the lights and looked around the emptiness of apartment. The dim lights casted a shadow on all of the furniture. The air was still and unmoving, lacking regularly habitation, but that didn't matter to Maggie.

It was quiet and inside that was all she needed. She didn't have to be strong here and put on a brave face. She wouldn't have any loved ones that would have to watch in her last hour. Numbly, she dropped the keys on the dining table before wandering into the bathroom.

She turned on the lights and looked over her shoulder to inspect the bite mark. Her shoulder throbbed and it burned. She winced while examining it. The wound had closed up with a sickening black scab over it. Irritated redness radiated from around it and she could see some of the veins around turning into a pale white.

She hadn't thought it was that big the first time she saw it.

There was no other noises in the apartment, save for her heavy breathing and the pounding sensation in her head. Going over to the shower, she threw on the water and stripped out of her clothes. It didn't matter to her what the temperature was, but she just wanted some relief from the burning in her shoulder. And if it was possible, she just wanted to wash the evening away like a bad nightmare. If only that was possible.

Maggie closed her eyes and just let the water wash over her face. It wasn't like she could even drown herself anymore. She couldn't delay or hasten the process with anything short of a stake. The water that ran over her body offered no relief other than something else for her nerves to be distracted by than the pain in her shoulder.

Each minute that ticked by was one less that she had to live. She was dying this time and she couldn't avoid it. With that hollowing thought, Maggie sank to a seat in the shower with her head in her hands.

The water began to mix with tears.

She let herself cry. Her sobs and heaves were drowned out by the noise of the shower. She cried for how little time she had left and her life being cut short. She cried for that girl on the farm who never got to really grow up and see what was out there in the world for her. She cried for the year of running and surviving that had all come down to this. She cried for the people she was leaving behind.

The water ran ice cold by the time she pulled herself out of the shower. It was cold enough it would have made her sick as a human, but now it hardly mattered. Her fingers weren't even prune and wrinkled, just another testimony to how unnatural of a creature she was now.

Maggie pulled out a towel from the linen closet and briefly dried herself off before digging through the duffle bag she left behind. She pulled on some fresh jeans in a loose black shirt before using the towel to run through her hair. Her hands began to shake again, the pain in her shoulder was more intense from the layer of cotton over, but she didn't want to look at it.

Her eyes clenched shut as she thought back to what she remembered Damon telling her about werewolf bites. It wasn't much, truthfully, just that it was fatal and his tone implied very unpleasant. She honestly wasn't even sure just how much time she had left.

"Don't be scared," A soft voice broke her from her thoughts.

Maggie's eyes snapped open and she dropped the towel in surprise. Spinning on her heel, she froze at the sight of an older female in the room. She wore loose jeans and a very familiar dark plaid button up shirt. Maggie's eyes fixated on the doe-like compassionate brown ones that stared back at her. She had wavy brown locks that were all pulled to one shoulder.

"You're not alone," The familiar voice offered a warm smile.

Maggie's breath hitched, threatening to tighten up her throat to the point she couldn't speak. She managed a disbelieving whisper, "Lori?"

Lori's expression brightened at the recognition and she gave a small nod. Maggie's mind blanked out, barely able to comprehend how it was that she was standing with Rick's dead wife in Alaric's apartment. But she couldn't find herself to question it. She just took in each detail of the woman. She breathed and moved as if she belonged here.

"Come on, baby girl, it's going to be okay," Lori gave soothingly and stepped forward to Maggie. She gently placed a hand on her shoulder and under her arm to lead her towards the living area. Maggie was too stunned to put up a fight, thrown by how real her touch felt.

Lori led them to the couch and Maggie took a seat while her mouth opened and closed, struggling to form words. She could feel Lori holding onto her hand in her lap and the other one reached up to tuck some wet strands of hair out of Maggie's eyes. "How?" She asked.

"We never left," Lori answered her in a knowing but kind tone.

Maggie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "We?" She didn't need to look around the apartment to know that they were alone and at the same time she didn't want to take her eyes off of Lori. Even though this was impossible, she didn't want it to disappear.

Lori nodded and her thumb drew small reassuring circles on top of Maggie's hand. "Yes, everyone… Annette, Shawn, Dale, T-Dog… The rest of your family. They're all waiting to see you," Lori gave a sympathetic smile at the new tears that threatened Maggie's eyes with the mention of each name.

Her words brought an understanding that transcended the reality that Maggie knew. She didn't know how it was possible, but Lori's words had a calming effect to them. She didn't for a moment doubt the truth behind them.

"I'm really dying, aren't I?" Maggie realized with the beginning of resignation entering her tone.

Lori squeezed Maggie's hand a little bit before inkling her in head in affirmation. "Werewolf bites are fatal for vampires… You were never meant to be like this, Maggie," Lori explained in honest sincerity. "None of us were meant for this world. It's cold, cruel and so easy to do the wrong thing."

Maggie closed her eyes and let out a shuddering exhale. Lori's words made sense, even if there was a niggling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't even find herself to be offended. Supernatural creatures and walkers had forced their way into her life. "I'm scared, Lori," Maggie admitted in a fearful whisper.

"Don't be, dear, it won't be much longer now" Lori cooed softly and smoothed down some of Maggie's hair affectionately. "It's nothing to be afraid... It's safe and peaceful. You don't have to hurt. No more pain and no more suffering."

Maggie couldn't help but hang onto every word. She wanted to believe them so badly and hoped they were true. She felt tired, like an aching in each of her bones and she wasn't sure if it was more physical or mental. Maggie clasped her other hand on top of Lori's hand, not wanting to let her go and afraid that she might slip away now.

"Will you stay with me?" Maggie asked her hopefully. Admittedly, she didn't want to be alone and she would take this presence, of whatever it was.

"To the very end," Lori reassured and her arm wound around Maggie to pull her into an embrace. Maggie leaned into Lori, tucking her head against her shoulder. She could smell her lavender shampoo and faintly hear a heartbeat.

"We're all here," Lori promised her quietly. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

Damon was polishing off a glass of whiskey while debating between going to harass Alaric or Sheriff Forbes. The boardinghouse was quiet lately. He knew Elena was off at Caroline's for the evening, undoubtedly catching up on all that they missed. Stefan wasn't around much unless Elena was around at the boardinghouse. Things were a lot quieter without Maggie too, which he didn't like either.

A knock at the front door stirred him out of his revelry. He squinted slightly before moving towards the door, wondering who the hell bothered to knock these days. Most of everyone they knew always showed themselves in. A part of him hoped that it was Maggie reconsidering her need for space.

That hope was dashed the moment he opened the door and spotted the wavy blonde hair. Damon let an audible groan.

"Listen, I know you were daggered for a while," Damon didn't bother with any pleasantries, "But it'll be awkward for both of us if I have to explain one night stands."

Rebekah just sneered at him, "Please. It wasn't even that memorable."

Not bothering to wait for a snarky comment, Rebekah stepped forward and pushed one hand against Damon's chest to brush past him. He stepped to the side more from force than politeness as the Original briskly marched inside. "By all means, come in," Damon muttered sarcastically and wrinkled his nose in annoyance.

His eyes followed after her as Rebekah's eyes flickered into the living room and looked around. She ignored his comment and demanded bluntly, "Where is she?"

Damon's eyes narrowed suspiciously on her. "Remind me the incentive to telling Elena's biggest Frenemy her whereabouts?"

Rebekah just rolled her eyes with a hand on her hip. Of course, she thought, he would assume she was referring to that doppelganger. Nothing ever changed over the centuries, it was always about those damn Petrova women.

"She hasn't been here recently, possibly even days," Another voice cut into the conversation. Damon turned around quickly back to the open doorway.

Standing just a few feet away from Damon with hardened expression was Kol. His eyes were dark as they bore into the Salvatore and lacked any trace of humor or arrogance his expression normally held. He knew Maggie's scent and it was just a lingering ghost here.

Damon's eyes widened slightly, partly in alarm that he hadn't seen the other Original standing behind Rebekah at the door and knowing this meant business.

It clicked in his mind which she they were referring to then. "Maggie…" He murmured her name. The last encounter with Kol did nothing to help stem the resentment and hatred that fueled up from within him.

"What did you do to her?" Damon hissed. The way the two Originals came here was nothing short of ominous. Rebekah was all but forgotten behind him as he glared at Kol.

"What _I did_ to her?" Kol scoffed and he stopped as he recognized the calm ignorance in Damon's demeanor. Damon's eyebrows rose in a matter of fact way, not believing for a moment his accusation could be farfetched.

"You don't even know what's happened," Kol pointed out in incredulous distaste with a slight shake of his head.

Rebekah, who had been watching the two got impatient at this point. Clearly Damon was going to be of no help and only a hindrance with his attitude. She blurred up behind him before the younger vampire could open his mouth to ask what the hell Kol was talking about and she grabbed his head. His hands jerked up to stop her, but he was too slow to stop the Original from snapping his neck.

He fell to the ground in a heap and Kol didn't even flinch.

"Well, I don't know about you, but that made me feel a little better," Rebekah announced with a sigh, putting her hands on her hips. Kol said nothing in response, his eyes stared at the unmoving form with a tight locked jaw.

Rebekah tilted her head slightly and pressed her lips in a pout as if musing something. "Though, I suppose that makes it a bit hard to question him… Should we wait until he wakes up?" She asked, lacking any actual remorse.

Kol's gaze moved up to his sister and she couldn't read anything from them. "No," He stated firmly, "We're wasting time."

He turned his back and walked out of the house. Rebekah grimaced and followed after her brother. It wasn't like him to not want to stick around for some fun or entertainment. This was serious for him and she was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of it. Sometimes his quiet rage was more terrifying than the sadistic smirks and comments.

* * *

"But what about Daddy and Beth?" Maggie's voice came out in almost like a child-like whisper against Lori's shoulder. While the woman had always been a little abrasive at times to get along with and tried to hold herself as the first lady of the group, Maggie appreciated her maternal instincts, especially right now. She kept talking to her so the apartment wasn't so quiet.

"You won't really be leaving. You can still look after them," Lori assured while holding the young vampire with both arms, careful not to touch the tender shoulder.

Maggie just nodded against her and took it for what it was worth. Maybe she had gone insane or maybe she was seeing ghosts. She supposed it was possible to see ghosts if some humans could. This was just the most convincing one she ever heard of.

Another voice broke into the room bluntly, "Seriously? You're still sitting here sulking?"

Maggie jerked up roughly and looked across the room the source of the voice. It was feminine, but frank. Her eyes took in the jean clad woman with a familiar loose white top with faint grey horizontal stripes in it. Her blonde hair was pulled sloppily back into a half ponytail and the stray frizz framed her face. Her cheeks were a little rounder and healthier than Maggie recalled, but she still had her distinct angularly square jawline and her arms folded over her chest.

"Andrea?" Maggie gasped, "What are you doing here?" One dead person appearing before her was one thing, but now she was seriously beginning to lose it.

"Selling Girl Scout cookies," Andrea snapped impatiently, "What does it look like? Get up! We got to get out of here."

Maggie frowned and her body tensed with indecision between standing up or not. She looked around her and noticed that Lori was gone now. She missed the warmth and reassuring touch. "What are you talking about?" Maggie asked tiredly.

"You heard what Kol said, there could be more of those hybrids coming," Andrea urged her and Maggie had to admit to sounded odd to hear Andrea talking about supernatural creatures. She never had been around for it, but maybe if she was a ghost she had been watching this whole time?

"And?" Maggie prompted. She doubted anyone would find her here and it was inside. It should be safe.

"_And _Alaric said the lease expired almost a year ago, there's nothing stopping anyone from coming through that door," Andrea waved a hand impatiently towards the apartment entrance. Her eyes looked Maggie up and down before adding, "And quite frankly you're in no shape to be putting up much of a fight."

Maggie's eyes widened as she realized that Andrea was right. She shot up from her seat quickly, muttering, "Oh!"

"Yeah, oh shit is right," Andrea sighed, but was relieved to see Maggie moving. She watched the doppelganger go to the dining table to grab her car keys and boots she left behind from showering. "We got to get somewhere they haven't been invited in and you have."

Maggie paused from lacing up her boots and looked up at Andrea. Her mind flicked through each residence she stayed at before figuring out there was at least one. "Carol's," She acknowledged quietly. Even if she wanted to go to the Greene house, she couldn't get inside. The Salvatore boardinghouse had no living residences so she would just be a sitting duck there too.

"Bingo! Now, let's go," Andrea claimed in a tone that was almost cheery as she pulled open the door, gesturing overdramatically out it with one hand.

Maggie gave one last look around and still saw no signs that Lori had been there. But she had to be, right? She said she would stay until the end. They all would. Maggie gave a sigh and flicked off the lights before following after Andrea's ghost, mind trick, or whatever she was out the door towards the SUV.

"I got shotgun!" Andrea called out.

* * *

Maggie saw Andrea climb into the passenger seat while she went around to the driver side. Slipping into the seat, the door closed behind her with a thud and she felt a sudden shift in the air. Looking over to the passenger side, Andrea was gone and Maggie felt like everything got a little colder. Chills ran along her skin and she ran a hand through her hair.

She knew it hadn't been real, but a part of her hoped that it was. Was she really alone right now, she wondered, but decided she wasn't. No, she couldn't be, she could still feel them there. And she still believed her decision to get out of there.

The throbbing in her shoulder reminded her that no matter how long she sat there, time was still ticking away and she had less of it. Maggie started the engine up and turned the SUV around to head away from the downtown area and towards Carol's cottage.

The streets were quiet with darkness. The headlights of the SUV were the only thing that disturbed as Maggie drove down mostly in the center of the road. It wasn't like there was any traffic anymore so it really didn't matter. Mechanically, she turned down the streets and followed the route she was familiar. She may have even used a turning signal out of habit, as silly as that sounded, but she didn't care.

The silence was broken by a soft click of a button. Had she been human, she might not have heard it but she looked down to see the radio console turning on. The green LED lights seemed blaring in the night. Maggie frowned, wondering how that happened. She didn't touch it.

The "Seek" button clicked next and in fascinated horror Maggie watched as the numbers on the screen began to cycle through what used to be radio stations. The faintest bit of static carried through the speakers as it seemed like the radio wouldn't settle on anything. It shouldn't, there was nothing left to broadcast.

But then it stopped while flashing the numbers "000.00" and Maggie cringed as the static increased, sensitive on her vampire ears. She was about to reach down and shut the radio off, thinking it was just defective when the static suddenly stopped.

Dividing her attention between the road and the radio, Maggie's finger hovered just above the power button. There was a short silence followed by a light scratching noise, almost like the sound of a record being drawn up.

The lazy tune of a guitar along with the company of several strings poured out from the speakers. Maggie let a gasp out at the familiar beat that she heard every year since she could remember. A hand covered her mouth at the sound of the raspy baritone.

"_I see trees of green… red roses too…"_

She didn't have to close her eyes to picture the living room at the farmhouse. This time it was decorated with wreaths and garland for the festive season. A massive tree stood in the corner, sparkling with tinsel and round ornaments from her grandmother's collection. She could see all of them. Her mother, her father, Beth, Shawn, her uncles, and her aunts. Even the little cousins, nieces and nephews. There was always so many in her big Irish family.

"_I see 'em bloom… for me and for you…"_

"No, no, no," Maggie began to shout over the music that mocked her. She couldn't stand to think about them now. It was just too much. She leaned down to the radio and started jabbing at the buttons, trying to get the offensive music to shut off.

The SUV served across the road.

The power button, the seek button, the volume, the tape, AM radio. Anything to make it go away!

But it was useless, the jeering green lights stare back at her and the music continued with each strum of the guitar chords and the strings dancing in the background. Her hand gave a jerk on the wheel as the SUV popped over the curb.

"_And I think to myself…"_

Maggie looked up and slammed on the breaks a little too late to stop the crashing noise that happened next.

* * *

The lights poured out of the first floor of the Green house, illuminating most of the porch in the process. A firm aggravated knock rattled against the front door. The two visitors waited in silence as they heard shuffling and voices from within the house. Boots echoed through the main hallway as it got closer.

Rick Grimes frowned slightly at the late night visitation. Sheriff Forbes had only left a little while when she dropped by to see how everyone was doing at the end of her shift for the day. He didn't really know who else to expect aside from that. He still wore his blue uniform from the day's work and naturally he rested on hand on his belt as he pulled open the front door.

He stopped at the sight of the young blonde and dark haired man. While he never spoke to them in person, he had certainly heard about them through Liz and knew enough to recognize them from it.

"Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson," Rick acknowledged in a terse tone.

Rebekah's arms were folded over her chest. She titled her head slightly with an insincere polite smile. "That's right. You must be Caroline's mother's new Sheriff friend…?" There was a slight condescending tone in her voice.

"Rick Grimes," He shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Normally he wouldn't take talking down from two kids that looked like they were just barely out of high school or in college, but it was a little different knowing they're Original vampires.

"Save the introductions, Bekah," Kol snapped impatiently at his sister before looking at Rick directly. "Where's Maggie?"

Rick's brows furrowed and he hesitated before answering, wondering where this was coming from. "She hasn't been here in weeks…" He muttered and tensed up. He almost took a step outside, but he decided to remain within the safety of the house threshold instead of joining the two vampires outside.

Rick could almost hear Kol grinding his teeth together in frustration before he suddenly turned his back on them and started stalking off down the front walkway.

"Kol," Rebekah called after him with a sigh, seeing her brother run an aggravated hand through his hair. She started to turn to follow after him.

"Wait!" Rick called out, "Has something happened to her?"

"She was bit by a hybrid," Rebekah answered him bluntly with her steps.

Rick shook his head and followed after her onto the porch. "And what exactly does that mean?"

Rebekah paused at the bottom porch step and looked over her shoulder at him. She shrugged nonchalantly and stated simply, "She's sick and likely delirious. She'll be a danger to herself and anyone who finds her."

Not wanting to waste anymore words on the mortal, Rebekah took after her brother, leaving a stunned and confused Rick Grimes behind her. Kol was over by the wrecked Camry, his eyes staring out into the darkness.

Where she could have gone in such a short time, he wondered. He was only gone a few days and now he couldn't find her.

"Where is she?" He mumbled in distress and shook his head slightly. "I should have taken her away from here." This could have been avoided. Niklaus never would have found her if he had just taken her away with him.

He let out a snarl and brought his fists against the side of the Camry. The metal bent and groaned under the force. It was strong enough to push the vehicle partly into the street, collapsing part of the cabin.

"Hey, enough of that," Rebekah snapped at him and grabbed his upper arm roughly. Kol jerked slightly, trying to shake it free but she wouldn't relent and he shot her a harsh look.

"We're going to find her, okay?" Rebekah remained determined and didn't shy away from her brother's anger. Later she would have to chew his ear out for getting so caught up on this girl, but right now she just needed to keep him focused.

"Show me where you last saw her," Rebekah figured they should move onto the next option. At this rate, they'll even be knocking down the door of the Gilberts', but she could see that Kol wouldn't stop until he found her.

* * *

Maggie let out a few shuddering deep breaths. Her undead heart was pounding and she felt her stomach in her throat from the adrenaline of the moment. The SUV sat crookedly with the front end up on the sidewalk of the residential neighborhood.

The music stopped and a glance out of the corner of her eye showed that none of the green LED lights were being displayed from the console. The engine was still running and the headlights flooded the yard of the house she was in front of.

Rolling down the window, Maggie half stood up and leaned out to see the damage. She spotted the crumpled mess by the front wheel and sagged back down into her seat.

"A mailbox," She muttered incredulously, "I hit a fucking mailbox."

At least it wasn't a tree, she thought. Had this been a different time, she would've swerved directly into oncoming traffic, but now she was the only one on the road. With a frustrated sigh, she popped the vehicle into reverse before moving back on her way. At least the crash was enough to jolt some sanity back into her mind.

Even though the rest of the ride seemed uneventful, Maggie gripped the stirring wheel tightly and leaned forward in the seat. She didn't want to lean back against her shoulder, which screamed in protest with every movement of her arm and pressure applied to it.

She found the turn off for the cottage and let out a relieved sigh. She was half way up through the gravel, listening to it being kicked up by the tires and pelting the wheel wells when she heard the click again.

Looking down, she saw the LED green lights flashing again at her. The numbers "000.00" flickered before becoming pronounced and the strings returned.

The guitar's steady tune radiated through the speakers and Maggie slammed on the brakes in frustration.

"_I see skies of blue… clouds of white…"_

Maggie slammed her fist against the steering wheel and closed her eyes, trying to will the music to go away. The hopefulness and the cheer of the music was maddening to her. She didn't want to think about her family and the reunions that were had around the holiday season.

"_Bright blessed days… dark sacred nights…"_

Louis' voice continued to haunt her, but it was soon joined by another one.

"You should have taken that with you," Andrea reprimanded her in a calm and commanding tone.

Maggie's eyes snapped open and she found her blonde friend sitting in the passenger seat again. Her gaze was directed towards the dashboard. Sitting on top of it was the black form of the Beretta. Maggie froze and wondered in confusion when it had gotten there. She knew she didn't carry it with her outside the SUV while she was at work, but didn't remember putting it _there_.

Andrea leaned forward and grabbed the gun. Maggie just watched her as she pulled out the clip and checked the bullets. She loaded the weapon and held it out in front of her, pretending to aim at a target that wasn't there. "You know what Rick always taught us, let your guard down for one minute and someone gets bit," Andrea reminded her.

Maggie wasn't sure if she was referring to walkers or werewolves with the way she spoke.

Maggie couldn't take the confined space anymore. She opened the door and ducked out with the intentions of walking up the rest of the driveway to the cottage. However, when she stepped outside, the cottage was nowhere in sight.

She held up a hand to partially cover her eyes from the fierce blaze that threatened to blind her. She could almost feel the heat on her face from the distance. Thick angry flames engulfed the large wooden structure and Maggie squinted until she realized why it looked familiar.

The barn was burning quickly and she could see the back end of the RV parked next to it. Someone was moving along the roof, but she didn't get the chance to see who. There were countless other people milling around the barn and moving towards Maggie.

No, not people, she realized, but walkers. Two vehicles were driving around in the field, running over some of the walkers while gunshots echoed through the air. Despite all that, she could still hear that taunting music in her head.

"_The colors of the rainbow… so pretty in the sky…"_

No matter how much she squinted, she couldn't make out who was who. It was that awful night they fled the farm all over again. The walkers started to pick up on Maggie's presence and came closer. Her hand felt heavy and Maggie looked down to see the Beretta in her hand.

She lifted it up and grasped the gun with both hands as she took aim at the first walker. The shot ran out and it dropped with the bullet in its head.

"_I see friends shaking hands… saying how do you do…"_

Maggie turned on her heel, looking for a way out. But each way that she turned, there were more walkers coming from every direction. Their hungry moans and agitated noises wasn't enough to drown out the chorus of singers and the piano.

"_I hear babies cry… I watch them grow…"_

Maggie's expression twisted into panic when she had nowhere to go. She looked at the gun, knowing she had six, maybe seven bullets at best. She swiveled on her feet as she pointed the weapon and started firing off shots, taking down the closest walkers to her. The bullets were gone in the matter of seconds and she felt the heat from the barrel. Her hands shook and her heart was pounding harshly in her ears.

The walkers were nearly on top of her at this point. The smell of death and decay assaulted her senses. They surrounded her in a circle. One of them brushed her shoulder with rough gnarled hands and she tried to back away from it.

"_And I think to myself…"_

The gun was yanked away from her hands and the next moment she found herself on her back. Her arms were pinned at her sides and a scream erupted from her lips as she stared at the grey weather torn face. The lips were peeled back from dehydration and the jaw of the creature moved, emitted incomprehensible noises as she tried fight against its grasp.

"_What a wonderful world…"_

Those were the last words she heard before everything went black.

* * *

Maggie stirred with a sharp inhale and tried to lift her head as she opened her eyes. They were weary and heavy. Her movements were slow and lethargic. Her body ached in every joint and bone. She blinked in confusion when she realized she was no longer outside, but in her bedroom at the cottage.

Her boots had been removed and she was tucked into the blankets of her bed. There was a weight on the bed next to her that shifted with Maggie's waking up.

"Carol?" Maggie identified with a weak whisper. The older vampire offered a reassuring grin as she held one of Maggie's hands in her lap with concern. "What happened?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Carol responded and Maggie furrowed her brows, trying to recall the last thing that happened. Seeing her confusion, Carol went on to explain, "I found you waving that gun around like a mad woman and I had to pin you down long enough for Daryl to vervain you."

Carol didn't let it show how much it spooked her to hear the gunshots going off outside. It was the first time she heard such fire since turning. She took off out of the house faster than Daryl could move and had to carefully dodge Maggie's frantic state until she heard the clicking of the empty barrel.

Maggie slowly shifted up on the bed, forcing herself to sit up. Vervain… that explained why she was so tired and felt drained. But she supposed it could also be the werewolf venom. She had no idea how long she was out. At the mention of Daryl, she could see him standing in the corner of the room, biting onto a thumbnail with the crossbow over his back.

"I was hallucinating…" Maggie realized with wide eyes.

"I would say so… but from what?" Carol's tone was not accusing but gentle.

Maggie winced slightly as she leaned away from the headboard. "Look at my shoulder," She said. They couldn't see the bite mark since it was covered up. Carol hesitantly complied with her request and moved to Maggie's back. Maggie held down the hem of her shirt in front of her while Carol rolled up the fabric.

Carol gasped loudly when she saw it. The black teeth marks were now surrounded by an assortment of bubbling infectious blisters. It stretched to encompass most of her shoulder blade at this point.

Maggie cringed at Carol's reaction and partly from the movement of the shirt from the wound. "Oh god, what is this?" Carol didn't bother hiding her horror in her tone. Daryl moved across the room to look over Carol's shoulder at the wound too. He didn't say anything, but a glance out of the corner of Maggie's eyes showed concern in his eyes too.

"A hybrid bite," Maggie sighed.

Carol's fingers hovered over the wound, but didn't actually touch as she took it in, not wanting to agitate it further. "How do we treat it?" She asked right away.

Maggie stilled a moment before tugging the shirt out of Carol's hand and covering up her injury again. She looked over her shoulder at Carol, opening her mouth and struggling before she shook her head slightly. "You can't…"

Carol grew quiet when she understood what Maggie meant. Her hands covered her mouth and Maggie saw her eyes begin to glisten. "No," She barely whispered and Maggie's gaze dropped down to the blanket.

Her stomach knotted and twisted as she sensed the sinking feeling overtaking Carol.

* * *

Carol's reaction brought on a new round of tears to both vampires. They held onto each other and Maggie's brave face was only a halfhearted attempt. Reality was beginning to set in and she was getting too tired to fight hiding her emotions. Maggie explained what happened with Kol and the hybrids, leaving out the exact words of their conversation, but telling everything else that happened after that.

Maggie told her about the hallucinations, seeing Andrea, Lori and the farm. Carol was endlessly sympathetic as she always been to Maggie, but it pained her to see the way the old woman's heart was breaking in front of her eyes. This was the sort of hurt she wanted to avoid earlier when she wanted to be alone.

Daryl remained quietly in the corner, even though it was obvious how uncomfortable he was around crying women. This was one of those times the gravity of the situation was too much for him to leave. Carol remained sitting on the edge of the bed with Maggie propped up by the headboard with several pillows.

"Is there anyone you want me to find?" Carol asked her quietly. It didn't need to be said that she was referring to before time ran out, whether it was from their group or not.

Maggie just shook her head briefly and glanced longingly out the bedroom window into the darkness. "No… I don't want them to see me like this," Maggie refused for several reasons. Call it stubborn, but she didn't want their last memory of her to be wilting away into pain and insanity in this bed. She thought about Hershel and Beth, but she couldn't do that to them. They already had to mourn losing her once, why put them through it again?

And there was Damon. She couldn't deny she wanted to seek out his comfort right now. But he already seen Rose die in a very similar manner. She didn't want to do that to him and also a selfish part of her didn't want to die in her shadow either.

"Oh, Maggie…" Carol sighed, but didn't really know what else to say. She reached up to touch her cheek sympathetically. But then she stopped at the skin contact and her brows furrowed thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Maggie asked, noticing her odd look.

Carol didn't answer immediately and moved her hand to touch the back of her hand against Maggie's forehead. "You're burning up," She pointed out and quickly decided, "I'll go get a cool cloth."

Maggie didn't bother arguing against her when she stood up and moved to leave the room. She knew that her fussing was the only way she could cope with this situation. Maggie let out a defeated exhale as she took in the new symptom. Of course, there was a fever. She couldn't really help hating the fact how similar this seemed to the walker infection.

Maggie noticed her senses must have begun to dull because she barely heard Carol in the kitchen and the running water. Being alone with Daryl in the room and thinking about the infection caused Maggie to look up to the hunter.

"Daryl," She called out softly.

The hunter looked up from the floor at Maggie cautiously.

Maggie took a moment to try to clear some of the hoarseness out of her throat before speaking again, "It's only going to get worse from here and I don't know if I'll be myself at the end…"

Daryl remained still with his arms folded over his chest and unmoving. Maggie's eyes moved to the crossbow slung over his back meaningfully while her words hung in the air between them.

"You know what you need to do," Maggie said firmly and she wasn't sure if she was trying to reassure herself more than him. If there was anyone she could count on to keep her from hurting anyone, it would be him.

She could see the way he chewed the inside of his cheek almost for a full minute before responding. He nodded briefly and grunted out a short, "I will."

* * *

Carol was in the kitchen, wringing out the rag some of the excess cold water and about to turn to head back to the bedroom when she heard a knock at the front door. Frowning slightly, she wasn't sure who to expect as she put the cloth down on the counter and went to open the door.

Her answer was two figures standing on the front porch, one familiar and one strange to her. Her eyes fixated on the familiar one standing just in front of the entryway. Carol stiffened and stood up straighter as she folded her arms hostilely over her chest.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here," She hissed out warningly with a cold glare.

"Hello Carol," The British accented voice answered her with the lingering of a smirk on his features.

His eyes flickered over her briefly before continuing on to say, "I see the afterlife has given you a spine…"

Klaus went on to add in a low tone, "and you forget how easily I can rip it out."

Carol didn't back down in the slightest, having heard much worse over the years from Ed. "Your threats don't scare me," She sneered in a slow controlled manner.

The momentary clenching of Klaus' show was the only sign of his bristling before he put on a forced polite grin, "Yes, well as much as I would like to help you re-evaluate that opinion that is not why I'm here."

Carol quirked one eyebrow and muttered in a dry tone, "Is that so?"

"How about you invite me inside?" Klaus flashed a predatory smile while his hands were casually tucked behind his back.

Carol didn't budge from the way she blocked the entryway, even though he couldn't get past the barrier even with her blessing. That had to come from Daryl. She shook her head as she questioned in a vicious, unimpressed manner, "And just why in the hell would I ever do that?"

Klaus wasn't entirely surprised by her resistance, which was why the smile didn't completely fade away as he spoke, "Because you will if you wish for Maggie to live to see another sunrise." He paused a moment before adding on, "Hybrid bites can be rather progressive after all."

Carol's arms slacked slightly across her chest, startled that he knew that Maggie was here. Even as she stared at the curly fair haired man with the poise of a lion, she couldn't fight the small feeling of hope that he dangled in front of her. She shouldn't trust him, especially after everything she's done, but Maggie was dying in the bedroom behind her.

If there was anything that could help her, she had to go for it.

Carol's shoulders tightened as she shifted on her feet with indecision. The last thing she wanted was to ever accept help from this monster, but they didn't have any other options.

"Fine, I'll get Daryl," She snapped out in frustration. She turned to go find him, but stopped half way.

Her eyes moved over to the other man standing on the porch. They flickered over the way he dressed and lingered on his face a moment. The carefully combed dark hair with matching controlled black eyes weren't familiar to her. He had remained quiet through the exchange, watching Klaus and Carol with an impassive expression.

"But not you. You stay here," Carol stipulated quickly. He tilted his head slightly at the sudden address.

"I don't trust anyone who wears a suit during a zombie apocalypse," Carol muttered suspiciously under her breath, even though she knew they could hear her, before disappearing down the hallway.

Elijah's eyebrows rose and he opened his mouth to protest, he wasn't used to people finding his fashion choice offensive. But she was gone before he could say anything.

Klaus bowed his head in amusement with a smirk on his lips. He took a deep breath before looking up at this brother, "Saucy little thing, isn't she?"

Elijah shot him a scowl before letting out a deep sigh.

* * *

Daryl and Carol remained in the hallway, neither one of them wanting to be in the same room as the hybrid, but also not far away from Maggie. Klaus stepped toward the bedroom doorway and paused when he caught sight of Maggie. She was tucked into the blankets and looking rather fragile with her paled and feverish complexion.

He smirked slightly that his hunch proved to be correct. Her stubborn pride would cause her to slink off like an animal crawling into a corner to die, instead of letting others see her weakness. She certainly had deteriorated quickly, but he didn't know about the vervain that had weakened her in even further.

"Hello Maggie," Klaus alerted her to his presence.

Maggie startled under the blankets with a slight jump and turned her head towards the visitor. She then froze and briefly wondered if she was hallucinating again. She really hoped her subconscious wasn't conquering up this image for her as punishment.

She took a moment to collect her voice and muster up a nasty look, "Let me guess… you're here to make sure you finish the job this time?"

"Not precisely," Klaus replied vaguely as he walked into the room to come to a stand by the foot of the bed. The corner of his lip tugged upwards as he pointed out, "For someone who fights _so hard_ to survive, you have the tendency to accept death so easily."

"What are you talking about?" Maggie's expression wrinkled in confusion while forcing herself to stifle a cough.

"The cure for your aliment, of course," Klaus responded in a frank tone. She had accepted her death to become a vampire, but this time he was left wondering why she didn't try to seek him out and attempt to bargain for her life.

Maggie managed the slightest shake of her head, not completely following him. "But Damon told me werewolf bites are fatal for vampires…" She started to protest and let her voice trail.

"And under normal circumstances they are," Klaus cut into her words in a matter of fact tone, "but I would've thought Damon would've been bargaining for my blood by now, especially after his run in with Tyler Lockwood–"

Klaus stopped himself when he saw the thoroughly perplexed look from Maggie.

"_What_?" She barely whispered.

Then it suddenly dawned on him why she was here and looking at him in that way.

"Oh, he didn't tell you about his little hybrid bite?" Klaus asked in a bemused tone. Maggie clamped her mouth shut and gave the briefest shake of her head.

Klaus smirked before casually shrugging his shoulders and explaining, "Well, I can't say I find that entirely surprising now that I think about it… from what I've heard, he was cuddled up to the lovely Elena on his deathbed and Katherine was the one to deliver the cure to him on my behalf."

Maggie sucked in a breath, feeling like someone had just gotten in a cheap shot to her stomach. She wasn't sure which feeling was worse, suddenly finding out there was a chance at life that she didn't know she had or imagining the two Petrova women obsessing over Damon. She didn't know when this happened, but it clearly must have been sometime after Rose died.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried not to give Klaus the satisfaction of seeing her reaction. There was only so much she could control though. So instead she did the best she could by taking a deep breath and choosing not to comment on the first part. "What is the cure?" She asked and slowly opened her eyes again.

"Blood of the Original hybrid. My blood," Klaus boasted and took deliberate steps around the foot of the bed towards Maggie.

Seeing the way her eyes picked up at the realization the cure was within sight of her, Klaus warned her, "All things come with a price… say for Damon, Stefan spent a Ripper summer with me."

Maggie could feel her stomach sinking again at his tone before his tone took on a lighter tone and announcing, "But tonight, I just so happen to be in a _generous_ mood."

She knew his words were absolute poison. If she had her full strength, she might have considered just lunging at him and trying to get a bite, but she didn't have any other choices in the state she was. "What's your price?" Maggie sighed.

"I would like you to answer one simple yes or no question… Depending on that answer, I will cure you," Klaus sank into the seat at the edge of the bed where Carol previously sat and tucked his hands casually in his lap.

At the sudden proximity, Maggie pushed back in an attempt to put more distance between him and her. She winched slightly from her back pressing against the headboard.

The lighthearted tone dropped from Klaus' expression as he added seriously, "But if I sense you are dishonest with me, I will walk right out of this room."

Maggie frowned as she considered his proposition. It seemed too simple and she waited to see if there was more to it than that, but there wasn't. Just answer one question and she might be cured? That didn't seem too bad and it was worth a shot. Even with that thought though, she couldn't help but feel like she was making a deal with the Devil as she stared at those malicious blue eyes.

Her shoulders tensed up and she fidgeted with her fingers before giving him a slow nod. "Alright," She gave him permission to go ahead with it.

Klaus grinned at her acceptance, thrilled that her desire to do anything to survive was still pulling through. He took a moment to enjoy that before the grin slipped away from his face to be replaced by a pensive expression.

He leaned forward slightly as he posed his question to her, almost as if he was trying to compel her but not quite, "Do you have genuine romantic feelings for my brother?"

It felt like the air was sucked right out of the room as the words hit her. Maggie's eyes widened and she froze.

It was obvious in his tone that she didn't need to ask which brother he was referring to. At first she just waited to see if he was being serious. She had a hard time believing of all the things to ask, he was asking about her, admittedly odd, relationship with Kol.

But the way that Klaus was studying her expression, as if she was an intricate piece of artwork, told him that he was quite serious. He waited patiently to watch the emotions that passed through her eyes as she began to contemplate her answer.

Did she have such feelings for Kol? Maggie's gaze dropped from Klaus' face as she began to think back on everything. There was no denying the physical attraction she felt. It was there before her transition, growing since especially since the night at the waterfall.

That night made her think of the way he had been able to distract her from everything. He had the tendency of doing that to her she realized and not necessarily in a bad way. She remembered the way he had been able to make her laugh and smile. Still does, she amended that thought. The road trip came to mind after that, recalling the stories he told her and the calming effect his voice had on her. Several times now he managed to pull her back from completely falling apart emotionally without even having to be told how.

At the same time, he still deceived her about her family history and his involvement in it. He killed indiscriminately, which wouldn't have bothered her so much if Jeremy wasn't one of his victims. He's snarky and she could never really tell what his motives are. His presence brought destruction.

Maggie looked back up to Klaus, coming to her conclusion, but not feeling any more hopeful. His gaze was not warm or sympathetic. Just behind those blue hues laid a monster and she knew he probably would not like her answer. She closed her eyes a moment to take a deep breath, trying to keep herself collected, but failing miserable.

When she opened them again, she whispered her answer in one condemning word.

"Yes."

Klaus didn't move as his eyes flickered over his face. He watched the slightest twitches of her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth while she stared back at him in a resigned manner. The word was out there now. For a moment, Maggie had considered lying to him, but figured what was the point if she was going to die anyway. She doubted her response would be well received.

"I believe you're telling the truth," Klaus determined in a neutral tone, breaking Maggie away from her thoughts. She held her breath, not really sure if that made any difference since the cure depended on the answer and not solely honesty.

The corner of his lip tugged slightly before it was covered by him raising his wrist to this mouth. Maggie's eyes widened as he bit into it before offering it out to her.

"Drink, sweetheart," Klaus assured her in a tender tone that made her skin crawl. Her brows furrowed, looking for any sign of deception before she placed her lips against the wound. She had her reservations about this supposed cure, but she figured what she had to lose at this point with drinking some blood.

It was coppery and not entirely pleasant with her delirious senses. Regardless of that, Maggie took in a few greedy mouthfuls and refused to look up. She tried to picture it literally being anyone but Klaus she was drinking from. He allowed her a few gulps, not enough for an immediate full recovery, but she would be on her way, before pulling his wrist away from her mouth roughly. It wasn't as an enjoyable experience to him as the one with Caroline, but Maggie could serve him a better purpose for now alive than dead for the time being.

Maggie subconsciously licked her lips to clean up the remaining blood while Klaus' wrist healed over and he rose to his feet. Her mind was reeling, trying to understand why he had accepted her answer. Before she could voice it, she felt her skin shifting uncomfortably along her shoulder.

She tugged on the collar of her shirt to take a peek underneath and gasped slightly as she could see some of the red swelling reducing before her eyes. Klaus just smirked at her and moved to quietly slip from the room.

"Goodnight, Maggie," He called to her and when she looked up he was gone from the room.

* * *

Klaus closed the front door behind him after bidding a mocking polite goodnight to Daryl and Carol in the hallway. They just glared daggers at him and waited for him to leave. Elijah remained on the front porch the entire time. His gaze was aimlessly on the wood with a curled fist in front of his mouth in contemplation and the other hand tucked in his pocket. He had clearly been focused and listening to the exchange.

He gave his brother an imploring look at his reappearance, to which Klaus just nodded in the direction of the SUV they arrived in.

The walk towards the vehicle, which was longer than normally since they had to park behind Maggie's temporarily abandoned ride, was rather tense. Their discussion regarding the white oak tree prior to Klaus convincing Elijah to take a drive with him had not been overly pleasant.

Once they were out of earshot and inside the SUV with Elijah in the driver seat, he turned pointedly to his brother. "What was the point of that, Niklaus?" Elijah questioned with the accusation in his tone and confusion. He knew his brother enjoyed his mind games, but he had trouble predicting his end goal at times and this was definitely one of them.

"Oh," Klaus grinned casually, "Don't be like that, Elijah. I would think you of all people with your morals would approve of my method."

Elijah's eyes narrowed in the slightest fraction, but other than that he didn't respond to Klaus' slant. He wasn't going to let him enjoy getting a rise out of him in such a petty manner. "And what_ method _would that be?" The question was forced and laced with the under currents of displeasure.

Klaus just looked at him with a triumphant glint in his eyes before declaring, "A non-violent way of ripping Damon Salvatore's heart out."

* * *

_Author's Note: Bam! _

_So how many Kolie fans are doing a celebration dance right now? _

_Just a few notes – I know through this chapter you were probably pulling your hair out and just wanting to scream at Maggie there's a cure, but Damon didn't tell her about and she didn't get that far in Stefan's journal (even if she did, I don't think there would've been anything written on it since he left with Klaus and didn't exactly have time to pack his bags or write about it). Also, the images of Lori and Andrea were NOT ghosts. They were just products of Maggie's subconscious, aka hallucinations, which is why they knew things Maggie did and also echoed things she's already heard them say._

_So let me know what you think! Next chapter we'll have the aftermath of Maggie being cured and her confession. More Original action too._

_Review responses –_

_Ellak10847: Did I get you fangirling again this chapter? I hope so! I think the last scenes with Maggie and Klaus along with him and Elijah are rather manipulatively awesome, if it's okay for me to say that haha. To answer your question about Bonnie practicing Expression, I probably will not bring that in because we haven't seen it play out fully on the show so I don't know where it's going yet. Also, it'll be highly unlikely to see Atticus Shane or any of the Five members in this story since I believe the outbreak would disrupt the realistic possibility of them showing up in Mystic Falls. (Personally, I think Shane would be walker bait living on a college campus with no supernatural ability himself). Kol, Rebekah, and Maggie could make quite an impressive and troublesome trio. ;) I hope this chapter lived up to your hallucination hopes! And feel free to go on long rants and over analyze everything, I really appreciate it and enjoy every word after how much I put into these chapters._

_Wileby: I hope this makes up for the lack of Kolie kiss last chapter. ;D_

_IrishBeauty: Do you still hate me, haha? Rebekah has grown on me lately, so she'll definitely be around for a while yet. ;)_


	43. Chapter 43

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_The Afters – Ocean Wide_

_Scene: Beginning to sunrise_

_Muse – Madness_

_Scene: Lockwood Party_

_Onerepublic ft. Sara Bareilles – Come Home_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie's dance song_

_Chapter Forty-three_

"Oh," Klaus grinned casually, "Don't be like that, Elijah. I would think you of all people with your morals would approve of my method."

Elijah's eyes narrowed in the slightest fraction, but other than that he didn't respond to Klaus' slant. He wasn't going to let him enjoy getting a rise out of him in such a petty manner. "And what_ method _would that be?" The question was forced and laced with the under currents of displeasure.

Klaus just looked at him with a triumphant glint in his eyes before declaring, "A non-violent way of ripping Damon Salvatore's heart out."

* * *

Elijah didn't immediately respond to Klaus' explanation. He remained still a moment while he rolled around the manipulation he just admitted to in his mind. He busied his fingers by starting the engine of the vehicle. The declaration didn't stir the emotional response that it might have in others because Elijah wasn't particularly endeared to the Salvatore.

No, he wasn't too considered about matters of the heart of someone who's repeatedly conspired to dagger him and even used a flamethrower on his body on one occasion. Instead he chose to address another potential problem on Klaus' hands. Note, he stipulated Klaus and not _their, _because Elijah felt he was solely responsible for the consequences of his actions.

"Regardless of your reasoning for healing Ms. Greene," Elijah declared while turning the vehicle around and heading down the driveway. "I would not expect a completely forgiving nature from Kol, even in light of her recovery."

The grin disappeared from Klaus' expression quickly. He wasn't sure if Elijah's words were more of a threat or a warning, but to a certain degree he was right. Kol wasn't known for letting something go easily. "It has been a while since I've seen him that worked up…" Klaus mused out loud while gazing out the window.

Naturally, Elijah thought but did not say aloud, it's been at least a century long while. In this case, Elijah wasn't feeling sympathetic to whatever bout of vengeance Klaus would be subjected to.

"You know Kol has had a fascination lately with discovering the advances in society he's missed," Elijah recalled calmly, thinking of the way Kol would sometimes spend time pillaging through abandoned buildings and possessions with the curiosity of a child during Christmas.

Klaus turned his head to look at Elijah apprehensively, wondering where he was going with that point.

"While in Chicago, he took a particular interest in a book describing 21st century Middle Eastern torture techniques," Elijah's tone was dark with the slightest smirk at the corner of his lips, knowing his brother he would jump at the first opportunity to demonstrate some of that newfound knowledge.

Klaus' eyes widened the smallest fraction. Had Elijah not been a vampire, he might not have noticed the fleeting flash of panic in his eyes. The hybrid chanced a glance down his hands in his lap. He rather liked where his fingernails were at the moment.

"Just _what _are you suggesting I do then, Elijah?" Klaus growled out lowly. It was no secret that Elijah did not approve of his usual method of dealing with sibling disputes: white oak ash daggers.

Elijah shook his head in a nonchalant manner. "That's for you to decide," Elijah said meaningfully, "Though I doubt at this point Kol will stray far from Ms. Greene."

Klaus' jaw locked at his stared at his older brother. He couldn't help but wonder if Elijah was speaking for more than just Kol with the obvious distaste in his voice. Rebekah he wasn't as concerned with. While she threw her tizzy fits, she got over them quicker than anyone else in the family. His brothers were another matter.

"At times there is a certain level of wisdom to removing one's self from the situation," Klaus begrudgingly admitted after a while, at least long enough for Kol to blow off his steam.

Elijah simply nodded. "I can try speaking to Kol and Rebekah, but I cannot promise more than that," He offered, but Klaus knew it was nothing more than a head start to get out of town.

* * *

After Klaus left, Maggie was quick to change into a tank top and kept an eye on her shoulder, watching the way the wound began to heal up. Carol brought her a couple of blood bags and she didn't even bother worrying about the source of the blood at that point. She drank two of them quickly and it proved to help regain her strength as well as heal the wounds faster. The nauseous feeling from the blood seemed like nothing compared to the werewolf venom.

Carol remained by her side, constantly fussing over her condition. It wasn't until it was clear that she was going to be okay did the relieved tears started to flow. Maggie let herself smile again, but it shook with the nerves and the emotional grate of the evening. Between the frank discussion about Damon with Kol, being attacked and the hallucinations, she thought Klaus' appearance was the final topper. But she was wrong when she heard a knock at the door less than an hour later.

Maggie wasn't quite sure who she expected to be at the door, but she couldn't deny that she had hoped it would be a dark-haired vampire.

He had a hand on either side of the door frame, leaning into the furthest extent of the invisible barrier keeping him outside. His hair was a mess from running, she guessed, since there wasn't even a vehicle parked in the driveway behind him.

"Maggie?" He barely whispered and his eyes passed over her frantically, taking in each detail of her state. The panic and bewilderment was clear across his face and she doubted the heavy panting was from actual physical exertion.

The next moment there was a loud crack in the air.

His head turned from the force and his jaw hung open slightly. The stinging actually left a bit of a red mark on his cheek before it healed quickly.

Before he could formulate any words from his stunned senses, Maggie stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. She clutched to one of the people she had thought she wouldn't see again and her fingers buried into the hair at the back of his head while he pulled her against him. "Damon," She sighed with a mix of fear and relief.

"What happened? I found Rick and Liz in the town square… they said you were bit," Damon's tone lacked any of its usual sarcasm or humor. His hands ran up and down her back, as if feeling to see if she was really standing before him and looking relatively normal.

Maggie nodded with her chin against the top of his shoulder and closed her eyes. "I was, by a hybrid. Kol was there too, but…" She realized she had a hard time expressing herself with the way her throat tightened up. She couldn't even articulate whether or not Kol was defending her or not.

Damon didn't like it, but he wasn't surprised to hear the Original's name. He heard from Rick Grimes at the location of the dead hybrid bodies about the visit from the siblings at the Greene residence. Waking up from a snapped neck and finding that scene was not a good thing for his composure. Hearing confirmation that she was bit caused his eyes to dart over her frantically while his hands tightened a bit on her.

"How? Are you…" The words slipped almost incoherently from his lips. For someone who was bit hours ago, she overall seemed to be okay, but it could have been in a spot he couldn't see.

Maggie knew what he was really trying to get at and she shook her head. "Klaus healed me," She spat out his name, still trying to wrap her head around that whole exchange.

The hybrid's name caused Damon to lean back enough to look her in the eyes. His brows furrowed in a mix of concern and confusion. He was relieved to hear her healed, but cautious at what cost. "What did he want for it?" He asked quickly.

Maggie opened her mouth and stopped to really think about it. Even now, it still seemed like some weird nightmare. She just shook her head slightly before muttering, "Nothing… we just talked."

"Talked?" Damon deadpanned and the disbelief was written clearly in his eyes. "Klaus doesn't just sit around and share bedtime stories. What did he really want, Maggie?"

Maggie's gaze dropped from Damon, not really in the mood to be handling his snapping. She pulled her arms from him and stepped around him to walk out onto the porch a bit. A hand tugged on some of her hair as she sighed, "I don't know, Damon! I've been hallucinating half the night and it wasn't until my shoulder healed that I knew for sure he wasn't just another one."

It was then Damon could really see how tired and worn down she was. He faltered. He hadn't realized just how bad her condition had gotten if she was seeing the hallucinations. He stepped towards her and softened his tone while placing a hand on her hip to turn her towards him, "Hey, it's over now. You're going to be okay."

"I know, I'll be fine," Maggie mumbled unconvincingly without looking Damon in the eyes. It caused him to reach up and pluck the anxious hand out of her hair. He then moved to wrap his arms back around her waist loosely.

She wasn't okay. She hadn't been okay before and she definitely wasn't going to be okay now.

"I've got you," Damon reassured in a confident tone. He held her like if he could keep her safe from anything, but after everything that happened that evening she didn't feel like it. His words did cause her to look up at him and stop at those piercing blue eyes. Her hands on his biceps gave an appreciative squeeze with a halfhearted grin.

Damon's eyes flickered over her face and settled on her lips. Those lips he had been afraid of finding grey and unmoving, not rosy and soft as they were now. He leaned forward wanting to feel them and express what she meant to him.

His lips were met by the brushing of her cheek. Maggie's eyes dropped when he saw him leaning closer and she turned her head away at the last moment. She wasn't sure why exactly she turned away, but she had so many things going through her mind it could have been any number of them. Even her own skin felt unsettling right now between the blood bags and healing from the bite, it had been literally crawling. There were still the hallucinations and the gravity of everything said tonight to consider.

Damon recovered quickly, his brow dipping the slightest bit in confusion at the refusal. He let his lips linger by her cheek before pulling away to request gently, "Talk to me, Maggie."

It was another one of those times he couldn't stand never being able to tell what was going on in her mind. Her face was always closed off to him. This time was particularly frustrating because he didn't even have the slightest idea what had happened in the last couple of hours to her.

Maggie swallowed and shook her head stubbornly. "I'm fine… I just. It's been," She couldn't really explain how freaked out she was from the hallucinations. She wondered which one of those walkers she had been pointing the gun at had really been Carol and who else she could've hurt without realizing it. "I just… need to rest and sort things out," She didn't completely lie.

She wanted to ask him about his werewolf bite and if Klaus had been telling the truth. But at the same time, she had enough revelations for one evening.

Damon's lips pressed together and she saw him visibly weigh what she said in his mind before taking it for what it was. "Alright, let's get going then," Damon decided, thinking maybe a hot shower and her side of his bed would help.

Maggie felt the light pressure on her lower back to guide her, but she refused to move. "No, Damon," She said quickly, perhaps even snapped a little too quickly. Heading back to the boardinghouse right now would only make things more confusing. She just wanted to be left to her non-dead-people-accompanied thoughts for a while.

There was a flash of hurt before his expression hardened.

"I just want to stay here and be alone for a while," She finally articulated what she needed. Maggie could plainly see the way Damon took it as she didn't need him right now, but she didn't know how else to describe it.

"Besides, it's safer here," She added lamely and gesturing behind her to the doorway of the cottage. At least it wasn't completely wide open for any vampire or hybrid to walk through. The boardinghouse couldn't offer that much.

* * *

It took a bit more convincing to get rid of Damon. Maggie knew it was a little selfish and he had been genuinely concerned about her, but she just wanted to be alone to think for a while. She knew that a part of him had been hoping this would cause her to reconsider of the space she claimed she needed earlier. Instead she got him to leave with the promise she would see him again soon and she tried not to dwell on the hurt in his eyes. At this point, it was pretty late at night, or very early in the morning depending on how you looked at it.

After he left, she threw on a cardigan over her tank top, mostly as a comfort than a need before she remerged on the porch. She settled herself into one of the Adirondack style chairs at the end of the porch that she had salvaged from another house several days ago. She tucked her legs underneath her and gazed aimlessly out into the darkness of the night towards the horizon.

Her mind ran through the hallucinations. In hindsight with a clearer head, they seemed completely surreal and she almost berated herself for believing them so easily. It alarmed her how she had gotten her hands on the gun without even being aware of it. She knew she left it in the SUV, but now that she thought about it, she remembered she had it tucked in the glove box before she went to work.

And then there was Klaus. That thought brought its own headache as she leaned against the arm rest with her hand against her forehead.

The front door opened and Maggie looked over to Carol stepping outside with two mugs in her hands. She offered her a quiet smile and walked over to Maggie, holding out one of the mugs.

"I made some tea," She offered out to her. Maggie sighed slightly, she still held no appeal for human food, but at this point she figured why not.

She took the mug from her hand and found it was cold tea, not hot against her fingers. "Thanks," She mumbled before taking a quick gulp of it.

Maggie choked a bit on it and nearly started coughing. An awful taste was what she was expecting, but she didn't anticipate the burn that came with it.

"_This_ is tea?" Maggie's voice was a little hoarse at first while raising an eyebrow at Carol.

Carol just smirked slightly with an innocent shrug of her shoulders. "Yes… soaking a tea bag in some vodka still counts."

Maggie blinked at Carol a bit before letting out a snort. No wonder she was always so mellowed out from drinking this stuff. "Damn, if I had known this was in it I would've joined you a long time ago," Maggie muttered and shook her head while taking another careful sip of the special tea.

"Sometimes I drink actual tea, but I think tonight called for an exception," Carol commented in a light and sympathetic tone. She always applied the amount of booze in at needed basis to her drinks.

Maggie nodded quietly and set the mug down on the top of the armrest. She let out a soft sigh and let her eyes wander away in the darkness again. Carol remained by her side patiently, watching the turmoil passing through the young woman's expression.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Carol asked her, obviously referring to the visit from the hybrid.

Maggie bit her lower lip at first. At least Carol was kind enough to ask if she wanted to, instead of just demanding it. She half shrugged and gave her an exasperated look, "Honestly, I don't know what to say." Maggie leaned her chin against her hand with an elbow on the wood rest.

Carol's eyes narrowed thoughtfully and she cocked her head slightly. That made her realize something she hadn't picked up on at the time because she only heard the words between her and Klaus and not witnessed it fully. "You were telling the truth?" Carol had to confirm, she knew Maggie could pull one hell of a poker face when she really wanted to.

"Yes," Maggie took a deep breath and her tone took a slightly hysterical level of disbelief, "I mean, I thought Klaus was just there to gloat. I didn't think there was actually a chance he would heal me or maybe it was my head messing with me again… so why lie, what did it matter at that point?"

Maggie's breath ran out and she sagged back into the seat. It wasn't exactly the ideal way to come to the realization that she actually did have feelings for Kol, but now she couldn't go back from it. Before it was easy to just brush it off as a fascination and mystery, now it was staring her in the face and she couldn't _not _think about it.

"I can't say I'm really surprised," Carol murmured, interrupting Maggie's thoughts. The doppelganger looked up to her apprehensively, causing the older woman to explain. "I had a feeling more happened on that road trip than you let onto," Carol's tone wasn't accusing, but just frank. It wasn't the first time Maggie has spoken about him either.

Maggie just nodded, but didn't say anything. She didn't really need to or particularly feel like explaining it. For a brief moment she missed the simpler days, when they were just dealing with walkers, it was kill or be killed and it didn't get any more complicated than that.

Carol could see that she losing Maggie to her thoughts again and she would likely be out here for a while. There was only so much she could do, Maggie would have to figure out the rest on her own.

"It is amazing how near death experiences show us what's really important," Carol commented finally, thinking back to the outbreak and what things suddenly became trivial and others the most important. Material possessions and buildings could be replaced, but the people you surround yourself with cannot.

Maggie frowned thoughtfully while she heard Carol open the front door and disappear back inside.

The constant battle over the past year to survive and help keep her family had helped prove just how important they were to her. She loved them fiercely and never would let them go. She couldn't help but think about the handful of near death experiences since coming to Mystic Falls, not for just her but Damon as well. Even one of them was at her own hand. It took several for her to realize she loved him. But even after all of that, she couldn't help but wonder if was significant that she was still unconvinced just _how_ much she loved him.

* * *

Maggie's head leaned to the side and she stirred, feeling a gentle brushing against her cheek. She inhaled sharply but didn't open her eyes immediately. She wasn't sure if she wanted the feeling to return or to go away so she could sleep a little longer. The warmth on her face was trying to coax her to go back to sleep. Maybe if she was still human, she would've, but now that she was alert her body didn't really need the rest anymore.

Wearily, Maggie blinked open her eyes and noticed she was still in the same place that she nodded off from her thoughts in. Her back and neck was a little stiff from the uncomfortable chair, but nothing unbearable.

The morning rays of the sun were appearing from the horizon, filtering through the tree line. Maggie squinted slightly at the brightness and couldn't help but be relieved from it. The rising sun was the sign of another day that would come to pass. If nothing else, she would continue to carry on one day at a time. She looked around her briefly and realized that she was alone on the porch.

Something had definitely touched her, but she didn't see what it could have been. Maggie looked down at herself. The mug of tea had been moved off the arm rest and rested on the ground next to her, probably to avoid being accidentally knocked over. There was a weight of fabric draped across her body and at first Maggie figured Carol must have brought a blanket out to her while she was sleeping.

Maggie stretched out her legs from underneath her, which ached for a brief moment before recovering. She frowned slightly as she noticed the blanket was rather dark and unusual. Pulling her hands out from underneath it, Maggie grabbed it by the edges and felt the heavy material in her hands as she held it up in front of her.

It wasn't a blanket, but a jacket.

A certain jacket that she was absolutely positive she had forgotten back in the park bench in the town square. There was only one person that would grab that and bring it to her just as quietly. She pulled it back towards her and took a deep inhale of the fabric.

She found her confirmation of him in the lingering scent on it. In spite of herself, she couldn't help the way her lips tugged up into a small smile and she wondered if he was somewhere out there still watching over her.

* * *

Maggie was grateful for not having work the next day. She took the day to spend time with Carol and Daryl. Part of it was apologizing for nearly shooting them both the previous night and she told them about the hallucinations. The three of them came to the general agreement not to relay any of it to Rick or Hershel, thinking it would probably do more harm than good in the long run. Maggie was okay with that, she didn't think saying to Rick 'Hey I saw your dead wife, she's looking great! She already lost the baby weight.' No, that wasn't going to happen.

She half expected to get more visitors at the cottage, expecting explanations for the dead bodies in the town square but she suspected Damon had something to do with that. She would have to thank him for it later.

That night she was going through some laundry and found several pieces that weren't hers. She smirked slightly at her tendency to steal Damon's clothes every time she was over the boardinghouse. It was while folding them did she decided to pack a small bag, some with her clothing and some with his, and go over to see him. It was the least she could do for the emotional ringer they've both been through lately.

After a brief goodbye to Carol, she grabbed the bag and went out to her SUV. She casually threw on the bag on the passenger seat before taking off towards the boardinghouse. A couple of lights were coming from the windows of the infamous residence when she pulled up to it. She only spotted Damon's blue Camaro in the driveway, but that was never a good gauge of who was there or not.

Maggie cut the engine behind the Camaro and threw the strap of the bag over her shoulder before stepping out. She went right up to the front door and thought a moment about knocking, but decided to just see herself in. Quietly slipping inside, she frowned slightly when she heard some voices. One of them was definitely Damon's and the other feminine one wasn't one she particularly cared for.

She walked down the hallway and peered into the living room, to the source of the voices. Damon was sitting on the couch with a glass being held between his hands and his elbows on his knees. Next to him, directly next to him, was Elena with a hand on his forearm. Based on their body language, they were having some sort of intimate and serious discussion.

Maggie's good mood deflated immediately. For a brief moment, she considered turning right back around and leaving, not wanting to deal with the Petrova. But she wasn't a coward and she wasn't going to let her win that easily.

"Maggie, hi," Elena acknowledged the arrival of the other vampire. There was a force politeness in her tone and expression. What Maggie noticed was the fact that Elena didn't remove her hand from Damon's arm. Game on bitch, Maggie thought to herself.

Damon startled slightly and just looked towards Maggie with a surprised expression, his mouth hanging open slightly. It wasn't like she had been able to give them a phone call and let her know she was coming by.

It took half a second for Maggie to pull together a confident smirk. Her eyes narrowed the slightest bit as she responded, "Hello Elena… Damon."

Elena opened her mouth to say something more, but Maggie didn't give the chance to. If she wasn't going to take her warning seriously, she certainly wasn't going to let her dominant the conversation either. "I brought back some of your clothes I borrowed from," Maggie held up the bag and purposely paused with her lips together before shrugging, "well, I'm not sure which night actually."

Damon quirked an eyebrow, not expecting the suggestion that came with her tone, but also pretty sure she didn't just come over to drop off some laundry. Elena grew stiff at Maggie's forwardness.

"I also brought some of my own for tonight and whenever," Maggie added on casually. While she hadn't been planning on saying it the way she was, it was still true. With the invitation back to the boardinghouse, it only made sense to bring some of her belongings back. Making it sounded more suggestive than it was in front of Elena was just icing on the cake.

Elena's eyebrows rose slightly before she recovered, looking between Maggie and more so at Damon. "So you guys… are having a slumber party?" She questioned and Maggie detected the hint of a mocking tone in her voice.

Damon opened his mouth, but hesitated. He hadn't been planning on it, but certainly wasn't going to turn Maggie away. The Greene woman in question didn't skip a beat, rising to the challenge in Elena's demeanor.

Maggie smiled in a condescending manner towards Elena. "Slumber party… Is that what high school kids are calling it these days?" Maggie sneered, jabbing at the fact Elena would eternally look like questionable jailbait. "How cute."

Any form of politeness disappeared from Elena's expression as she clenched her jaw in obvious offense. Damon's eyes just widened at Maggie's brazen comment and he knocked back a deep gulp of the whiskey in hand. Elena looked for a moment at him, as if wanting the vampire to speak up. But instead, he just pushed back in the seat on the couch, leaning back and letting this play out. Give him some popcorn and he was golden.

"Anyway, I'm going to go take a shower now," Maggie broke the tense silence with a smirk. She saw the way Damon perked up slightly, which was comical with how rigid Elena was sitting next to him. "You're welcome to join us, Elena."

"I'm sure _Stefan_ won't mind," Maggie added on with a hint of malice in her eyes, but a poisonous smile on her lips before she disappeared from view down the hallway.

That was one of the few times that Damon Salvatore was left stunned speechless. Unfortunately for him he had a very irritated Elena to deal with.

* * *

Maggie let the warm water run over her and the steam fog up the bathroom. She didn't rush through the shower or waste much time before that turning on the water. It was her silent defiance that showed she wasn't insecure about not being able to hear what Elena would be saying about her after that just downstairs. So she took her time and enjoyed the shower for what it was. Admittedly, Damon's bathroom was much nicer than the one at the cottage. It even had better water pressure.

When she was done, Maggie wrapped a towel around herself, tucking it into a knot and used a smaller one to towel dry her hair a bit. Once she was done, she stepped out of the bathroom and headed towards the bed, where the duffle bag sat on top of it. She was just unzipping it and her hands were digging around inside when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her torso.

"You know, it's really mean to invite someone join you," She could hear the pout in his voice as he tucked his chin against her shoulder, "and then lock the door."

Maggie snorted slightly to herself and continued to pull out the clothing she would wear to sleep in. She wasn't sure how she felt standing there in just a towel with him so closely behind her, but she didn't dwell on it. "Don't tell me the great Damon Salvatore was thwarted by a simple piece of home hardware," Maggie teased him lightly.

Damon smirked and muttered sarcastically, "You're right, silly me for having some manners and thinking it wasn't a real offer because of that shade of green you were wearing." Maggie felt him lean into her neck, nuzzling his nose slightly against his skin. The action caused her to tense, along with his words. He struggled to remember the last time he had two women passive aggressively trying to stake some sort of claim on him. Usually it was him and his brother over Elena.

"I wasn't jealous," Maggie stated stubbornly, even though he called her bluff on the party shower, "I was just annoyed with what she's doing, it's wrong…" Seeing as Damon was up here with her, Maggie took it as that Elena must have left while she was in the shower.

Damon pulled his face back from her neck and narrowed his eyes slightly at her words. Maggie shifted in his arms to turn around slowly. He kept them loosely on her waist, but the question was obvious in his expression at what exactly what she meant.

Maggie reached up to touch his cheek, letting her palm smooth out against his skin as she tilted her head slightly. "This running back and forth between you and Stefan… Girls like that take their attention seeking and people pleasing and try to gift wrap them as compassion and caring," Maggie commented bitterly, thinking it was very typical behavior she remembered seeing in high school. She briefly wondered if vampires grow out of that too or not.

Damon raised an eyebrow, but she could see that he wasn't totally convinced. "That's quite a statement to make after barely being here a couple months… at that rate you could give Judgey a run her for title," Damon pointed out defensively, not particularly thrilled to have his relationship with Stefan or Elena pegged like that.

Maggie clenched her jaw slightly at the mention of the witch and took a deep controlled breath to keep it from distracting her. She had a point to make and it wasn't that.

"But am I wrong?" Maggie challenged him in a quiet tone. "How many times she does she come running to you when she's not happy with Stefan or the other way around?"

Damon didn't answer her immediately. His gaze dropped from her eyes for a brief moment and that was enough of an answer for her. She just nodded quietly and turned back around to the bed to pick up the bundle of clothes she wanted to change into, clutching them to her chest.

Maggie wanted to shake her head in frustration the more she thought about it. The whole idea of keeping brothers within an arm's reach she found sickening. That sort of tension could destroy a familial relationship. She didn't know how it hadn't the first time around, but to go a second round with a woman with the same face was unfathomable to her.

"You may be trying to let her go, Damon," Maggie spoke while stepping around him and heading towards the bathroom to change. His fingers slipped from her waist and he didn't stop her while his brows were furrowed thoughtfully. She paused by the door, "But she's never going to let you go and you deserve better than that."

Damon's head snapped up in surprise at her word choice. It only took him a moment to realize she was referencing back to the morning of Carol's transition. "You heard that?" He asked faintly, not commenting on the fact Maggie only said he was _trying_ to let Elena go.

Maggie simply nodded before slipping inside of the bathroom and closing the door behind her. For a moment, she just leaned back against the wood and let out a deep breath. She remembered waking up that morning and hearing those words, thinking Damon was taking the steps in the right direction to move on from an old love. God knows she could sympathize with that. But lately, especially since the night she died, she was beginning to doubt whether or not he was really ready after all.

He did say he would always choose Elena.

* * *

Maggie ended up claiming her side of Damon's bed that night after a few drinks and a relatively quiet night. At least, quiet in Damon and Maggie terms only meant some bickering that didn't escalate to shouting or furniture breaking. But by the end of the night, she fell asleep curled up into his side. At first it had surprised Damon that she was letting herself get that close to him again. The last few times she had been struggling with the bloodlust, but he was glad to see her beginning to balance out some of her emotions. He suspected it had more to do with the regular feeding from humans than anything else.

The next morning, Maggie stirred from the nest of her blankets, which she had rolled over and stolen most of them from Damon in the night. She vaguely recalled him trying to tug some of them back during the night, but she didn't relent and just smirked when he muttered an annoyance under his breath.

Maggie let out a yawn and a stretch while rolling over to look at Damon. Her movements caused him to wake up, which was really just the fluttering of his eyelids and a deep exhale.

"You know," He mumbled in a sleepy voice, "there wasn't nearly as much sleeping in this bed before you came along."

Maggie snorted slightly, "Is that supposed to make me feel bad for you?"

Damon just jutted out his lower lip in a slight pout. Maggie rolled her eyes before sitting up in the bed swiftly.

Damon peered at her from one eye, "Where are you going?"

"I have to work today. I need to go hunting so I don't turn little Gilbert into a Lunchable," Maggie commented while getting to her feet, arching her back in a stretch as she did. Undead or not, first thing in the morning stretch still felt amazing.

Damon raised his eyebrows briefly and tilted his head a bit in agreement with that logic. "Please do, he would probably enjoy it too much," Damon smirked for a moment.

Maggie shot him a glare and used a pillow to smack him in the face.

While Damon later offered to go with her, Maggie declined. She claimed she wanted to eventually get the supervision to back off on her feedings. Eventually someone would notice if the two of them were constantly sneaking around town. One person was less conspicuous and she wanted to get a handle of things on her own eventually.

So Maggie changed into a pair of her usual jeans and the black boots before throwing on a somewhat loose fit shirt to work in. First she just had to make a side stop on the way, she thought to herself as she stepped outside into the morning light. Her shift at the Grill wasn't until the end of the day, which gave her plenty of time to hunt and see Carol.

Maggie opened the driver's door of the SUV and slide into the seat. She was turning the key of the engine when she happened to notice out of the corner of her eye something on the floor of the passenger side.

She frowned, when had that gotten there? Maybe she didn't notice it in the darkness and hurry of going to the boardinghouse last night. Since it was on the floor, it was possible, she figured. Maggie leaned down to the dark stained wooden box on the floor with a white envelope on the top. It had her name written on it.

She picked up the box and set on the passenger seat. It had a decent amount of weight to it, but nothing to strain herself over. Curiously, she glanced at the envelope and marvel at the elegant curve of her name on it. The style had an old penmanship to it that she wasn't used to.

Maggie looked back at the boardinghouse before she opened it. There wasn't anyone else outside. Damon was probably taking a shower, which he had tried talking to her into reinstating her offer before she left. Maggie tucked open the flap of the envelope and founded a folded letter.

_Darling,_

_I have trusted you with the safety of my family and my secrets. I hope I can call upon that once more and entrust you with these. I simply ask that you put them in a place of safekeeping for a few days until my return. It would be best if no one knew your possession of them, including Elijah and Rebekah. It would not be safe me to carry them with me while I go send Niklaus a message. I hear there's a feral dog problem in New Orleans. _

_Be safe and I will see you soon._

_-Kol_

Maggie's eyes passed over the page as she read and reread the message. For a moment, she marveled in the way Kol could sound like someone from a different century and then devilish in almost the same sentence. She could almost picture him smirking with the dark glint in his eyes at the prospect of going after Klaus' hybrids or werewolves. She wasn't sure which, but was willing to bet that's what he was referring to.

It didn't fully explain _what _he was trusting with her, which caused her eyes to stray from the letter to the wooden box. There was no lock on it and it seemed rather ordinary at that. Hesitantly, she lifted the lid and her eyes narrowed on the contents.

There wasn't just one of them, but six.

Maggie frowned at the six silver daggers that lay in the box along with a glass jar containing some sort of grey powdery substance. Unable to help herself, she picked up one of the daggers and marveled at the intricate design of the hilt. The silver caught the shine of the sunlight through the vehicle's windows. Her eyes wandered to the jar while wondering what the story behind these daggers was. The substance was flaky and mostly white… almost like ash.

"Shit," Maggie's eyes widened. She dropped the dagger hurriedly and snapped the lid shut on the box.

Her stomach dropped and her eyes went up around her, double checking that no one had seen her. It was a silly human instinct, like a child getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar, but it still prevailed. And this was a very pointy and dangerous cookie jar.

In disbelief, she looked back at the letter, lingering particularly on the phrasing of his family's safety. While she considered herself still learning the ins and outs of Mystic Falls, all the previous references to daggers in conversations with Kol led her to believe she had the collection of the infamous weapons. She was also willing to bet that was the white oak ash that belonged with it.

"Damnit, Kol, what are you getting me into?" Maggie mumbled to herself, trying to decide what to do with the daggers. There was enough to immobilize the remaining Original family two times over, not counting Klaus. The list of people she could think of that would crave to get their hands on them was quite long too. Any member of the Council would love it. There were also the Gilberts and the Salvatores to consider. The eldest one literally just inside the house in front of her would be more than happy to put at least one of those daggers in Kol, never mind Elijah or Rebekah.

Maggie sighed as she drawn back to the letter. Trust caught her attention. It was the first time he was coming right out and saying that he trusts her. She wasn't going to lie and say that didn't move her.

She bit her lip as she considered his request. The daggers couldn't be used against Klaus, but it looked like he could use them against his siblings. The Mikaelson name currently left a bitter taste in her mouth, quite literally. But Elijah and Rebekah weren't the ones that tried to kill her. Needless to say, she didn't need to consider whether or not she wanted to keep Kol safe.

"So much for Switzerland," Maggie grumbled and started the engine of the SUV. Go figure, she twisted Kol's arm to not kill Damon and now she has a half of dozen reasons for Damon to be upset with her again if he finds out about this. She gave a nervous glance towards the ominous box.

She pulled out of the driveway and started to head downtown in search of one person that could help her with this predicament: Rick Grimes.

* * *

When Maggie showed up for work later that, she barely had enough time to feed on the way, never mind change. Jeremy was quick to give her a hug upon seeing her, out of relief of seeing her alive and well. At first the hug threw her, but she returned it. Between the feeding and the fact he practically reeked of vervain, she was able to handle it. Surprisingly, it wasn't his smell that got commented on, but hers. Jeremy wrinkled his nose a bit and pulled back when he realized her clothes were a little damp.

When Jeremy asked her why she smelled funky, she just innocently shrugged that a water pipe burst. It wasn't a lie, just not specific. Lucky for her, the teen didn't really question it too much. He just laughed and shrugged it off before they got to work.

The next few days Maggie spent trying to get into a routine of what was becoming her vampire life. It has mixed between the emotional strains and outbursts with the high points. She enjoyed going to the stable on occasion with Carol and even getting to take a horse out for a ride one time. Working at the Grill with Matt and Jeremy was another piece of a somewhat normal life. She still worked during times that had limited human contact. Alaric and Damon frequently dropped by while she was there. Alaric was more to check on how she was doing in a way that didn't refer to ripping out throats.

Maggie went over to the boardinghouse now and then, but she didn't spend another night since the morning she found the daggers. It was mostly due to the blood issue, which she hadn't broken the news to Damon about. She didn't want to hang around there too soon after a feeding. Carol still shared her concern about it, but Maggie insisted that it was getting better. The blood still came up violently and made her ill, but maybe she was just getting used to it at this point.

Occasionally her physical pain got to her and she lashed out still. She mostly contained it to abandoned parts of town like Kol suggested. They were getting fewer and farer between as the days went by, but the underline anger was always still there. She was beginning to figure it would never really go away. She had been so angry and hurt as a human, it would only be magnified now.

Maggie fed after coming back from the Grill one evening. The sun had only recently set when she heard a knock at the door. Daryl was in the kitchen, prepping some of his hunt. Carol had left shortly after sundown to go to the stable and on her animal hunt. Maggie frowned slightly at the knock, figuring it was probably Damon, but she hadn't been expecting him.

While she was met by blue eyes, the perfectly beach curled locks of blonde hair threw her.

"Rebekah… I can honestly say this is a surprise," Maggie greeted her with more shock than hesitancy. She glanced over the Original who stood on cottage porch with two bagged hangers over her shoulder and a small pink duffle bag. While her hair and makeup was just about perfect, she wore a matching set of hip hugging sweatpants and a sweater hoodie.

Rebekah flashed a smile, which Maggie wasn't sure if knowing what she was made it that much more unsettling. "Hello Maggie… Are you busy tonight?" She asked bluntly.

"Uh… I didn't have any particular plans," Maggie answered her slowly and shifted a bit uncomfortably on her feet. Her last encounter with Rebekah had been… interesting to say the least.

"Good! Now you do," Rebekah said quickly and confidently.

Maggie's eyebrows shot up, "Excuse me?"

"You're going to crash the Lockwood party with me," Rebekah announced cheerily with a smirk.

Maggie didn't share the same enthusiasm. She didn't like frivolous celebrations before she came to Mystic Falls and she certainly didn't like them after the Founder's celebration. "Yeah… I don't think that's such a good idea," She said meaningfully, thinking of her experience with Originals last time and Klaus.

"Nik's out of town, so that excuse isn't going to work and neither is not having a dress. I already brought you one," Rebekah lifted her hand carrying the hangers over her shoulder to gesture to it.

Maggie opened her mouth to protest, but stopped at the slightly challenging stare from Rebekah. She clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer. She didn't know anything about this party other than brief mentions she overheard at the Grill. It was some formal event at the Mayor's home. There was a certain stubbornness that Maggie recognized in Rebekah though.

"You're the pushy one in the family, aren't you?" Maggie asked with a sigh. Add pushy personality to ancient vampire and Maggie doubted she would be going anywhere but the Lockwood mansion tonight.

Rebekah's face broke out into a triumphant smile and she nodded a bit. "That's right, and I always get what I want."

Her eyes then flicked up and down Maggie, taking in her casual clothing and her state of much needed manicure. "Now you better invite me in soon, because you… need serious help."

Maggie tried not to groan as she turned to go get Daryl. She just hoped she wouldn't regret this too badly later on.

* * *

It didn't take much to convince Daryl to invite the vampire into the house. First, he looked to her for confirmation that it would be okay. Maggie was mostly going on out on a limb with the invitation. She hadn't done anything to Rebekah for the blonde to come after her. She just hoped the feeling was mutual. Daryl trusted her judgment call on that rather quickly, but she wondered if actually seeing the vampire question helped expedite that. Typical males.

Rebekah wrinkled her nose as they walked in the hallway. "What is _that _smell?" She scoffed, chancing a glance into the kitchen.

"Squirrel," Maggie answered her and they both peered at the mess on the dining table. She knew that Carol would give Daryl a lecture later about skinning in the kitchen again. The hunter just smirked without looking up from his knife.

"Want some?" He grunted out at Rebekah's disgusted expression. He held out a piece of flesh by the tip of the knife blade in her direction.

Rebekah's lip curled up and she shook her head. "That's disgusting… and absolutely barbaric."

Daryl snorted, finding her comments on his dietary choices rather ironic. Even Maggie cocked her head slightly and couldn't help herself from questioning, "I'm sorry… weren't you born in the Stone Age or something?"

"10th century, actually," Rebekah snipped at Maggie, and paused to give one more repulsed look in Daryl's direction, "And my brothers were much better hunters."

Daryl just shrugged, "Suit yourself, more for me…" He went right back to work, ignoring the sneer. It wasn't the first time someone made fun of his hunting choices and it wouldn't be the last time either.

Maggie shook her head and in spite of herself chuckled a bit. When not at the butt end of Rebekah's condescending tone, she could actually be amusing. Maggie led her back into the bedroom that she was staying in.

Rebekah draped the gown bags across the bed and dropped the duffle bag on it too. Immediately, she started rooting through and pulling out beauty products. Maggie eyed them nervously as she started to notice just how much she brought.

"Here, take a shower and use _all _of this," Rebekah shoved an assortment of items into Maggie's arms, ranging from salon conditioners to a razor.

"Really? This is…" Maggie stopped her protest when she saw Rebekah's expression with her hands on her hips. If anything, it said '_I'm an Original, I dare you to argue with me_.' Maggie just sighed and shrugged in surrender, "Okay."

A half hour later, Maggie was sitting in a chair pulled up in front of the mirror of her dresser. Rebekah was standing in front of her, bent over and her lips pursed in annoyance.

"Hold still! Scrunching up like that is only making it worse, you baby," Rebekah reprimanded her and used a hand to push Maggie's forehead back further.

Maggie clenched her jaw and tried not to flinch too much when she felt a few more plucks. She was just considering six different ways to stab her with those tweezers before Rebekah announced she was done and stepped around behind her to the duffle bag. She was starting to remind her of the evil vampire version of Beth when it came to dance prep.

Maggie sighed and looked in the mirror at her newly shaped eyebrows. She had to admit it did look good. She focused on the redness around them and leaned forward towards the mirror as she watched it fade in seconds before her eyes. "That still freaks me out," She muttered mostly to herself.

Rebekah snorted behind her and questioned bluntly, "Seriously? You're a vampire and the healing is the weirdest part for you?"

Maggie just shrugged noncommittally. She didn't feel the need to explain the blood drinking didn't freak her out as much because it seemed dignified in comparison to what she's seen walkers do. Rebekah didn't wait for a response from her, she was already fussing with Maggie's hair, which was still a bit damp. If it wasn't all of the years of being Beth's dress up doll for school dances, Maggie wouldn't have been nearly as compliant about all this… plus, Rebekah's mean face was something actually to be worried about.

"I'm going to cut your hair," Rebekah decided without even looking at Maggie's expression in the mirror. Her fingers were measuring out lengths.

"What? No!" Maggie sat up straighter in the seat with a nervous exclamation. Sure enough, she could see that Rebekah had a pair of sheers behind her.

"Oh relax," Rebekah snapped at her, "I know what I'm doing… When was the last time you had a haircut anyway?" The blonde tilted her head slightly in thought, thinking Maggie mostly just need a trim and cleaning up around the edges.

Maggie just looked at her incredulous, "When the hair dresser wasn't too busy trying to take a bite out of me." Like she had the time to worry about things like her last pedicure over the past year.

Needless to say, Maggie lost that argument too. She ended up just sitting still in the chair while Rebekah made quick work of her hair. At least being a vampire, the reflexes and calculated movements made it go by faster. She couldn't help but wonder what she was getting herself into and she hadn't even left the house yet.

Rebekah was working comfortable silence when Maggie decided to break it.

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything… but _why_ are you doing this, Rebekah?" Maggie had to ask, trying to fathom what motivated the blonde to show up on her doorstep. She just didn't seem to be the friendly and outgoing type to Maggie.

Rebekah just smirked behind Maggie as she combed out some locks, eying up her handiwork. "You caught me," She said, having never been intrinsically motivated to clean up tomboyish women for their benefit before. "I want to see the look on Elena Gilbert's face when Damon can't keep his eyes off of _you_."

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "They're going together?" She questioned, thinking it was odd Damon hadn't mentioned the party at all to her before.

"Of course," Rebekah half shrugged. When didn't Elena show up at dances and parties with both Salvatores?

Maggie's expression pulled into a tight thoughtful one as she stared back at her own reflection in the mirror. She wouldn't say she was an opponent to any plan that could piss off Elena, despite how petty that sounded. The girl was really starting to annoy her lately.

"While I'm all for that idea…" Maggie conceded, but pointed out, "I think showing up dateless would ruin some of the effect."

Rebekah pulled out a hair dryer and a hair straightener behind Maggie. "Don't be ridiculous," She said casually, "You're going with Kol."

Maggie actually turned in her seat this time to look at Rebekah directly, "I am?"

Rebekah paused while plugging in the appliances. "Well, Kol is going to be there and he doesn't know I'm bringing you…" She began to amend matter-of-factly, but then stopped when she saw the look on Maggie's face. Rebekah let out a huff, "Oh quit pretending you aren't looking forward to seeing him."

Her frankness caused Maggie to gasp, but she ended up clamping her mouth right shut. She didn't think it was that obvious on her face, but Maggie just slouched back down in her seat then. She_ was_ looking forward to seeing him. She couldn't help but think the last line of his letter held some promise to it and the whole situation with the daggers had her mind wandering towards him even more than usual.

* * *

Maggie was rather subdued through the rest of the preparations for the party. Her mind was mostly distracted by the prospect of seeing Kol again. While the note and the jacket was a reminder that he had been close by, this was the first time she would really be seeing him since her admission to Klaus. It made her nervous.

The dress that Rebekah had brought her for was a shade of green that accentuated the color of her eyes. It was made of a soft sheen material that hugged her body in ruching before flaring out around her hips to a floor length with a slit up the thigh, without getting inappropriately high, and straps that dipped down into a v-neck. Maggie was more stunned by the makeup and hair. Looking in the mirror, she was pleasantly surprised by the classic straight cut Rebekah gave her hair, with the bangs tucked over her ear. A light smoky eye made her eyes stand out more than usual with bright red lips.

It was a more sophisticated and mature look than she was used to seeing herself in, but she had to give Rebekah credit where it was due. Rebekah changed into her own light blue gown, which had more of an A-line cut to it and made of a taffeta material.

They took Rebekah's SUV to the Lockwood mansion. It seemed like too soon when Maggie found herself standing outside of the massive home. The white columns were lit up with spotlights in the yard and many people were milling about, moving in their dark suits and fancy dresses towards the entrance of the home. It was well after the start of the party, so Maggie was grateful they wouldn't have to make some sort of grand entrance and have less of a chance of being immediately kicked out. Though, she figured sticking to Rebekah's side would decrease the chances of anyone trying to get rid of them.

Rebekah just confidently looped Maggie's arm through her own, like if they were some sort of high school buddies. Under different circumstances, Maggie would've laughed about it. Instead, Maggie took a deep breath and just followed her lead up to the front doors, which were propped open. She spotted Mayor Lockwood standing by them with a champagne glass in her hand, greeting each guest to enter the home. She overheard her telling the ones in front of them to go straight through the house and the rest of the party was in the backyard.

"Mayor Lockwood," Rebekah greeted politely with a smug expression as the two vampires approached the threshold of the doorway.

"Rebekah," Carol stiffened slightly, but it hid behind her well-practiced politician's smile. Maggie could hear her heartbeat pick up considerably and tried not to smirk too much at how odd that seemed since the last time she saw her. "And Maggie, what a pleasant surprise. I'm glad you could make it."

Maggie didn't miss the double meaning in her words.

Rebekah just smiled politely, "Thank you. You have such a beautiful home."

Maggie noticed the tightness around Carol's eyes. "Thank you. Please come in, the dance floor is in the back and refreshments will be served out there as well," Carol gave politely, even though Maggie could tell that was the last thing she really wanted to do.

Maggie didn't let it show how much she didn't like the fakeness of the exchange and just stepped forward with Rebekah, silently suppressing her own smirk from the house invitation. Maggie relaxed a little bit when the Mayor moved onto the next guests, but knew there would likely be at least one pair of eyes on them all evening. She tried to busy herself with looking around the home as they moved through it.

Briefly, in one of the rooms off the main hallway, Maggie caught a sight of Sheriff Forbes and Rick Grimes. They were both still in uniform, which seemed funny for the formal wear of the event, but she couldn't picture either of them in anything less.

Rick gave her a concerned look when he saw who Maggie showed up with, but Maggie just flashed him a reassuring grin. He didn't make any move to approach her, but gave her a meaningful nod.

Maggie noticed that most people avoided them as they made their way out to the backyard. She didn't know if it had more to do with people knowing what they were or if was because of their appearances. Either way, it didn't matter to her, she was fine by it. Less people to bother her as far as she was concerned.

Rebekah's arm dropped from Maggie as they stepped outside. Maggie was taken aback by the amount of people there. In the back of her mind, she hoped she had drank enough to handle all this. They walked across to the steps of the yard that dipped down and the dance floor sprawling out before them. They allowed a good vantage point of most of the party.

The party was beautiful she had to admit. The sky was illuminated by a mirage of paper lanterns hung in the air. She didn't want to ask how long or how they had gotten them, but they filled the darkness with different shapes and sizes, mostly in various hues of white and peach. Music carried through the air through a professional speaker system, Maggie figured band choices must be limited these days. Her eyes watched the couples already moving about the dance floor, the fine black suits with the array of various colors.

Rebekah disappeared for a brief moment before coming back with two champagne glasses, offering one out to Maggie without bothering to ask if she even wanted it. She needed it though as soon as her eyes settled on a particular couple on the dance floor.

Damon looked good in a suit. She couldn't deny that and seeing him in one again brought back memories of dancing with him at the Founder's celebration. Except this time he wasn't dance with her, but with Elena. The nervousness Maggie felt took a back burner as she glared at the doppelganger with cold annoyance from afar. He held Elena close, who was wearing a deep purple satin dress with most of her hair pulled to the side in curls. Maggie couldn't tell what was being said between the two, she still had trouble focusing her hearing through all the chatter and music, but she could see Damon with his signature smirk on his face. Either he was enjoying himself or just doing a good job at hiding any discomfort.

"What did I tell you?" Rebekah's voice broke through her thoughts. The _I told you so_ in her tone wasn't particularly sympathetic, which was fine with Maggie, she didn't want pity.

Maggie took a deep, maybe not quite dignified, gulp of the alcohol, which did little to ease the burning in her throat. "You called it," Maggie conceded bitterly, keeping her eyes locked on the dancing pair. In the back of her mind, she was contemplating ways to get back at Elena if she tried anything.

"You never did tell me why you've been staying at that little shack. I would've thought you'd be at the Salvatores…" Rebekah commented pointedly. They had continued to talk on the way over here and she didn't think Rebekah was that bad after all. Maggie was beginning to learn that you just had to take her condescending remarks with a grain of salt.

Hearing his last name, Damon looked up from Elena and towards the top of the garden stairs. His jaw tensed a bit at the sight of Rebekah, but then he nearly did a double take at who was standing next to him.

Maggie just regarded the couple with a cool blank stare, noticing Elena hadn't caught on immediately to Damon's wide eyed expression yet. Rebekah's words had another layer of meaning that she didn't miss, but she wasn't going to comment on it here of all places. There were several reasons for why she hadn't slept with Damon.

Instead she deflected with a deadpanned expression, "The cottage is quiet and good for the seven part series I've been working on." Maggie paused a moment. Rebekah took a hesitant sip from her drink with sharp eyes, unsure if she was being serious or not. Maggie then added on, "The first book I'm titling Elena Gilbert and the Golden Vagina."

Rebekah choked on the drink and Maggie had to suppress a smirk at the way she covered her mouth, probably trying not to spray it everywhere.

On the dance floor, she could see the doppelganger whipping her head around at the sudden mention of her name. The couple stopped dancing and Maggie grinned at the daggers the brunette was throwing her way, but didn't back down.

Instead, she pulled her expression into one of musing as she took Rebekah's reaction under pretend consideration. "Hm, I think you're right, seven might not be enough," Maggie commented in a bored tone before taking a calm sip of her own drink.

Rebekah took a moment to clear her throat and she shook her head, grinning broadly. Now she knew why her brother was so obsessed with her.

Maggie could see Damon taking a few steps forward in their direction. But he was then stopped by Elena with a hand on his shoulder and his arm. Maggie's eyes narrowed sharply as she focused on the couple and heard Elena muttering a warning to Damon about Rebekah being right there.

The Original in question clearly heard them as she cocked her head slightly with flashed a predatory white smile while waving a couple of taunting fingers in their direction.

Damon clenched his jaw and he looked visibly torn on what to do, fighting between heeding Elena's warning and wanting to go to Maggie. But going to Maggie would also risk leaving Elena unprotected, which was a problem given the blonde Original's attendance.

The indecision in his face caused Maggie's gaze to drop away from Damon and wander back to the crowd. She heard Rebekah saying something to her, but she wasn't really listening when she fixated on someone else standing at the edge of the dance floor.

He was talking to what she was guessing was one of the Council members. Despite the rigidness of his company, he wore a knowing smirk on his face, accented by the dimple of his cheek. Her eyes passed over his dark brown hair, which was only a little bit tamed for the event, but still had its natural mess to it. The sharp and clean lines of his black suit added to his normally imposing tall stature, even with the semi-casual way he had one hand tucked into his pant pocket.

Rebekah frowned slightly when she noticed she had lost Maggie's attention. She turned her head to follow Maggie's gaze. "Oh, there's Kol," She acknowledged and her slight annoyance disappeared immediately.

As if hearing his name, Kol glanced out of the corner of his eye in their direction. He stopped when his eyes caught the sight of Maggie's green gown and moved up to see the stunning woman. The smirk fell away from his face into a look of shocked awe as his gaze locked with hers. Maggie took a deep breath and the corner of her mouth tugged upwards a bit as she heard Kol mutter a quick excusal from his company.

He slowly made his way towards her, taking each step of the stairs leading up to the two women carefully. Maggie watched the shock and wonder shift by the time he was half way up the steps to a smile on his lips and genuine admiration in his eyes. Damon and Elena were forgotten as she felt her stomach knot at the way Kol was looking at her.

Kol reached the top of the steps and closed the distance between the three of them. He didn't really spare much of a glance towards his sister. His eyes were solely on Maggie, looking more stunning and radiant than he had ever seen her before. While he was used to her casual clothing and had seen her in one dress prior to this, it was not comparable to this evening. His irritation towards his sister for insisting on coming to this event didn't matter now.

"Hello darling," Kol greeted her, rolling the pet name tenderly. He reached forward and gently took her hand in his. Their eyes didn't break as he lifted her knuckles to his lips, letting them brush across her skin, perhaps a little longer than normal.

"Kol…" She whispered his name softly in return and bit the inside of her cheek, trying to keep herself from grinning too much.

Rebekah simply watched the two with a knowing smirk on her face and kept half an eye out to the dance floor, noticing the way Damon and Elena were speaking in low, hushed tones.

Maggie had many questions on her mind, like where he had been and what happened, but they died in her throat as she stared at him. The times she had thought about what she would say to him the next chance she saw him disappeared from her mind.

"How about a dance?" Kol suggested smoothly after lowering her hand from his lips, but not completely letting it go. For a brief moment, Maggie marveled at how different things were now since the last time he asked her for a dance. The last person she wanted to dance with was now the first one.

She glanced quickly towards the dance floor, noticing the sound of a piano starting to carry through the speakers with a new song.

"With actual music this time?" Maggie teased him in a light tone and held out her drink towards Rebekah absentmindedly to take.

Rebekah scoffed slightly at the gesture, but bit her tongue and took it anyway. Neither her brother nor Maggie was even looking in her direction.

Kol grinned at the reminder of their last dance and led Maggie down the stairs towards the dance floor.

* * *

Maggie faintly heard Rebekah muttering something about getting inspiration for her second book while Kol pulled her out onto the floor. Immediately, she placed her right hand in his and the other on his shoulder as he pulled her close. She looked up at him as he took the lead, which didn't take much for both of them to follow into the tempo now that they had actual music this time.

At this point, she was sure if she was still human her cheeks would've been on fire, especially from the way he was smirking down at her. "You look nervous, sweetheart," Kol commented in a light teasing tone, also noticing how quiet she was.

"I didn't plan on coming tonight until your sister kidnapped me," Maggie threw back, but the irritation wasn't serious in her tone. Kol just smirked, thinking he would have to thank Rebekah later for it.

Kol let out a playful pout, "And here I thought you came because you missed me."

Maggie smiled and almost shook her head with a sarcastic retort about his ego. But she stopped, instead she looked up at him and admitted honestly, "I did." It wasn't just in light of her conversation with Klaus, but she had been hoping to see him that morning she woke up and found his jacket.

The playful pout faded away as he regarded her in an expression that she couldn't quite read. It wasn't threatening, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. The teasing slipped away between them as his dark eyes bore into her.

"Where did you go that night?" Maggie questioned curiously, having wondered what happened after he left her in the town square and what he meant being taking care of it.

"I went to Niklaus to get him to heal you," Kol answered her, pausing with a slight sigh at the memory, "It didn't go well."

Maggie blinked in slight confusion, but didn't interrupt him. If it didn't go well, how was it that Klaus ended up on her door step then?

"I tried to find you after that, Rebekah came with me. I went to every place I knew you were at, but I couldn't find you," Maggie felt Kol's fingers tightened subconsciously on her waist, as if to make sure she wouldn't slip away from him this time. Maggie was only left to wonder how panicked he may have been since there was a ghost of it in his eyes.

"Klaus did heal me though…" Maggie pointed out gently.

Kol nodded lightly, "Elijah told me afterwards." He hadn't been too thrilled to find out about the dagger threats and admittedly his siblings weren't happy about it either. Elijah had only just gotten his family back in his eyes. Kol and Rebekah had spent more time in coffins than they cared for.

"Did he tell you why?" Maggie asked, breaking the hardness from Kol's eyes and the thoughts he was in.

His brows furrowed a bit, but he just shrugged slightly and shook his head. Maggie nearly faltered in her dance steps. If there was a moment for her to tell him what Klaus had asked her, this was it. But it was also in the middle of a dance floor and while it felt intimate between them, there was several other people watching. Plus, maybe she was a coward and didn't want to admit to what she was feeling just yet.

Kol didn't push her for why she was asking. In his eyes, he was just grateful to come home and find her.

Maggie lowered her voice to a whisper as she thought about what he meant by didn't go well. "He threatened to dagger you, didn't he?"

Kol pressed his lips together tightly before nodding in confirmation. "I don't appreciate anyone trying to harm me or people," Kol stopped himself in midsentence and shook his head as if trying to get rid of a train of thought. He finished with a different question, "I take it you found my letter then?"

Maggie tried not to let her mind fill in the gaps of what those possible words could have been. "I did," She answered, noticing the meaningful tone in his question, "And it's taken care of."

If she hadn't been so close to him, she might not have noticed the small sigh of relief he exhaled. "Thank you, Maggie," He gave with genuine sincerity in his eyes and it left her wondering just how much he was thanking her for.

She just gave him a reassuring grin as they fell silent into the music. Even while speaking to him, she had been aware of his hand on her waist and the small warmth she got from the way her hand fit into his. Each step they moved together, she found herself focusing solely on him. The tightness in her chest and butterflies in her stomach was only an echo of what she felt with the way he lazily grinned down at her.

It was towards the end of the song when she had to keep herself from letting out a resigned curse under her breath.

Seeing him tonight and dancing together dashed any chance that her answer had been wrong. He wasn't the person she was expecting to get this feeling from, but she couldn't pull away from his arms if she tried at this point.

The song began to die down into the last few keys of the piano and their feet slowed to a stop. Kol didn't remove her hand from her waist and so she kept hers on his shoulder. Instead he leaned closer to her and whispered, "Have I told you how beautiful you are tonight?"

At first she thought about mocking the cheesy line, but she noticed there wasn't a single hint of teasing in his tone. She opened her mouth, unsure what to say to such a declaration. The hand that held hers slipped away to reach up towards her face and gently cup her cheek. Her hand tightened slightly as on his shoulder from the chill he drew from her, especially as his thumb brushed lightly on her lower lip.

She noticed the way his eyes dropped from hers and understood that little gesture from him. She knew what it meant that he wanted next when he did that. Before he could lean in further to her, she warned him in a low tone, "Kol… you better not kiss me in front of all these people."

"And what if I did?" Kol challenged her, not looking back up into her eyes.

Maggie swallowed thickly, definitely not ready for the trouble that would bring. They were still in the middle of the dance floor, after all. "I can slap you a lot harder now," She offered.

Kol smirked slightly at the memory of the Founder's celebration. She could certainly leave a mark now as a vampire, even just a newborn. "It might just be worth it," Kol mused and enjoyed the fleeting moment of panic in her eyes, but also the fact she didn't turn or push him away.

He leaned forward to her face and he sensed her free hand rise in the air. It halted in midair though as he tilted his head to the side in the last moment.

Maggie's fingers curled into a feeble fist as she closed her eyes and felt his lips on her cheek. He let them linger on her skin as he felt letting out a shaky exhale. He inhaled the fresh scent of her before pulling away slowly. She opened her eyes hesitantly and found him searching hers while his face hovered close to hers. He didn't pull away completely because of the look in her eyes, which mirrored his closely. It was want and desire.

He looked back down to those luscious red lips and considered for a moment just how bold to be. Before he could though, another voice interrupted them.

"Mind if I cut in?"

* * *

_Author's Note: Evil cliffy, I know! So who do you think is cutting in on the dance?_

_We finally got a genuine Kolie dance, was it worth the wait?_

_It's getting tough for Maggie ignore those feelings now that she knows they're there! I'm sure everyone is super curious about the daggers, but you'll just have to wait and see._

_Let me know your thoughts on this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!_

_And yes for my bookworms out there, that was a Harry Potter reference._

_Next chapter, more of the Lockwood party, which also includes a TVD character we haven't seen this fanfic yet. Plus plenty of Kolie and Elijah._

_Review responses –_

_Ellak10847: I'm glad you found those parts of last chapter creepy, it was totally intentional! Haha. Nope, Klaus is just enjoying being able to use Maggie to torment Damon. But we'll see how that ends up working out for him. ;D_

_IrishBeauty: Haha, I know! At this point in the story, I'm struggling with feeling bad for Damon and not too. And yes, there was a Klaroline reference, but I won't be going into that subplot unfortunately (there's just too much to cover). Elijah/Carol? Oh my, that is an odd pairing I have to admit and I never thought of it like that haha. But yes, I think fangirling is now becoming an official term of this fanfic!_


	44. Chapter 44

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Snow Patrol – You Could Be Happy_

_Scene: Glenn and Maggie_

_Anya Marina – All the Same to Me_

_Scene: Elena and Maggie_

_Chapter Forty-four_

Maggie's fingers curled into a feeble fist as she closed her eyes and felt his lips on her cheek. He let them linger on her skin as he felt letting out a shaky exhale. He inhaled the fresh scent of her before pulling away slowly. She opened her eyes hesitantly and found him searching hers while his face hovered close to hers. He didn't pull away completely because of the look in her eyes, which mirrored his closely. It was want and desire.

He looked back down to those luscious red lips and considered for a moment just how bold to be. Before he could though, another voice interrupted them.

"Mind if I cut in?"

* * *

Kol stopped at the voice and Maggie saw the rather murderous glint enter his eyes at the interruption. He pulled back to more appropriate distance from Maggie and looked over his shoulder at the intrusion. The hand fell from her cheek, but he didn't relent the hand from her hip. His glare loosened up into a slightly perplexed one though.

Maggie's eyes dropped instantly from Kol's face, feeling slightly embarrassed at how much she had gotten caught in the moment. Taking a slight sidestep, she looked over Kol's shoulder to see who was there and frowned slightly in confusion.

Stefan Salvatore patiently stood behind Kol with his hands tucked behind his back. His lips were set tightly together with the slightest polite upwards tug. Like the other men, he wore a black suit with a white undershirt. Maggie had to admit he cleaned up nicely, but the younger Salvatore wasn't really her type in that sense.

Kol was the first one to recover. "That would be up to the lady," He replied in a tight polite tone. His eyes flickered between Stefan and Maggie. While there was a smirk on his lips, Maggie knew it was just a mask for his annoyance.

"Of course," Stefan responded and looked to Maggie expectedly. He didn't seem the least bit bothered by the harsh glare he was receiving from Kol. But then again, Maggie figured Stefan must have gotten used to such behavior after spending time with Klaus.

Maggie had to clear her throat before she hesitantly speaking, "I don't mind." She probably could use a bit of a breather from Kol's overwhelming presence.

Stefan didn't gloat or smirk at the acceptance and for that she was grateful he wasn't like his brother. He simply held out his hand to her. Before Maggie took it, she gave the forearm of Kol's hand on her hip a reassuring squeeze. "I'll see you soon," She offered him quietly.

She couldn't tell what he was thinking because he just gave a tight nod before dropping his hand from her. The smirk was gone from his face and for a brief moment she wondered if she should've refused the dance.

Maggie placed her hand in Stefan's and let him pull her a few steps away from Kol. The next song had a slightly faster and more upbeat tempo, which Maggie was grateful for. She didn't want to see what Kol would do if it was a slow dance. Or even what Damon would do, she amended that thought. While Stefan placed a hand lightly on her hip, keeping a respectful distance between them, Maggie glanced around them trying to find his brother. She couldn't spot Elena or Damon immediately.

The first few steps between them were silent. Maggie was apprehensive, not entirely sure what to expect from Stefan. He moved with fluid and natural steps, but didn't really move her like dancing with Damon or Kol.

"You know that night when I suggested getting help from Kol," Stefan broke the silence. There was a hint of aggravation in his tone, but the rest of his expression remained calm. "_That_ wasn't really what I had in mind."

With everything that happened since, that night seemed far away, but Maggie realized then it really wasn't that long ago. It was the last proper conversation she had with Stefan too. "Ah, you're referring to burning down the White Oak tree," Maggie nodded. She chanced a glance over Stefan's shoulder and saw that Kol was no longer standing where she left him. "I'm sure Elena told you _all _about that," Maggie added on sharply.

"Oh she did, and so did Damon and Jeremy," Stefan acknowledged, not rising to the slant in Maggie's tone towards his girlfriend.

Maggie's eyes were drawn back to him sharply at that. If that was true, then he at least got a chance to hear different sides of the story. "You know why I did it then," She stated unsympathetically. Stefan nodded quietly and she continued on, "So you're here to give me another lecture on loyalty and trust then?"

"No," Stefan said with a sigh. He wasn't going to be throwing any stones about doing shady things with Originals given his history. She was protecting her family after all and he could get that. "I actually wanted to make sure you were really okay."

Some of Maggie's defensiveness fizzled out at the look of genuine concern from Stefan. There was no arguing he was the more understanding and diplomatic brother, which made it really hard to be irritated with him. The look he was giving her she could tell he was concerned about what he just saw on the dance floor, but Maggie wasn't going to address that. She didn't owe anyone an explanation.

"He really is helping me," Maggie admitted sincerely, her green eyes being met by similar ones. Stefan didn't say anything in response and she could see that he was trying to understand, but struggling.

"He's going to help me get this Ripper thing under control," Maggie continued on honestly and gave a half shrug. "I figure, if there's any vampire that'll know what there is to know about bloodlust it'll be an Original."

Stefan's eyebrows rose slightly. He couldn't really argue with the logic that Originals had more experience by default than him and his brother. Damon wasn't the best coach for impulse control anyway. "Kol thinks you're a Ripper, too?" Stefan wanted to clarify, they had only speculated it in their talks.

Maggie nodded simply while they kept their tones low and hushed. If it wasn't for the seriousness, she would laugh at how they were talking about killing in the middle of a crowded dance floor.

"Then you'll need his help," Stefan conceded dubiously, still reluctant about the Original in question. While he was able to mentor Caroline, he couldn't guide another Ripper when he still had his ongoing issues. Maggie could see the pain in his eyes he absentmindedly looked away from her.

She couldn't help but think of Lexi. If Kol was really her Lexi, she would make it through this, but Stefan didn't have that. It gave her an idea and Maggie grinned.

"I'll make a deal with you," Maggie spoke up, causing Stefan to look back at her curiously. "Just trust me with this now and when I conquer this… I'll come back and help you through it."

Stefan chuckled appreciatively at the gesture and how she eager she sounded, like if it wasn't going to be the biggest challenge for her to overcome. He didn't say anything at first and Maggie just grinned at him as they moved lightly on the dance floor.

His eyes studied hers before he countered, "You really mean that, don't you?" Maggie didn't miss the hint of hope in his eyes underneath the decades of pain.

"Of course," Maggie replied instantly. She was stubborn enough that she wouldn't give up on him either. She wasn't Lexi, but she could damn near try.

Stefan pressed his lips together while he mulled the proposition. He slowly began to nod his head, as if warming up to the idea with each nod. The tightness in his lips eased up into a small smile. "Alright," He said finally with a slight snort, "I'd like that."

Maggie relaxed into his hands and returned the smile, glad to know that things looked like it would be okay between them. From one Ripper to another, she appreciated an understanding she had with Stefan that others wouldn't know.

* * *

Maggie danced two more songs with Stefan. After their talk, it was easier to lighten up with the Salvatore and he spun her around to a few more jazzy tunes. Contrary to what she read in his diary, he seemed to be more fun when drinking human blood, even if it was from the bag.

Eventually, he excused himself to go talk to another blonde on the edge of the dance floor. With a second glance, Maggie realized that it was Caroline Forbes. She didn't bother going with him, the blonde sent her an icy glare, which Maggie had no problem returning naturally. Later she would have to give it more thought where that came from, but she suspected it had to do with another certain doppelganger.

Maggie went back towards the house at the top level of the garden near the French doors. All the people around her were starting to get to her nerves. If it wasn't the music she was hearing, it was the steady beating of hearts amongst the chatter. She had to force herself not to think about the pumping blood beneath the thin layer of flesh of each walking blood bag around her.

She made her way towards the refreshment table, remembering any level of alcohol helped take the edge off. She was reaching forward to grab a glass when a polite voice stopped her.

"There's vervain in that one," The voice warned her and Maggie looked up to be met by the blue Mystic Falls police department uniform.

"Oh," Maggie just mumbled feebly at Sheriff Forbes. Her hand remained hovering near the champagne glasses, almost like a deer caught in headlights. The last time she was this close with the Sheriff, she had drunk herself half way through the Grill.

Sheriff Forbes reached around her towards a second set of the waiting glasses. She picked up one that had a slightly lighter yellow hue and offered it out to Maggie. If her attention hadn't been drawn to it, she wouldn't have noticed the differences in the drinks.

"Thanks," Maggie muttered and took the glass appreciatively. That just saved her an exceptional amount of discomfort.

Liz nodded and asked bluntly, "I'm surprised to see you here. How are you doing?" Aside from the state she found Maggie in at the Grill, this was a lot of people to be around as a still relatively new vampire.

Maggie took a sniff of the drink, first making sure there really was no vervain in it and delayed answering while she took a sip. She mulled over words before answering, "I'm adjusting and staying with Carol to help with that, but I've been doing much better lately."

"I'm glad to hear it," Liz replied honestly. Between her friendship with Damon and working with Rick, she couldn't help but want to look out for the young woman. In some ways, Maggie was a daughter to Rick.

Maggie nodded appreciatively and her eyes wandered back down to the glasses on the table curiously. "So why is there vervain in the drinks?" Maggie asked in a lower tone. It wasn't like the Council wasn't aware of who were vampires and there were many in attendance tonight.

Liz hesitated slightly, but figured between Damon and Rick she could trust Maggie. "Safety precaution by the Council," She answered her and earned a furrowed brow of confusion from Maggie. "Between you and me, there's been an increase in collapses from dehydration and exhaustion at the hospital… and with that boy who's still missing, the Council just wanted to look after anyone attending tonight."

Maggie kept herself from reacting by taking another slow sip of the alcohol. All of the sudden the burn in the back of her throat didn't seem as important. Well… fuck, she thought, she would have to talk to Kol to figure out how to tweak her compulsions later.

"Do you think the two are connected?" Maggie questioned carefully, trying to read where the Sheriff personally stood on the matter.

Sheriff Forbes shook her head back and forth in a manner as if weighing both sides of the argument. "It's possible, but I think it's too early to tell and we don't have any leads right now. It is heading into peak time of the year for dehydration. The Council may just be paranoid from the influx of vampires and hybrids lately," She answered and Maggie knew immediately that she was referring to the Original family.

Maggie nodded in understanding, masking her expression from giving away her nervousness by deflecting. "How many hybrids are there exactly?" She was genuinely curious, knowing a sizable dent has been put in their population because of her.

"There's eleven, excluding Tyler," Liz answered, her eyes wandered around them to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation.

Maggie's eyebrows rose slightly. "Eleven hybrids and four Originals… if that is what's going on, the possibilities are almost endless," Maggie replied after downing the last of her drink and busying her hands by reaching for another one.

"My thoughts exactly," Liz agreed, looking back towards Maggie but not thinking anything of the second drink. Alcoholism and vampirism seemed to go hand in hand.

"Well, if I hear of anything, I'll let you know, Liz," Maggie lied smoothly, all of the sudden wanting to get away from this conversation and counting her blessings that Sheriff Forbes assumed her innocence from hanging around the Salvatores.

Liz nodded, "Thanks, Maggie." She didn't make any move to stop the young vampire as she walked away, figuring she was probably going off to look for Damon. In truth, Maggie was looking for Kol.

* * *

Maggie found herself wandering through the house, trying to find Kol. At one point, she spotted the back side of Damon, looking rather tense as he was speaking with Rebekah. The Original spotted Maggie behind him and flashed a wink. The action caused Damon to turn around, but by the time he did, Maggie already disappeared into a different room. She didn't want to deal with him while her throat was burning and she tried to drown out the temptation of the humans around her.

She also wanted to find Kol to ask his advice about what to do with the Council. That thought alone seemed really bizarre in itself, but he would cunning enough to offer her a few suggestions with the compulsion.

Maggie must have lost herself in her thoughts when she didn't hear the person behind her approaching in the parlor room. "Maggie?" The masculine voice called to her in a quiet tone.

She turned and bristled instantly at that voice. Her eyes were met with soft black ones. Maggie looked him over, not stirred by his formal appearance, and her fists curled to keep herself from lashing out.

"What, Glenn? Did your little girlfriend not fry me enough the first time?" Maggie spat out venomously, her eyes narrowing threateningly on him. Glenn jaw tensed slightly from the words, but he didn't blame her.

She tried to step around him to leave the room, but he side stepped to block her path. "It's not like that at all," He said quickly, while Bonnie was putting up a place for him to live, he hadn't left because of her.

"Good to know, now get away from me," Maggie snapped quickly, knowing he had no idea how dangerously close to playing with fire he was right now. This time she moved quicker around him, very careful to not actually touch him.

"Wait, Maggie! I just want to talk," Glenn called out to her, raising his hands slightly in a non-aggressive manner. Despite it all, Maggie stopped herself with a hand on the frame of the entryway into the room. She clenched her jaw and mentally swore at herself before turning around slowly. She folded her arms over her chest defiantly with a cold stare.

She raised her eyebrows briefly, giving him permission to speak while her demeanor screamed that he better get straight to the point.

Glenn dropped his hands slowly and he admitted softly, "I'm sorry." Maggie's expression didn't budge. "I never wanted… any of this to happen to you. I hope you know that." He awkwardly shoved his hands into his pockets in a manner that she had found endearing at one point. Now, she did feel anything as she stared at him harshly, even with the honesty of his words.

"Well it did," Maggie stated bluntly. There was no excusing the way things had ended so badly between them. "And there's nothing that can be done to change it now," She also said, more implying he would be bitterly disappointed to try to salvage anything between them now.

Glenn nodded numbly, his gaze flinching under her piercing one, "I know."

Maggie shifted on her feet, prepared to walk away, wanting to be in any room but this one with him.

"I'm glad," Glenn stopped her and cleared his throat before clarifying, "That he can make you smile like that."

Maggie's harsh expression fell instantly in surprise. For a brief moment, she saw the shy warmhearted boy she had met on the farm, but everything was so different now. She frowned slightly in confused resentment at his words.

Glenn just shrugged and let his shoulders sag before adding on in a resigned tone, "You never looked at me like that."

Maggie's arms loosened in front of her chest and her gaze dropped to the ground, unsure how to respond to that. Her stomach knotted uncomfortably. She didn't know which was worse, knowing that Glenn still cared about her in some way after all or honestly not knowing which _he_ was referring to.

The tense silence was broken by someone coming up behind Maggie and slipping an arm around her waist in the process.

"Everything alright here, darling?" Kol interrupted the two, pulling Maggie into his side, almost protectively. While his tone was polite, his eyes were hard set, not particularly liking the end of the conversation he overheard coming down the hallway.

Maggie tensed up at the contact, but then relaxed when she turned her head to see Kol looking down at her in concern. He didn't really spare much of a glance towards her company. She leaned into his side, not giving a damn how it looked to Glenn and gave Kol a short nod, not trusting her voice. Kol studied her expression, to see if she was really okay before he looked from her towards Glenn. She felt his thumb stroking a light circle on her hip through the material.

"Who do we have here?" Kol smirked at the tense Korean man in front of him. He didn't miss the way his heart rate picked up considerably at the Original's arrival and the sudden guarded expression.

Maggie interrupted the stare down between the two with forced introductions. "Kol… this is Glenn, my _ex_-boyfriend," Maggie emphasized the conversation wouldn't change anything between them. Glenn's jaw set tightly at the title.

Maggie gestured towards Kol, "And this is Kol Mikaelson." The prominent smirk remained on his lips.

Kol didn't make any move to offer his hand out and neither did Glenn. Maggie couldn't help but think that was probably for the best, thinking of what happened to Matt Donovan.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Kol spoke confidently to Maggie without taking his eyes off of Glenn. "We all have regrettable pasts."

Maggie's eyes widened and she had to keep herself from choking on her own tongue. Glenn bristled on his feet and his nostrils flared, but he kept himself from snapping out his reflexive response. He knew damn well who was in front of him because of what he did to Seamus and how dangerous the arrogant jerk really was.

"And how do you know each other?" Glenn forced out, restraining himself from answering the taunt. His eyes moved back and forth between the two, noticing the way Maggie fit into his side and how close they stood together.

Maggie hesitated between trying to think of how to properly describe the way they met or what they were, but also whether or not she even had to justify to it Glenn at all. Kol beat her to the punch.

"I turned her," Kol announced casually, enjoying the way the tension radiated off the human's shoulders. Glenn's hands curled into fists in his pockets, fighting to keep them in there and hating having the reason Maggie was the way she was in front of him.

Maggie sucked in a deep breath at how sufficiently awkward this whole exchange was getting.

"And you long since forfeited the right to question who I hang around," Maggie hissed out sharply to Glenn. "Let's go," She turned her attention to Kol, partly to get the two males away from each other.

Kol threw Glenn one more taunting glance as Maggie pressed on a hand against his shoulder to guide them out of the room and down the hallway.

Maggie was grateful for how massive the Mayor's home was and they didn't pass anyone that would stop them. Kol didn't make any move to remove his arm from her waist, the only reason he left that human alone was because she was leaving with him. It was easy to find an empty living room. For a moment, Maggie thought about taking a seat on the couch, but even with the light ache of the heels she wore, she was too strung up to sit down.

"Ex-boyfriend, huh?" Kol broke the silence in a bemused tone. Maggie nodded hesitantly, but noticed that there wasn't a hint of jealousy in his tone.

"How did that happen?" Kol asked, referring to the obviously recent break up. That was the first time he ever heard of this Glenn.

"Damon," Maggie gave plainly, but then frowned as she really thought about it and amended, "Coming to Mystic Falls… or the doppelganger thing, I'm not really sure which." Maggie gave a frustrated shake of her head.

Kol snorted slightly at her reaction and offered, "Perhaps all of the above?"

Maggie inclined her head slightly. She supposed you could mix and match those options in whatever chronological reason for their break up if you really wanted to.

"Don't fret and put it behind you, darling," Kol went on, seeing she was still upset. "Settling for mortals is the first sign of weakness, anyway," He declared, echoing words he's spoken to his sister before. Regardless of that, he doubted that Maggie was that weak.

Maggie frowned at his words, but didn't say anything. They rubbed her the wrong way and briefly she wondered what he was doing with her prior to her turning then.

Kol cocked his head slightly as he studied her, noticing that she didn't seem alleviated by his words this time. "Something else is bothering you, isn't it?" Kol concluded. Her shoulders were taunt and she fidgeted with her fingers in front of her so he stepped a little closer to her.

Maggie glanced around them, every now and then someone walked by the hallway, but for the most part they were alone. She just sighed and shook her head, "I just haven't been around this many people… and the thirst…" Her voice trailed off.

Kol perked up with a devious glint in his eye. "Well then, let's liven up this party," Kol suggested eagerly, thinking it would make quite the spectacle on the dance floor of the Mayor's home.

Maggie's eyes widened at just what he was referring to.

Kol smiled darkly and his eyes flickered towards the hallway to the last humans they saw. "Perhaps a pretty little blonde would do?" Kol mused aloud. "Or better yet, your ex… kill two birds with one set of fangs –"

"Shhh!" Maggie silenced him from saying anything further with by reaching up and pressing her fingers against his lips. She leaned closer and lowered her voice to a whisper, "Are you crazy? The Council is already suspicious."

Kol's eyes narrowed at the way she shushed him, apparently she was starting to make it a habit. But he smirked slightly behind her fingers. It wasn't the morality that was an issue for her, but getting caught and he could appreciate that.

He reached up and plucked the hand from his lips, keeping a hold on it. He ran his thumb up the center of her palm and tilted his head slightly as he stared down at her. Reflexively, her fingers curled around his thumb from the touch. She swallowed thickly, realizing now the way he was holding her with one arm wrapped her waist and almost pulled up flush against him.

"Hmm, I did notice half the drinks were spiked," Kol agreed lightly, as if he didn't notice the way she was nearly blushing. Maggie nodded slightly, trying to force down the lump in her throat.

Kol brought her hand back to his lips to kiss her knuckles properly. Maggie's worry eased a bit, but she remained tense for a different reason while she felt his breath on her skin.

"How about you stay near Bekah or I and we can leave when you're ready?" Kol suggested to her instead, dropping the teasing from his voice as he let her hand go.

Maggie wasn't sure what to expect with the idea of leaving the party with Kol, but she knew that either Original would be strong and aware enough to keep her from ripping open any throats in front of the Council. "Sounds good," Maggie agreed quietly and earned a gleeful smirk from Kol.

* * *

As to their agreement, Maggie remained mostly by Kol's side. His grip on her loosened up to just hooking her arm through his. They ran into Rebekah again outside. She relayed a snippy discussion with Elena, managing to get the doppelganger riled up. While Kol was bored by the conversation, Maggie couldn't help but smirk at Rebekah's behavior. When Rebekah was at her side, she managed to run into Rick Grimes in the party. They only exchanged a few words, mostly asking how each other was doing and he assured everything was as she left it. Rebekah gave her a suspicious look at the vague comment, but Maggie didn't say anything.

At one point with Kol, she spotted Damon by the refreshment table with Stefan. The two brothers were obviously talking about her, but Maggie didn't bother trying to eavesdrop on them. She caught Damon's gaze, he didn't look happy. He was clearly agitated by the fact Maggie looked stunning and he couldn't get her alone or close to her with the Originals nearby.

He mouthed to her at one point, '_We need to talk_.' Maggie just shook her head and returned, '_Later_.' She was still a little irritated with him, even though Stefan explained while dancing that he and Damon showed up because Elena insisted on coming to this party, which was Caroline's doing. Given Elena's track record with MF events, they both showed up as backup or something like that.

As the night progressed, Maggie felt a chill and noticed the goose bumps rise on her arms. Closing her eyes, she had to suppress a groan. It was the first tall tale sign of her about to get sick from the blood she drank shortly before Rebekah showed up.

She excused herself from Rebekah and Kol to use the restroom. She didn't wait for any protests from the siblings before disappearing back inside the house. She went for the stairs, wanting to find a less trafficked bathroom. Up on the second floor, the music from outside was only a dull noise carrying through the air and she could sense there was very few people up here.

She turned down a hallway, peering through doorways looking for the signs of a bathroom. There was nothing in the hallway, except for a few other bedroom doors. There was small decorative wooden table with a vase of flowers and pictures hung on the wall. The sound of running water being shut off cued her and Maggie began walking towards the door in question. It opened a moment later and revealed a young brunette that caused her to stop dead in her tracks. She was just wiping her hands a bit of the last bit of moisture when she looked up and froze.

"Maggie," Elena acknowledged tersely, not bothering to put on a forced polite smile this time. Maggie's eyes narrowed sharply on the doppelganger, her blood problem quickly forgotten.

"Hello Elena," Maggie felt her resentment bubble up in the form of a poisonous acknowledgement.

The doppelganger pressed her lips together tightly, but didn't have anything she wanted to say to Maggie at the moment. She moved to take a step around her and down the hallway. Before she could, an arm shot out, pressing her hand against the wall and blocking Elena's path.

"Let's have a chat, girl to girl," Maggie suggested in tone that was anything but an actual offer with a dark smirk.

"What do you want?" Elena pulled her chin up defiantly, being actually quite a bit shorter than Maggie, in a tight voice.

"The Salvatores," Maggie got straight to the point with sharp eyes and dropped the smirk into a serious expression, "What do you think you're doing?" Maggie didn't like how Elena was around Damon so frequently, she could literally smell her on Damon at times since her transition. Also it seemed suspicious that she was able to dance for a considerable amount of time with her supposed boyfriend without interference.

"You mean Damon," Elena corrected her and folded her arms over her chest. Maggie didn't bother disputing that. Elena was getting tired of being bullied by Maggie and wasn't going to back down so easily this time. "I'm not leaving him alone just because you're jealous."

Maggie stilled at the mention of that damn j word again. Something clicked, or rather snapped, in her mind in that moment.

She clenched her teeth tightly together as she let out a slow and controlled exhale. Then she leaned her face closer to Elena as a smirk broke out across her lips. "That's where you're wrong," Maggie hissed out lowly. "I don't get jealous… I get_ angry_ and then I start snapping necks."

Elena's eyes widened at the threat and Maggie noticed the way she tensed her shoulders to keep herself from stepping away.

"Since everyone is all about choice, I'm going to give you one," Maggie went on, unable to help the empowering feeling as the monster within rose as she stared down Elena. "Choose one brother and remove yourself from the life of the other one." It was generous in her mind since those damn Petrova women could never give up both of them, at least she was allowing her to have one.

"Why should I listen to _you_?" Elena challenged, not liking the way this reminded of her when Katherine forced her to break up with Stefan. Who was she to try to dictate her life?

Maggie's smirk didn't fade. If anything, there was a glint of amusement in her eyes. Oh, Kitten thinks she has claws now, Maggie mused to herself. If she wanted to play, she would show her real play.

"Because if you don't make a choice soon, I will snap Jeremy's neck," Maggie promised without an ounce of hesitation or regret in her tone. "Without his pretty little ring."

Elena took a half step back, stunned her brother was being brought into this. But at the same time, because it was her brother, her protectiveness flared up. "You stay the hell away from Jeremy," Elena growled back at her.

Maggie's smirk grew into a broad predatory smile at the challenge. She let out a low breathless chuckle. "You forget your brother's little infatuation with me, Elena, he can't stay away from me," Her voice purred out dangerously. It felt unnatural, but at the same time natural how the words rolled from her lips. Her body thrummed with the thrill of the moment and the emotion she sensed radiating off of Elena. "And I've been invited into your home."

Maggie took a step closer to Elena, which she mirrored with a step backwards to keep some level of distance between them. "I can come for him, _any_ time and _any_ place I want," Maggie warned.

Elena opened her mouth and Maggie saw the way her jaw shook the slightest bit, struggling with how to respond. Her arms dropped to her sides in fists. The little vampire was trying her hardest not to launch herself right at Maggie then and there, which was an interesting contrast with the formal gowns and heels that they were wearing.

"But it doesn't have to come to that if you just pick a brother," Maggie leaned back, standing up straighter in a mocking sympathetic tone. Maggie dropped her arm from the wall and step aside, making it obvious that it was Elena's cue to leave.

Elena thought about saying she wouldn't get away with this, but didn't bother. She just glared harshly at Maggie and moved to step around her without turning her back or taking her eyes off the Leavey woman.

Maggie remained where she stood, her stomach was beginning to rumble and cramp uncomfortably, but she wasn't going to let that show in front of Elena. With Elena behind her, Maggie's eyes looked towards the dark wood of the bathroom door.

Elena took a few steps, but then hesitated as she noticed the decorative table. It had high wooden legs, etched with a floral design into them. They could very easily be broken off in a blur and she could end this threat against her baby brother.

"Don't even think about it," A sharp voice interrupted Elena's thoughts. Elena looked up and Maggie turned around quickly to see Rebekah Mikaelson standing in the hallway, her arms folded in a very unimpressed manner.

Rebekah stalked towards Elena with a glacial stare. Elena took a half step back, putting her back to the wall as she stood between the last two females she wanted to be cornered by. Maggie's eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion, not quite sure what it was that Rebekah was referring to.

The blonde didn't take her eyes off of Elena. "Leave," She ordered tersely, "Before I compel you to do much worse to yourself." She knew there was little chance the newborn martyr was on vervain herself.

Elena took the chance to get away from the two of them without question. She definitely didn't want to be subject to Original compulsion. Maggie watched her hurried steps down the hallway and she could hear the heels against the carpeted wood of the stairs as she went down. The two vampires stood in silence, waiting to make sure that the Gilbert was properly gone and no one was around.

Maggie could feel her hands beginning to shake, but she clenched her fingers together to keep it from being as noticeable.

Rebekah turned her head back to Maggie's direction. "Would you really snap Jeremy's neck?" She asked in a curious tone, the viciousness of her gaze beginning to ease up now the threat was gone.

"Of course," Maggie instantly with a half shrug. Rebekah raised an eyebrow at her with an imploring gaze.

Maggie idly tried to rub away some of the goose bumps from her arms as she went on to explain her rationale. "If she doesn't pick a brother, I'll snap Jeremy's neck… and if he's lucky, I'll give him some of my blood before I do," She knew Jeremy would resent her for it, but the beauty of eternity is that she would eventually get his forgiveness.

"And if she picks her epic love, Stefan?" Rebekah sneered out the words mockingly. "Because she always does."

Maggie gave half an eye roll at the description, but she wasn't going to bother asking where that came from. "Then she has to remove herself from Damon's life and it'll crush him," Maggie stated knowingly while looking down the hallway. The hurt would be great, but necessary in the long run, she figured.

Rebekah tilted her head slightly, not seeing how that was a good thing for Maggie.

Maggie turned back to her with a wicked smirk on her face, "I don't make ideal threats. I warned Elena if she ever hurts Damon, I will come after her."

She finished proudly, "So whether she makes a choice or not, I still get to kill something."

Rebekah stopped as she rolled around Maggie's, albeit twisted, logic in her mind. A slow approving smile broke out across her lips. "Your ruthlessness is refreshing," She declared.

"Thank you," Maggie snorted slightly and turned her attention back to the bathroom door. She turned the knob and began to open, but stopped while her mind was the subject of killing people.

"Oh, I need a few minutes, but can you please go make sure Kol doesn't kill Glenn?" Maggie asked with wide eyes, remembering their exchange in the parlor room and the fact that Kol didn't actually promise to not to do anything.

"Sure," Rebekah agreed quickly, also not appreciating the fact her brother could cause a problem in the Mayor's home in front of the Council. She almost took a step down the hallway, but then halted, "Wait, who's Glenn?"

Maggie was already stepping into the bathroom, not wanting to stall any more. She winced slightly, knowing she couldn't keep it down much longer and huffed out, "Just keep Kol away from any Koreans."

She shook her head and went for the toilet. She would have to sort out how awful that statement sounded later.

* * *

Maggie groaned slightly to herself, her forehead against her forearms as she leaned against the lid of the water well. The chills ran through her and her throat was raw. She couldn't tell if the burning was from the bloodlust, the stomach acid, or the pure disgust at revisiting her evening drink. The glasses of champagne she had from this party were no more pleasant the second time around either.

It was the classy vampire version of a bad college frat party now that she thought about it. Instead of some mystery jungle juice, dark red blood splattered the inside of the toilet seat and she felt just as awful. Perhaps even more so because of her heightened senses. At least her feet weren't aching nearly as much from the heels, she thought bitterly as she stared down, waiting for the next round of retching to hit her. There was one plus to being a vampire.

A firm knocking came at the door and Maggie sighed. Could she not get more than fifteen minutes of peace? It was the second floor, who the heck else comes up here.

"Just a minute," Maggie groaned out, raising her voice loud enough for whomever to hear out there.

"Open the door, Maggie," A familiar British voice ordered firmly from the other side of the wood. Maggie stilled in slight panic and tried to wipe away the blood, or remaining lip stick she wasn't sure which, from her mouth.

"I can smell the blood," Kol stated impatiently with his forehead nearly against the door. Based on his tone, she could tell he was about two heartbeats away from kicking down the door himself.

Maggie forced herself to stand upright and she reached for the door.

She barely unclicked the lock before the door whipped open, her shuffling out of the way quickly. Kol stepped inside the small room and shut it behind him without taking his eyes off of her. There was no humor or lightheartedness in his expression. He regarded her with a hard set expression while his eyes darted over her appearance. Her hair was slightly frazzled from leaning over and her complexion was unusually pale. She didn't bother masking just how awful she felt.

His eyes settled briefly on the resulting mess of her condition. He didn't move immediately, it didn't take a genius to see what was happening. "I thought I told you to start feeding from humans," Kol snapped out quickly.

"I have been," Maggie grumbled, not even in the right frame of mind to address how she didn't like his tone. "Since we got back from Georgia."

Kol frowned and his forehead eased back from some of the harshness. That didn't make any sense, if she had been feeding for that long from humans, she shouldn't be reacting this way he thought. He didn't stir until he saw Maggie wobble slightly on the heels that she was wearing.

"Come here," He ordered considerably softer, closing the distance between them. His arm went to wrap around her waist and she didn't bother protesting. He let her lean against him as she tucked her head against his shoulder and he took on most of her weight. He could feel the slight tremble of her body against his and concern won out over irritation in that moment.

Maggie half closed her eyes and leaned against him, even as he shifted a bit. Kol flushed away the mess she made and she heard him turn on the water facet. A soaked hand towel touched her forehead and she let out a soft relieved sigh at the sensation. Feeling the cloth against her lips, Maggie turned her head towards it and opened her eyes to look back up at Kol. She didn't really know what to think of this attention, but she didn't bother fighting against it.

When he was done, Maggie leaned her head back against his shoulder. As he was cleaning up the remaining mess with his free hand, Maggie inhaled deeply with her arms wrapped around him loosely. Her nose was met by his husky scent and she couldn't help but grin slightly.

She stood up a little straighter to bring her nose closer to his neck to get another inhale. "Mmm, why do you always have to smell so good?" Maggie mumbled out shamelessly before she could stop herself.

Kol quirked an eyebrow. Had it been any other instance, he would've been flattered, but her tone didn't settle right with him. He felt her hot breath on his neck and had just enough time to react.

Maggie was slammed up against the wall opposing the door with Kol's hand wrapped around her throat tightly, the tip of her heels barely skimming the ground. The room shook from the force.

Her forest greens had disappeared into black and red eyes, the veins slithering while she hissed angrily at the restraint. The fangs were clearly visible and her hands went straight to his wrist and forearm, but her strength was useless against the Original.

"Snap out of it, Margaret," Kol growled out firmly, using her full name in slight offense that she had nearly taken a bite out of him. But he knew she wasn't really herself as the beast struggled against him. Her eyes caught his.

The bathroom door yanked open roughly, but Kol didn't budge from his grip on Maggie. He watched the way the veins began to still and refused to break eye contact with her. A dark haired man with matching black eyes appeared in the doorway, he had sun tanned skin and an angular jawline with his features. "What the hell is going on in here?" He barked out.

Maggie's grip on Kol's arm loosened and he could see that she was coming back to her senses. "This doesn't concern you, mutt," Kol growled out, still refusing to turn around and watching the veins disappear back underneath the surface of her skin.

"Actually, in my house it does," He bristled, remaining in the doorway when Kol still didn't turn to face him. Kol's fingers let up around Maggie's neck when he had a pair of green eyes staring back at him. Maggie's heels clicked against the ground as she caught herself, gasping in a deep breath.

"And I don't take orders from Klaus so I sure as hell don't take them from you either," The newcomer added on and it was then Maggie realized this must be Tyler Lockwood.

The look in Kol's eyes told her that situation could go from bad to a bloody mess in the matter of seconds.

"Shall we test that out?" Kol challenged him with a smirk as he turned around. Sire bond or not, there were other ways to get the adolescent hybrid out of his way. Kol was about to step forward to go nose to nose with Tyler when he was stopped by Maggie's hand on his shoulder.

She moved to place her other hand against his sternum, half way placing herself between the two males. "Kol, don't," Maggie pleaded with him softly, not wanting things to get out of hand.

Tyler's eyes darted between the two, not entirely sure what to make of Kol pinning the girl against the wall moment and her trying to defend him the next.

Kol's gazed lingered on the hand against his chest. He didn't say anything as it traveled slowly up her arm and to Maggie's face. She could feel his rigidness beneath her fingers, taunt and posed to spring into action, a thousand years of strength.

"Can we please just go home?" Maggie asked of him, having had quite enough of this party and thinking they had worn out their stay.

She saw the way his Adam's apple moved from a controlled and force swallow before he gave her the slightest of nods. His arm went to her waist and she felt the slightest pressure from his fingertips. Kol looked up to Tyler with a less hostile glare this time.

The hybrid's brow remained creased as he watched that moment unfold between the two of them. He didn't know what to call it, but he picked up the fact they were going to leave and he was more than okay with that. Tyler took a step to the side to allow the two to leave the bathroom.

Maggie mouthed a silent '_Thank you'_ to Tyler as they stepped out, to which he didn't reply and still kept a wary eye on Kol.

They weren't alone in the hallway. Elena and Caroline were standing side by side at the end the hallway towards the top of the stairs. Elena was glaring coldly at Maggie and Caroline had her head bowed slightly in concern, not looking directly at Kol.

"So your place or mine, sweetheart?" Kol said loudly, recovering his usual smug attitude.

His hand on her waist moved to lower back, guiding her forward through the slightly crowded hallway. Maggie reached behind her to smack him the stomach lightly with the back of her hand. "Stop," She hissed and Kol just smirked at her.

His arm moved back around her waist once they reached the bottom of the stairs and he started leading her towards the front doors. Maggie paused and looked around them with a slight frown. "What about Rebekah?" She asked.

"She's a big girl, she can handle herself," Kol replied easily. It wasn't like she could get daggered or staked right now.

Maggie nodded numbly as they stepped outside into the cool night air. They were a few yards away from the doors when Maggie heard someone call her name behind her.

The pair turned to see Damon Salvatore coming out from the doors with a slightly frantic expression. He stopped as soon as he saw Kol holding Maggie to his side.

Maggie sighed and looked to Kol. "Give us a minute, please?" She asked, knowing she couldn't leave without saying something to Damon.

Kol's nostrils flared slightly as he looked back at the vampire. "I'll get the car," Kol conceded tersely, half tempted to just throw her over his shoulder and blur away, but she probably wouldn't be too cooperative to that.

Maggie nodded and turned back to Damon, stepping up to him slowly. "What were you doing here, Maggie?" Damon questioned, the sharpness was there, but not as harsh as she normally expected from him.

"It was Rebekah's idea," Maggie explained, quite frankly too tired to come up with a lie. "But I'm not feeling well now, Damon, I need to go."

Damon frowned in concern. He could see the slight gauntness in her eyes and the weariness. He couldn't argue that she was looking ragged. If it was up to him, he wouldn't have brought her to a party with so many humans around so soon.

"But does it have to be with _him_?" Damon's hands reached up to touch her shoulders. There was a slightly desperate touch to his demeanor.

Maggie could hear a car approaching behind them and the headlights illuminated the front of the home. She let out a deep breath and nodded, "Yes."

Confliction caused the corners of Damon's lip to twitch while his eyes searched her face for any sign of indecision. He heard the driver's door open of the car behind her, but he didn't take his eyes off of Maggie.

"Please be careful," He requested of her quietly and his hands moved up to caress her cheeks. Maggie relaxed, but she was slightly thrown that Damon wasn't putting up as much of an argument as he normally did. His thumbs moved against her cheeks.

"I will," Maggie gave, even though she knew she was safe with Kol anyway.

Damon leaned forward to her and Maggie tensed, closing her eyes. He tilted his head upwards and his lips brushed against her forehead.

"I love you," He whispered against her skin before leaning back.

Maggie opened her eyes and nodded weakly, "I know." Her hands reached up to his wrists, giving them a reassuring squeeze before pulling them away from her face.

She half wondered what that stirred on that reminder until she turned around saw Kol standing by the open passenger door of his car. His hands were tucked behind his back and he regarded Damon with a dark impassive expression.

Taking a deep breath, Maggie stepped forward towards Kol's car, which actually wasn't an SUV but a silver Audi. This car must be Kol's actual vehicle and not one he was borrowing from Klaus, she thought. Maybe in a different time, a luxury car such as it would have been impressive. Now it was just a frivolous waste of resources that Maggie didn't give much thought to. Literally standing between the two vampires made her feel like she was the most awkward game of tug-of-war.

Kol's gaze remained unflinchingly on Damon as Maggie gave the Salvatore one last glance before sliding into the passenger seat.

* * *

Maggie was glad to get away without a confrontation between the two men. She knew it was only because she was right there and not looking very well. There wasn't much said between the two of them during the car ride. She leaned her head against the glass of the window and half shut her eyes.

It wasn't until the car came to a final stop that Maggie even put any thought into the fact they didn't discuss where they were going.

She opened her eyes to be met by the glow of the windows coming from the Mikaelson mansion. She stiffened reflexively in her seat at first, not wanting to be anywhere near the home of Klaus. While Kol was closing the door behind him, she remembered that Klaus wasn't actually in town, which made it more tolerable.

The passenger door opened and Maggie began to sit up and move her legs to stand up. Her feet never touched the ground as she was lifted up by the back of her knees and her back.

"Kol!" Maggie exclaimed and her arms instinctively wrapped around his neck as he carried her bridal style. She squirmed in his arms, "I'm not some fragile human anymore!"

She felt his chest rumbled with a chuckle while he kicked the door closed and started walking towards the house. "Nope, you're just a vampire with the eating disorder of one," Kol teased her with a smirk.

Maggie growled slightly and moved her hands to push against his shoulders, "Put me down!" The brat, she thought, carting her around like this and making fun of her too.

Her struggle was pointlessly in his iron grip. "Nope, don't think I will," He said cheekily.

Maggie shot him a glare and that only enticed her to struggle more. Her feet kicked slightly in the air, but still didn't do much to affect the Original. He only stopped when he got the front door and his eyes rolled upwards as he let out a sigh.

He purposely looked down in her eyes then, the words rolled out in aggravation before he could stop them, "Maggie, would you just stop fighting for _one moment_ and let someone else take care of you?"

Maggie stopped with her hands fisted against his jacket and she blinked, rather stunned at his frankness. Lord knows it wasn't the first time that someone accused her of being stubborn and fighting all the time. But to have Kol point it out and furthermore suggest taking care of her had her tongue tied.

"Thank you," Kol's words were drawn out exasperatedly taking her silence as compliance. He opened the door and slipped inside the foyer. Maggie sagged back against his chest and slipping her hands back around his neck, grasping onto her own wrists. Biting her lip slightly, she studied the profile of his face while he carried her up the stairs and she tried not to let herself think about being alone with him in the Originals' home.

Almost too soon, Kol slipped inside one of the bedrooms and gently set her down on the edge of a large king size bed. She looked around the room and could only conclude that it was Kol's. The bedding was a dark blue and slate color scheme. There were no pictures in the room, but a couple of paintings that were in the same style as she recognized to be Klaus'. There was the door to a closet and a dresser set spread throughout the room.

Kol's arms slipped from her as he stood up straight again. "I'll be back in a minute, but pick out whatever will make you comfortable," He gestured behind him towards the dresser and the closet.

Maggie just nodded absentmindedly as she looked around the room before Kol disappeared and shut the door behind him.

She let out a shaky deep breath, unsure what exactly to expect from him at this point. She certainly hadn't been expecting to be brought to his bedroom. Trying not to let her thoughts get away from herself, Maggie peeled off the heels before she stood up. The arches of her feet ached with the stretch, but it felt good.

She made her way over to the dressers, figuring more formal clothing would be in the closet, to try to find something to sleep in. After opening a few drawers, Maggie was able to find a loose shirt and a pair of what looked like pajama pants. She didn't find a matching top of them, which of course left her mind picturing him in just the pants. Maggie tried to shake that thought from her head as she brought the folded clothes back over to the bed.

The bedroom door opened without a knock and Maggie jumped slightly. Kol strode in without any hesitation. He never had to knock to enter his own room before, why start now? Maggie was distracted by the oversized cup in his hand.

"Here, it's fresh," Kol offered it out to her. The slightly coppery scent hit her nose and she reached out for it right away. Her fingers wrapped around the plastic and she felt the lingering heat from the red liquid. "That should hold you over for tonight at least."

Maggie nodded and immediately brought the cup to her lips. Her eyes darkened as she drank the blood, downing it several fast gulps. Kol remained standing in front of her and didn't bother looking away, waiting patiently for her to take her time and finish. She wasn't even going to ask how he had gotten this so quickly.

"Thank you," She murmured quietly as she drained the last few drops. Her fingers loosened up on the cup and ran lightly over the material. Her lips tugged upwards when she realized it was a thick hard plastic. Not glass, which was too fragile for her still, but also not the stainless steel she had progressed from lately.

Kol took the cup back from her gently, pressing his lips together slightly with a curt nod. "I'll give you a minute to change," He offered and began to turn away back towards the door.

Maggie grinned slightly and couldn't help but tease him a bit, "Where do you think you're going?"

Kol stopped and raised his eyebrows, looking over his shoulder, "Excuse me?"

Maggie flattened her hands along the fabric of the dress at the top of her thighs. "This dress isn't going to unzip itself," She turned her shoulder slightly to bring attention to the discreet zipper than ran from between her shoulder blades down to her lower back.

There was a brief bashful flicker in Kol's eyes before he recovered with a grin. "Of course it won't," He agreed and moved back towards her. He paused first to set the cup down on the nightstand next to the bed before stepping up behind Maggie.

She turned her head slightly to half look over her shoulder as he did. Her hands went up to the top of the dress to hold it there. Even though it had straps, she still did it anyways.

Kol gave a slight chuckle as he inspected the dress, causing Maggie to quirk an eyebrow. "Dresses have gotten a lot simpler in this century," He explained while she felt his fingers grasp the edge of the fabric and the other tug the zip down slowly to her lower back, letting his eyes wander over the flesh it exposed to him and the black clasp of the bra underneath.

Maggie snorted slightly and bowed her head a bit. That must have been quite the culture shock to go from turn of the century clothing to see what women wear today. She tried to focus on that thought and less on the fact Kol was standing directly behind her with a dress being loosely held up between them. "You would never be able to talk me into wearing a corset," Maggie's nose scrunched up just as the thought of one of death traps.

Kol smirked and was unable to resist leaning close to her ear. "That's fine, darling," He whispered tauntingly and could feel the shiver it drew from her, "I would be much more interested in talking you _out_ of one."

Maggie's stomach knotted at the forwardness and she froze. Kol moved around from behind her, intending to go to the door and leave her with that teasing remark. He barely made it a step past her before a hand shot out and grasped his forearm.

Kol followed the hand with his gaze and up to Maggie's face. She still clutched at the dress, but stared back at him with a darker look in her eyes than before. She stepped up to him, chest to chest. Her eyes fell down to his lips, thinking in that moment she really wanted that kiss that she held back from earlier.

Seeing the effect he had on her, Kol smirked and tilted his head, moving both hands to her hips. He only needed to lean his head down a little bit before his lips were met by hers.

There was no hesitancy as she sighed into the way his lips moved against hers, her hands moving up to his shoulder and the other going for the back of his neck, threading up into his hair. The tiredness she felt shifted into an electric energy as his hands moved around to her now exposed back. Her lips parted open for his tongue and her back arched into his chest as his fingers brushed against her bare skin.

Maggie out a pleasurable gasp when his fingers trailed along her spine, his top hand going up between her shoulder blades. Each touch drove her to want more as she slowly became intoxicated by his smell and taste. Kol let an audible rumble from deep within his throat.

In the back of his mind, he quickly began to realize he wasn't really the one in control of this moment. He thought how easily, he could just push her back onto that bed. She was taunting his restraint, especially the way she felt her hand slip under the jacket and run boldly along the planes of his chest, even through the undershirt.

Kol was the one that had to pull back from her lips, almost roughly having to pull himself away. He leaned his forehead against hers as he took a moment or two, trying to gain what little composure he had before opening his eyes.

"Elijah's downstairs," Kol announced and swallowed thickly before opening his eyes, trying not to let those emeralds tempt him into staying longer. "And I still need to talk to him." He pulled his hands out from underneath the loose dress fabric.

The eldest Original's name alone was enough to bring sober reality right back to Maggie. She was already slightly flushed from Kol, but that made it even worse realizing she was practically throwing herself at him with another vampire just downstairs. She hadn't even thought to ask if anyone else was around. Maggie pulled her hands back from him meekly and just nodded her head. "Sure," She cleared her throat.

Kol ran a hand through his hair, looking anywhere but at Maggie as he stepped away and made quickly for the bedroom door, not letting anything stop him this time. After the door closed behind him, Maggie sank to a seat on the bed edge. Her fingers reached up and touched her swollen lips, thinking to what just happened. Her heart was pounding away and she could've sworn that Kol looked genuinely flustered.

* * *

It took Maggie a while to clear her head. When she finally did, she changed into the clothing she had picked out from Kol's wardrobe. She repeatedly asked herself what she was doing. Here she was in his bedroom, now standing in his clothes after that. It wasn't like she could run away now, not that she really wanted to. Each time she asked herself, she didn't have an answer except for the one she gave Klaus.

Maggie noticed that Kol was gone for a while and decided she couldn't wait in his room any longer going stir crazy. She slipped out of the bedroom and paused in the hallway, taking a moment to try listen to the house for any sign of life. She picked up two male voices and slowly followed them downstairs.

The hardwood of the floors felt cool against her toes as she quietly moved along. She was coming around the corner when she identified Kol's voice as the one speaking.

"I don't know what to do, 'Lijah," There was an honest frankness that she wasn't used to hearing in his tone. "I feel like I'm failing her somehow, I don't understand it…"

Maggie frowned slightly and halted. She considered staying where she was and trying to hear more to understand what was going on. But that thought was dashed as she remembered there were likely two Originals in the next room, if she knew they were there, they probably knew she was.

Taking a deep breath, Maggie stepped into sight. The two Originals were standing in one of the study rooms with a fire going. Their conversation ceased immediately and looked towards the newcomer. For a moment, Maggie felt like crawling right back where she came from, taking in the intimidating presence of the two.

Elijah wore one of his typical dark business suits with one hand tucked casually into his pockets. Standing across from him was Kol, still wearing the jacket and everything that he had from the Lockwood party. There was now a tumbler in one hand with a dark amber liquid. The similarity between the two brothers was remarkable in that moment they stood next to each other. Maggie briefly wandered how similar Kol would've looked to Elijah had he the chance to mature physically to his point.

While there wasn't a hostility or visible irritation from the interruption in their expressions, but neither brother appeared particularly welcoming. Kol didn't exactly appreciate her walking in the moment of trying to explain to Elijah why he felt so obligated to help her.

"Good evening, Ms. Greene," Elijah greeted her politely and Maggie shifted on her feet, tugging at the hem of her shirt slightly and feeling severely undressed compared to the other.

Maggie gave a forced grin in response and took a moment to find her voice again. The imploring look from the brothers made it pretty obvious they wanted to know what she wanted.

"I'm not going to pretend to know what you were talking about," Maggie gave honestly, nervously glance between Elijah and Kol. "But if it's anything about my blood issue, I'd like to be a part of that conversation."

Kol smirked the slightest bit from her directness, but hid it behind a sip of his glass.

Elijah inclined his head slightly. "Naturally," He agreed, "Kol was only just informed me of your Ripper potential." Elijah held out a hand in front of him, inviting her to actually enter the room.

Maggie apprehensively took a few steps into the room, approaching the two and looking for some sort of reassurance from Kol. But his expression was mostly schooled into a thoughtful mask.

"Rippers…" Maggie mused allowed, still feeling weird that she was considered one of them without knowing the full extent of what she could do. "Do you know a lot about them?"

Elijah shook his head once. "I know what I've observed over the centuries. They're a rare occurrence amongst vampires and I can only offer information on a consolatory basis," He paused then to look pointedly towards his younger brother, "Kol has much more experience with them than I do."

This caused Maggie's eyebrows to rise curiously and she turned to Kol. "What kind of experience?" They had never really spoken about how he seemed to know she needed through this transition.

Kol shrugged casually, "First hand, mostly, but I also sired a few along the way." Of course the two most recent he couldn't take too much credit for, given Maggie was still so new and he had been daggered for most of Stefan's existence.

"You're a Ripper?" Maggie's eyes widened incredulously. He seemed so in control all the time around her, it was hard to imagine he was experiencing the same urges and emotional outbursts she did.

This time Kol smirked at Maggie's reaction. He looked to his brother, "When would you say I came out of my first Ripper phase? Around the 13th century, brother?"

Elijah didn't share the same reminiscent tone as Kol did. He simply nodded once, "At the turn of the century, if I recall."

Maggie felt her stomach sink. "Your first binge was_ centuries_ long?" Her voice grew quieter, not even wanting to fathom the prospect of hers being that long. She thought maybe a few decades would be the worst of it at most.

"Don't be alarmed, Ms. Greene," Elijah spoke up quickly, noticing the distress in her tone. "As part of being an Original, there was no one was there to guide Kol through the process like the supports you have now. Also, I recall that Kol did not fight nature of what he had become for a long time." His eyes narrowed slightly on his brother at the last sentence.

Kol didn't flinch under the accusation. He just shrugged his shoulders and grinned like an innocent child, "I was just having some fun."

It was then Maggie noticed that Elijah didn't just openly frown at someone. He would lock his jaw, you could see the slight twitch in his skin and setting of his lips in a thin line. Then there was this purposeful pause before he spoke and slight twitch in the fingertips of the hand casually in front of him, as if he was imagining wrapping his hands around your throat for a good throttling before he was satisfied enough to carry on the conversation.

"Yes, well as much as I would like to engage in proper discourse on acceptable means of _fun_, I'm sure Ms. Greene would like to retire for the evening soon," Elijah moved on from the immature smirk he was still receiving from Kol before looking to Maggie. She would've had to stifle a laugh she wasn't part of the topic of discussion.

"Kol told me that you've been having trouble keeping blood down," Elijah moved on, earning a confirming nod from Maggie as he spoke. "Have you been experiencing any other abnormalities?"

Maggie cocked her head slightly and narrowed her eyes as she thought about his question. "How would I know what's normal for a vampire?" She countered.

Elijah's lip tugged up slightly, not taking any offense to the slight attitude given her genuine confusion. "Fair enough. How about you walk me through your routine for feedings," Elijah requested.

Maggie nodded and cleared her throat before she launched into her explanation. As she did, she couldn't help but marvel how strange the evening had turned out. What was supposed to be a quiet night was now discussing her blood issues with two of the oldest vampires in existence. One of which she was no ally of and the other she knew secrets that would infuriate the first. Elijah remained thoughtful and pensive throughout her explanation, not interrupting her in the slightest bit. Kol's gaze remained absently on the floor as he also listened.

When she finished, there was several minutes of silence that she only heard the crackling of the wood breaking in the fireplace.

Elijah looked up as a thought came to him in his pondering. "When you've drank from the vein of a human," At first she had been nervous about admitting that part, but figured he was no advocator of the Council like his siblings. "Have you used compulsion _every_ time?"

Kol looked up quickly to Elijah, catching on quickly to where he was going with that simple question.

Maggie frowned slightly as she thought about it, "Yes… Does that make a difference?"

"It could for a Ripper," Elijah suggested, but glanced towards Kol for confirmation of that.

Kol perked up as he nodded, "The desire of the hunt." He wished he had seen that before, but figured that was why he went to his older brother for a third party set of eyes on the matter.

Maggie gave them a perplexed look, not being able to read the small looks and gestures from the brothers the way they could from each other. "The hunt?" She asked.

"The use of compulsion for a vampire is like putting a lion in a cattle pen with domestic animals that have no room to run," Kol explained frankly, "While it'll sustain the beast, it does nothing to sate the desire of the chase and its predatory instincts."

Elijah nodded with his line of thought, "And with a vampire as young as yourself, Ms. Greene. That psychological suppression could manifest in physical reactions such as the ones like you're experiencing."

Maggie remained unmoving and numb as she thought about what she was hearing. "So what you're saying… is I need to hunt humans without compelling them and potentially kill them for it to stop?" Maggie clarified slowly, thinking back to the reactions of the first humans she drank from and their terrified expressions. Those were only mild compulsions, she could only imagine the true horror she would induce without it.

"Only while the symptoms persist, but it is only a theory," Elijah offered, noticing her fallen expression and the sag in her shoulders.

"It would be better to find out sooner than later if it's true," Kol decided after taking another deep sip of his drink. "We should leave for that hunt I spoke about in the morning, Maggie."

Maggie startled slightly at that. She was still experiencing blackouts, but they were fewer and farer between. At this point, she didn't really know what to think of all of this so she just nodded along with Kol. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

Sensing the somber but concluding atmosphere in the room, Elijah took a step towards Maggie. "Now that's decided, would you like me to show you to one of the guest rooms?" He offered, noticing his brother remaining rather quiet.

Maggie's gaze went immediately to Kol, recognizing they had never really discussed her sleeping over here or even where she would sleep. She couldn't deny the hope of wanting to stay with Kol. However, he wasn't looking at her when Elijah posed the question. His gaze was absently on the floor and unflinching from his thoughts.

She then felt a little foolish for even considering the idea of staying in the same room as him. She bit her lip slightly and nodded looking back to Elijah, "Sure, thank you." If Elijah noticed the look that she gave Kol, he made no comment on it and moved to lead her out of the room.

* * *

_Author's Note: That's the wrapping up of another Mystic Falls dance! What do you guys think?_

_The first one Maggie gravitated towards the Salvatores, but now we have a mostly Original centered one. How about that Scary Maggie moment with Elena? Love it or hate it? Are you loving the Rebekah/Maggie evil besties as much as I am?_

_Anyway, next chapter, we got that Kolie hunt!_

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW, they motivate me to write and update sooner._

_Review responses – _

_Nynaeve: Thanks for taking the time to review and giving my story a chance! I know it's tough not watching TWD, but aside from some of the minor references here and there, most readers should be able to follow it anyway. But I know what you mean about Kol, I'm letting him live on vicariously through my fanfic and reading others until they somehow bring him back on the show! I was a Delena shipper until season four. Now I just anti-ship Elena, meaning I hope she turns into a vampire version of a lonely crazy old cat lady. _

_IrishBeauty: I could see some interesting banter between Elijah and Carol… but I just can't see it going much further than that hahaha. And yeah, Klaus is definitely a dislikable character in this story (but hey that's what villains are for)… and I'm just going to say KOLIE! :B_

_Wileby: Does this chapter make up for the lack of kiss last chapter? :P_


	45. Chapter 45

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_The Kills – Future Starts Slow_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie at the campsite_

_A Fine Frenzy – Ashes and Wine_

_Scene: Kol's dream  
_

_Chapter Forty-five_

Sensing the somber but concluding atmosphere in the room, Elijah took a step towards Maggie. "Now that's decided, would you like me to show you to one of the guest rooms?" He offered, noticing his brother remaining rather quiet.

Maggie's gaze went immediately to Kol, recognizing they had never really discussed her sleeping over here or even where she would sleep. She couldn't deny the hope of wanting to stay with Kol. However, he wasn't looking at her when Elijah posed the question. His gaze was absently on the floor and unflinching from his thoughts.

She then felt a little foolish for even considering the idea of staying in the same room as him. She bit her lip slightly and nodded looking back to Elijah, "Sure, thank you." If Elijah noticed the look that she gave Kol, he made no comment on it and moved to lead her out of the room.

* * *

Maggie's already present anxiety went up about ten levels when she realized she was alone with Elijah as he was leading her up the stairs. She remained two steps behind him with mistrustful eyes on the back of his shoulders. If he noticed her behavior, he certainly didn't give any signs of it and moved with his typical fluid grace with one hand on the railing.

Her mouth got the best of her when he led her down the hallway and came to a stop by one of the bedroom doors. He turned towards her and she spoke up before he could.

"Okay, what gives?" Maggie asked sharply without any direct hostility in her expression, mostly just confusion.

Elijah simply quirked an eyebrow at the outburst.

"You're almost being nice to me… What happened to," Maggie went on to cite his earlier words, "I won't protect you from my siblings?"

Elijah's corner of his lips flickered up briefly for a moment before answer her in a polite, but serious tone, "I meant every word, Ms. Greene, and do not need the recital as I'm aware of what I said."

Maggie's eyes remained narrow on him and she pressed her lips together tightly at the slightly patronizing tone in his mannerisms.

Elijah let out a slow exhale before going on to say, "While I did not promise to protect you that does not mean I had wished for harm to befallen you. I was bidding you caution, nothing more."

"Right," Maggie muttered dryly as she studied him, unsure whether or not to take that for what it was worth.

"And what about now?" Maggie challenged, maybe a little more bluntly than she should have.

Elijah took a few moments to carefully pick out his words. "I have another warning for you," He decided.

Maggie folded her arms with mixed feelings. She was curious, but also thinking his last warning hadn't worked out for her too well.

"I do not know what you are intending to find in my brother, but tread carefully," Elijah spoke with the clear implications in his tone.

Maggie regarded him coldly while the words rolled through her mind. It wasn't anything she was entirely surprised to hear, but that didn't mean it went without consideration. "So he has his demons, got it. Who doesn't?" Maggie stated dismissively and turned towards the bedroom door.

She was stopped by Elijah grabbing the doorknob before she could. Slowly, she lifted her gaze back up to him, sensing the disapproval from the way his fingers tightly gripped the metal.

"That may be so," Elijah clipped darkly, "But let yourself become ensnared by him and he will _not_ let you go."

Maggie swallowed thickly and let his words sink in properly this time. She inhaled deeply and could feel her heart pounding at that thought, but it was for mixed reasons. Elijah turned the doorknob and opened the door wide for Maggie without breaking eye contact.

She gave a simply two word answer before slipping inside the door, "Duly noted."

After the door was closed behind her and she turned on the light, she couldn't shake the two words that were sitting in her head, the ones she perhaps really should have said.

_Too late._

* * *

It took Maggie a long time to fall asleep. First there was the nagging feeling of being in the Mikaelson mansion. Half the time her eyes darted towards the bedroom door, even though she knew better, she felt like Klaus could come bursting through it at any moment. It was just largely unsettling to be in such a massive home after a year of being reduced to running and hiding in rather confined spaces.

If that didn't keep her up, it was worrying about the hunt the next day that did. The whole prospect of chasing after humans and feeding them without compulsion scared her. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but she knew that she could do it and she wondered what it would turn her into.

For a long while she thought about climbing out of the bed in and slipping into Kol's room, just so she wouldn't have to be alone. But Elijah's warning remained in her head and she knew this wasn't Damon she was dealing with. Climbing into his bed wouldn't be nearly the same and she couldn't have the same expectations. Also the fact that Kol made no move to stop his brother from showing her to the guest room stood out.

Eventually she fell asleep and it felt like the morning came too fast. The next thing she knew the curtains in the room were being thrown open and sunlight was marring her face. Maggie let out a grumble of protest as her head rolled on her pillow.

She could hear someone moving in the room. They smelled faintly of fresh shampoo and cologne.

"Kol?" Maggie mumbled out, while rubbing the back of her hand against her eyes.

"Over here, darling," He answered her as another set of curtains were yanked open, fully letting in the sunlight into the room. Maggie lifted her head up from the pillows to see him. He was already dressed in jeans and a casual button up shirt. His hair was still slightly damp from his shower, but he already had sneakers on ready to go.

Maggie let out a loud groan and her face scrunched up, "Oh don't tell me you're a morning person…"

Kol looked over at her bleared eye expression and rather frazzled mess of bed hair. He just smirked when she let her head plop back down on the pillow.

It didn't take long to get ready and leave the mansion. They first had to stop back at the cottage, considering Maggie left behind the heels and dress she had borrowed from Rebekah, leaving only the clothes she borrowed from Kol to sleep in. She didn't even have a pair of shoes, which she could cope without, but that wouldn't be very practical even for a vampire.

The only upside to being woken up at what felt like the crack of dawn was the fact it was too early for Damon to come searching for her at the cottage when they got there. Maggie told Kol to wait in the car and the sunlight worked to her advantage in that regard, it wasn't like Carol could look out the window and see who was there.

She left with a brief message that she was going out for a hunt and would be gone all day. Maggie dressed in a comfortable outfit, similar to the ones she was used to wearing out on the road. She thought about taking the Beretta with her, but she was out of bullets. That was something she would have to deal with later.

The drive out of town didn't take long before they passed through the security gate without much question. When they got to the county line, Maggie was less apprehensive about it as she was last time. She just looked to Kol with the question in his eyes and they exchanged a brief nod.

* * *

When Maggie came around, her SUV was at a stop off the road behind some brush to shield it from immediate sight. They had exchanged Kol's Audi at the cottage for her SUV. Sure it might raise some questions, but with the hunt on the mind she couldn't really find herself worrying about it too much.

Her neck was stiff, as she expected, and she took a few moments to roll her head around and get adjusted. Kol had simply remained in the driver's seat with his arms folded casually while waiting for her to wake up. When they climbed out of the vehicle, it was then she recognized the terrain and they hadn't really gone all that far from Mystic Falls. Maggie questioned Kol about that fact and he simply said she needed to learn to track and hunt properly on foot.

The next few hours they spent going further into the woods and towards the mountains. Kol's cheery mood got into the serious mind frame of teaching her. Maggie found that he was very meticulous and methodical when he explained the technique and rational behind tracking. He wasn't the warmest teacher or exactly discouraging. He would crack a witty remark when she failed to notice something. At first it annoyed her, but she then discovered she made more mistakes if she let him get under his skin.

When she did get something right, he would simply nod once in approval and quickly move onto the next step. Some of the time they spent moving at a human pace while she studied their surroundings and other times he showed her how to move with more finesse at vampire speed. They picked up on game trails and wildlife, but Maggie didn't bother taking anything down and Kol lacked any interest in them either. A few times they found old human trails or they came across walkers. Again, she didn't bother with them and they didn't turn in any interest towards the vampires.

Sometimes they simply chatted lightly between finding trails. It was getting close to midday when Maggie found herself walking side by side with Kol. His hands were stuffed casually in the pockets of the jacket he brought with him while she hovered near him. Kol grew quiet all of the sudden and Maggie looked up to see his eyes that slightly far away depth that she knew he was suddenly thinking of something else entirely.

"You still have the daggers, correct?" Kol broke out of his revelry with the question now that they were far away from Mystic Falls and it was safe enough to speak about it here.

"Yes, they're safe," Maggie answered him easily while perking up at the sudden serious subject.

Kol nodded terse, "Good. I would like to retrieve them when we return."

At that, Maggie stopped in her footsteps while Kol kept going. "About that…" Maggie countered hesitantly before declaring, "I would like something in exchange for them."

This caused Kol to halt abruptly and turn around. Maggie swallowed quickly at the suspiciously sharp look in his eyes.

She decided she had to explain herself fast before it became more than that. "I've protected your family without question and I want you to help protect mine." She knew how crazy it sounded to ask the vampire the reason for her existence as it was for help with that, but she figured that's what made him the best person to ask.

Kol's jaw locked as he took deliberately slow steps towards her, scrutinizing while she was asking him to do the exact opposite of what he had been doing for centuries and the daggers to his family hung in the balance.

"No more killing my bloodline," Maggie requested softly as he came nearly nose to nose with him and she stubbornly fought the urge to step away from that unblinking stare.

"And what if there is another doppelganger?" He asked sharply. Maggie could tell see the intentions he had in mind.

"I'm going to look after my descendants," Maggie stated, knowing the great maternal instincts that Beth had. She didn't doubt that at some point she would have children and her bloodline would carry on. "If there's another one, then we can handle it together."

Kol tilted his head slightly, as if to get a better look at her and Maggie felt herself starting to get nervous under the pressure. So she started to ramble to fill the void of silence, "I mean, we have about five hundred years to worry about that, right? So we can come up with something by then…"

A slow smirk began to spread across Kol's face and Maggie wasn't sure if he was really listening to her.

"I know you only have my word to go on with this, but that's the best that I can give –"

"Deal."

"and I'm not going to let anything happen to my family, you know how important family is to me – wait, what?" Maggie suddenly stopped herself as her mind caught up with the simple word she heard from him.

Kol just grinned knowingly down at her, amused by the response. "It's done, deal." He gave casually, as if it wasn't that big of a deal at all.

"Really? Just like that?" Maggie blurted out, trying not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but too stunned not to.

Kol gave a half shrug, tilting his head in the same direction briefly as he did before explaining, "It would be better to work together keeping an eye on the bloodline for one doppelganger than having you trying to hide it all away from me."

Maggie remained still at first. She thought it would be more of a fight to get him to agree, lord knows she was used to going round and round with Damon. Instead of saying anything, she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close while she let a relieved sigh.

Kol's hands instinctively shot out of his pockets at the movement, but stopped in midair when he realized it was just a hug. He felt Maggie whisper next to his ear, "Thank you."

A smile tugged at his lips and his arms rose to wrap around her carefully returning the gesture. He chuckled incredulously as he held her against him. There she goes again, he thought, thanking him for something as ridiculous as just agreeing to not make a massacre. And people thought he had messed up priorities.

* * *

**[Warning: The following scene may not be suitable for all readers due to violence and gore.]**

It was early afternoon when Maggie picked up on the scent. It was familiar, but didn't settle right with her. She knew that smell, she thought, she had been surrounded with something close to it. There was just the slightest difference and she had trouble picking up on. Maggie looked over to Kol and found that he had noticed it too. His brow furrowed slightly at it, but he recovered into a quick knowing smirk. There was something a blazing in his eyes, but he didn't explain it.

"Go ahead, follow it," He encouraged her while the dark part of his nature began to itch and crawl just beneath the surface of his skin. He didn't let this much show to Maggie though.

Maggie nodded and followed after in half a blur of a pace, using the techniques that she was beginning to pick up from Kol. She couldn't help but think about the smell as she moved. It wasn't putrid or rotting like she was used to do experiencing from walkers, but there was something searing and unpleasant about it to her senses. At the same time, the monster within yearned with curiosity to go after that and so she did.

When she got closer, she picked up the clear notes of wood burning. There was some sort of fire going and she could hear their voices carrying faintly through the woods. Maggie chose to go for the higher ground with Kol trailing behind her, carefully watching and judging how she was doing. Maggie found herself lying almost on her stomach as she crawled to the edge of a small wall of rocks at the side of the mountain in the trees.

Kol came up beside her, leaning casually on his elbows while she peered down at the campsite below them. There were six humans she counted quickly, they were using the rock wall to protect their flank and had a few tents setup. Apparently they had been here for a little while, she figured since there had also been fewer and fewer walkers in the past couple of hours, also based on the amount of debris around the site.

Two females and four males she calculated, taking in their half-starved frames and gnarly appearances. Their hair was rather untamed and their clothes were ragged and stained. Four of them sat around the fire while the two women were clearly prepping their meal off to the side by one of the tents. Blood carried through the air and Maggie found herself gripping the rocks in front of her tightly.

Maggie watched the women cutting into the hunks of meat and flesh. Her face began to twist up in disgust as a sense of horrified suspicion began to bubble up within her. She turned her head slightly towards Kol without actually taking her eyes off the scene. She asked him in a whisper too low for the humans to hear, "Are those…"

Maggie couldn't even finish the sentence and she didn't need to as Kol's twisted smile grew on his face. Things were about to get very entertaining, he decided. He nodded shortly and responded in the one word that would send her walls of restraint crashing down, "_Cannibals_."

Maggie's jaw began to quiver with a surge of emotion awakening with her from that one simple word. Her nostrils flared as her eyes began to darken, focusing sharply on each of those humans and their pounding hearts. They were cannibals and that sparked something within her. They were making the choice to become the very type of monster that she had fought so hard to survive and avoid becoming.

Her feet were mostly on her toes from the angle she was crouched. She rolled her weight back slightly on her heels, stretching the muscles in her legs. Her hands flexed and gripped the ground beneath her while her shoulders began to shudder, like a feline stretching in preparation for the attack. Maggie didn't even notice the veins moving around her eyes or feel the fangs pushing through.

All of the sudden it wasn't just about bloodlust. She wanted to make them _suffer_.

Kol simply remained quiet and watched her transformation, admiring the way he could see the control beginning to slip away from Maggie. He just leaned closer to her, she refused to take her eyes off of her prey. Like a puppeteer, he whispered three simple words into her ear gleefully, "_Let it go_."

Maggie was off and down the rock wall before her mind even caught up with it. Reason and sanity disappeared when her fangs sank into the neck of the closest man. The blood splashed up in her mouth and the urge filled her eyes, like a waving flag in front of the beast. The other humans around the fire didn't notice the blur of movement until they heard the man's cry of pain.

Somewhere beyond them was another shrill scream of a woman, but Maggie didn't care as she drank in deep gulps of the crimson life source. The next closest man pulled out a gun and a shot ran out, catching his friend in the shoulder with the way Maggie stood behind him. She hissed and ripped her mouth away from his throat, pulling his body up with her as a shield while four more shots quickly discharged.

The second man was a threat and her instinct to fight took over. Whether it was the instincts of a vampire or from fighting walkers, it didn't matter. In the next moment, the first body was dropping on the ground and she was blurred in front of the second man. She grabbed the hand of the pistol forced it upwards while staring in the horrified expression of the man. Her jaw was locked with the black veins raging around the black and red while she manipulated the barrel under the man's chin.

She pulled the trigger and didn't even flinch with the way the bullet blasted through his jaw and into the skull. It was too much like the images she's seen before anyway. The shot ran out in the air and the barrel was hot as she let both of them drop. Her ears rung a bit from the close proximity, but she didn't let that deter her in the slightest bit.

Maggie looked over to see the other two men trying to make a run for the woods. A smirk tugged at her blood stained lips before she went after them. She decided to go for the faster one first, blurring around the front of the two. The leading man skidded to a halt and slammed into Maggie. His mouth opened to let out a surprised noise, but his tongue was caught. His face froze and his eyes grew wide while Maggie stared back, nearly nose to nose with a dark mask.

The slower man let out a yell as he stumbled and fell back on his feet, landing on his rear and scrambling to get away.

Maggie cocked her head with a sense of fascination while she watched the glow of life faded away from the man's eyes. She could feel the muscles twitching and slick fluid running down her forearm. She wasn't sure where the idea came to do it, she just did it. The bones and cartilage did nothing to hinder her supernatural strength.

With a rough yank, she pulled the man's heart from his chest.

The knees of the body gave way and it fell to the ground unceremoniously. For a moment, Maggie paused to stare down at the muscle in her hand. Her fingers gripped it tightly, her finger nails digging into the veins. Morbidly she mused over how this simple organ was the source of so much pain and emotional turmoil for humans. It was the first time she ever held it in such a way.

And she discarded it casually as she heard another scream coming from the campsite.

The last man was still watching her, a trembling mess on the forest ground, his clothes smearing with dirt and twigs. Maggie stalked in slow and deliberate steps towards him. No coherent thought passed through her mind as she just reacted to the way her breathing was controlled. Each breath brought another wave of the blood wafting in the air and smeared on her chin and hand. The unadulterated fear and terror of the humans around her energized each step.

He turned onto his stomach and started to scramble back up to his feet. Before he could get up on his knees, Maggie slammed her foot down harshly on the back of his calf, like it was just another walker skull she had crushed before. The man let out another piercing screech as she heard the bone splinter and break, giving way under her boot.

Maggie stopped to watch him writhe on the ground and then cocked her head curiously as he was trying to crawl back towards the campsite. She let him get back to the edge before she figured he must be trying to get to a weapon of some sort there, remaining tauntingly over him.

Kol looked up from the neck of the woman he had in his grasp. He spotted Maggie from the opposite side of the camp by the tents and paused to watch her for a moment. Her expression was devoid of emotion, suppressed by the rush of the moment. But he could see the way she watched the prey with the curiosity of a child burning ants.

She lifted her boot and slammed it into the back of the knee of his other leg. Kol smirked at her and went back to his feast while he listened to the strangle cries echoing off the rock wall.

Maggie was on the back of the man an instant later and her fangs plunged into his neck. Seeing as he was the last one, she took her time drinking from him and indulging. The man's screams and pleas became choked as she gnarled her teeth into his flesh. She didn't bother being gentle, she wanted this to hurt him. She wanted him to feel pain for the disgusting voluntary choice he had made and she didn't give an ounce of restraint before delivering his merciless death.

When the body went limp beneath her fingers, Maggie pulled her mouth away and took a deep breath, like if she was coming up for air for the first time.

The screams had subsided, giving way to the crackling of the fire and the eerie stillness of the forest around her. Maggie opened her eyes again, the monster within feeling satisfied. The veins began to fade away from her eyes and she looked down to the last corpse she was crouched over. She didn't see the man's face, as it was face down in the mud. It was just a mess of black hair and ragged clothes. Mechanically, she began wiping her blood soaked hand off on the back of his shirt.

Maggie looked up across the way and spotted Kol standing with his face buried in the neck of the last female. With sudden interest, she stood up slowly, having never seen Kol openly feeding. He had one hand clutched as the back of the woman's head and the other lightly on her hip. The woman's arms hung loosely at her side, she was either dead or had just passed out.

With one last deep gulp, he pulled his lips away and the veins around his black eyes began to fade. He casually gave the hand on the hip a slight shove, pushing the corpse out of the way as if it was nothing. Kol looked up to see Maggie walking towards him. He marveled in the darkness in her eyes, although not vamped out, and the blood that was smeared down her chin and neck.

Maggie fixated on Kol, watching his features fade away and her eyes focused particularly on the corner of his mouth. While she was sloppy and greedy, his bites had been meticulous for the most part. The only lapse of his technique showed in the trail of blood at the corner of his mouth. She stopped to stand directly in front of him and he didn't move, trying to calculate what was going through her mind.

Without a word, Maggie reached up with one finger to catch the bead of red, following it back up to the corner of his mouth before pulling it away. Her eyes moved from the blood on her fingertip up to meet Kol's stare. Her tongue darted out to lick it away from her finger carefully, savoring the small flavor.

Maggie felt Kol's hot breath on her face before his lips crashed down on hers. Her hand immediately went for the back of his head, grabbing roughly onto his hair. His lips were bruising and his tongue was demanding, which Maggie was quite okay, returning it just as abusively. She let out a moan from the lingering taste of the blood and now him on her lips.

His hands went to her waist, pushing under the fabric to grasp at the bare flesh underneath. Her hand slide down from his hair to join her other one in pushing the jacket off of his shoulders. His grasp on her only disappeared a moment to slide off the sleeves, leaving just the button up shirt underneath. Maggie let out a small gasp when her back was suddenly pressed up against one of the tree trunks.

She took command of the kiss, plunging her tongue into his mouth, for a moment feeling his teeth graze over it roughly. They clamped down, without piercing and she let out a hiss at the sensation. Her hands on his shirt roughly pulled at it, tearing it open and sending the buttons flying around them. They slipped underneath the fabric, wanting to discard the shirt as well but he wouldn't relent his grip on her. One hand went down to her knee, grabbing it firmly to hitch her leg up against his waist before running down her thigh.

Maggie let out an approving noise that was somewhere between a whimper and a purr when she felt his arousal pressed up against her hip. Whether it was from the blood high or her, she didn't know nor did she care. She just felt the burning desire for more and more.

Kol's lips broke away from hers when he used his other hand to hitch up her other leg, wrapping around his waist and slamming her up higher against the tree trunk more firmly. Maggie let out a slightly animalistic noise in response while her ankles hooked around him. Instead of returning to her mouth, his lips went down to her neck while his hands firmly held her thighs. Maggie gasped and closed her eyes as she felt his tongue licking up the remaining blood on her neck. A pleasurable hiss passed her lips when she felt his teeth biting down on her, not enough to break the skin and she almost wished he did.

Kol brought his lips back up to hers after he was done indulging in the dessert. Maggie met him ravenously, one hand tugging at the hair on the back of his neck while the other dug into his shoulder. A hand on her breast stirred on the sensations firing through her body from each touch, rough and in between.

She hadn't noticed her fangs until they sank down into Kol's lower lip in response to the squeeze. They slipped out just as quickly and that was when she was hit with the first taste of _his_ blood. Her tongue reflexively darted out and flickered against his lip. The taste exploded on her senses like nothing before. The metallic taste was only a faint echo to the sweetness mixed with the hues of spice and an almost oaky husk.

Her lips immediately latched onto his lower and she sucked on it greedily, wanting to draw out as much as this wonderful delight as she could. Before she could even get a second gulp down, it was yanked roughly away from her though.

* * *

There was a rough pull on her legs and arms. Her support was completely stolen as well as the demanding presence all over her. Maggie fell to the ground with a crash as her eyes shot open, her back scraping against the bark of the tree as she went, Kol no longer underneath her hands. It was like her fire had been replaced by a wall of cold ice.

She opened her eyes, panting heavily and trying to focus on pushing the red clouding her vision away. A numb hand went up to her mouth, swallowing what was left automatically without thought. Standing a good fifteen yards away from her was Kol with his back half turned from her. There was a hand covering his mouth.

His lower lip rolled back into his mouth as he licked away the remains of his own blood. The wound healed up instantly as he blinked, staring aimlessly at the ground in shock at what just happened. She bit him! It wasn't just from the state of hunger this time. It couldn't have been, the half a dozen bodies on the ground attested to that.

He looked over at Maggie with an offended expression. She was sitting against the tree trunk with her limps sprawled haphazardly. Her eyes were darting around with a light of green in them that said she was really seeing the situation clearly for the first time.

"Sorry, darling, bloodsharing is too personal for my style," He snapped out harshly before stepping forward to pick up his jacket from the ground. He didn't stop and kept going to march straight out of the campsite, in the direction that they came from.

Maggie's hands shook as they ran through her hair. Her body thrummed with the energy of the new blood coursing through her veins, the arousal of it all and the remaining taste of Kol in her mouth. With a numb alarm, she really took in the sight of the massacre in front of her. It didn't feel like she had done all of that, but she remembered every moment of it.

Then there was Kol. Oh god, she nearly fucked him up right up against a tree then and there. And she bit him! Shaking her head, Maggie unsteadily got to her feet and took off in the direction after Kol. She just had to get away from there. Her feet wobbled and her knees buckled at first before she was able to get a good pace.

When she caught up to Kol, he had his jacket back on and button up casually, as if the shirt underneath had nearly been ripped in half. Maggie quickly fell into stride with his brisk pace, her eyes watching him anxiously. He mostly kept his gaze forward and his expression was blank, but she noticed lacking any hostility or hardness.

He got over his gut reaction to the situation quickly, but he could sense the anxiety radiating off of Maggie.

It was a good half hour before she finally got the courage to speak up. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. I just lost it back there," She began to apologize genuinely.

Kol didn't look in her direction but gave an amused smirk. "The whole point was for you to lose control," He replied, ignoring the apology even knowing she was referring to the bite.

That didn't exactly do much to calm her nerves. "How is losing myself like that helpful?" Maggie gasped.

Kol just shook his head in disagreement and corrected. "You didn't lose yourself," He paused to look over and see her dubious expression. "If you had completely lost it, you would've torn that last girl right out of my arms. A Ripper lost in it wouldn't share any of their prey with any vampire. They see them as their territorial kills."

Kol slowed down to a stop and so did Maggie, matching his steps. She had her arms wrapped around herself, like if she was trying to keep herself together. She was looking at him apprehensively, but also for a sign that everything would be okay after this.

"You actually stopped yourself. You only killed four of them and came out of it on your own," Kol spoke, obviously ignoring what happened after that.

_You only killed four of them._ That statement seemed so surreal to her and Maggie wasn't sure if she was properly absorbing all of this right now to truly appreciate it.

"You did well," Kol added on and Maggie realized it was the first proper compliment that he had given her today.

Maggie sighed and her brows furrowed while processing all of it. She just nodded appreciatively to his reassurance. It wasn't something she got often from Kol, so she couldn't ignore it. There was another question nagging on her conscious though.

"What… did you mean by bloodsharing?" She asked carefully, hoping that it wouldn't spur on a reaction similar to the one he just had.

The smirk dropped from Kol's expression and he stared at her in startled alarm. Didn't she realize what she did? His answer came in the form of her genuinely innocent expression from the question. His brows furrowed thoughtfully and Maggie began to get uncomfortable under the gaze.

"It's a very intimate act," He began to explain, feeling his offensive slip away as he began to appreciate just how naïve she still was. "As I'm sure you've noticed, vampires are sensual creatures. Blood and other desires tend to mix and become one in the same," He said meaningfully. "Sharing blood with another vampire enhances the experience."

If Maggie was still human, her face would've gone as red as the remnant blood beginning to dry on her neck. All this time, she thought the urges she was getting confused with one another was just her transition balancing out.

Kol wasn't interested in scaring her, but he needed to explain the seriousness of what she did. "To take the blood of another vampire without consent would be enough justification for them to kill you and it would be their right to," He warned her.

Maggie's eyes widened and her stomach sank, twisting uncomfortably. Her feet wouldn't cooperate with her when he suddenly took a step forward. "I… had no idea, I'm so sorry," She began to mumble.

This time it was Kol's turn to silence her. His thumb pressed lightly over her lips while his fingers spread out against her cheek, cupping it gently.

"I know, darling," Kol murmured before leaning forward to press a light kiss to the top of her forehead. Maggie remained still under his grasp and closed her eyes naturally with the gesture, feeling a little alleviated by it.

"Let's go home," Kol suggested after he pulled away and Maggie could only numbly nod along.

* * *

The return trip to the car was mostly silent as Kol left Maggie to her thoughts. It also went by a lot quicker since they just blurred in a direct route back to the car. They weren't trying to hunt or pick up any trails this time. Not that it really would've mattered to Maggie anyway. Her mind was still back at the campsite, replaying like a movie in her head. She felt like just an audience member to the way things unfolded, but it still featured her as the starring actor.

They were driving back in the car when they spoke again. Maggie quietly had her hand tucked under her chin, leaning against the frame of the window while she stared aimlessly. Her posture was calm. She felt at ease, even though she shouldn't have rationally.

"I keep waiting for it. It should bother me more than this, right?" Maggie voiced aloud while considering the depth of her depravity.

Kol quirked a brow slightly at that question and narrowed his eyes before replying. "Ah, you mean the guilty conscious?"

Maggie just simply nodded. In truth, she physically felt the best in a long time. Her tongue rolled to the top of her mouth, as if rubbing for any lingering taste of that last blood she had.

"Regardless of it _should_, does it actually?" Kol countered her initial question.

Maggie frowned as she waited before continuing, like if she was seeing if the emotion would show up at the last moment. Maybe it wanted to buy some popcorn first. But it never came.

"No. I should feel guilty, but I don't," She muttered truthfully. "I remember why I wanted to do and I still feel the urge. I wanted them to suffer. I should feel awful about killing so many people, but I've already seen so much death. It's…" Her voice began to trail and she shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"It's losing its luster?" Kol tried finishing for her with a smirk.

Maggie turned her head towards Kol, taking in the way he was casually driving the SUV with one hand on the stirring wheel. He was just as relaxed as she was, as if he didn't just have a hand in killing those people either.

"Something like that," She agreed.

She let out a deep sigh and sagged back in her seat. "If anything, I feel a bit sleepy," She pointed out in a mixed tone. Would it be so wrong to fall asleep after something like that? She could feel the blood moving around in her veins, but also sloshing around in her stomach.

"That's normal to feel after drinking that much blood," Kol said simply without giving way the relief he felt at seeing her finally adjusting to something relatively normally.

Maggie just snorted slightly at the term normal. There was nothing normal about her life anymore. With that thought, she let her head fall back on the headrest of the seat. It wasn't long before the humming of the engine and the smooth ride with the warm sensation throughout her body from the feeding lulled her to sleep.

Kol didn't even bother waking her up before snapping her neck at the county line.

At one point, Maggie faintly recalled stirring with a stiff neck and her surroundings being jostled. But she didn't even bother opening her eyes as she still felt a bit sluggish, like the vampire version of a food coma. She began to groan slightly at the interruption from her sleep and knew that she was being moved.

"Sleep, little firecracker," She heard a soothing voice murmur into her ear.

She wasn't going to argue with that request as her head dipped back down.

* * *

Maggie woke feeling oddly content. Her eyes fluttered open. She definitely was not inside of the SUV anymore but she was still curled up slightly. Around her she vaguely recognized the recently familiar walls, but she was more occupied by what was right in front of her.

Her head was leaned against Kol's shoulder as she was curled up in his lap. Maggie blinked, wondering if the foggy memory was him carrying her inside. She felt the gradual rise and fall of his chest, which was unnecessary but maybe a force of habit. She remained still, but unalarmed at her close proximity to Kol. She inhaled deeply, faintly smelling the cologne he had put on that morning with the hints of the forest and dried blood from their hunt. He still wore the jacket and same clothes, having only discarded his shoes.

Carefully, she lifted her head and looked around her. They were back in his bedroom. He held her closely with one arm wrapped around her waist and his hand on her hip. The other hand was at her knees, close to the way he had carried her. Kol was sitting upright, leaning back against the headboard of his bed. What surprised her the most was to see his head tilted to the side and his eyes closed.

Had he fallen asleep while waiting for her to wake? Maggie could only speculate while she noticed the way his lips were parted in the slightest fraction. She tried not to think too much about the way those lips moved against her earlier and the sensations they brought.

Maggie noticed the way his eyes flickered under his lids. Curiously, she watched him and wondered what it was that he dreamt about. He was more soundly asleep than when she saw him in the SUV during their road trip to Georgia. The more she thought about it, she remembered something she had learned from Damon during their lessons.

He only told her about it in theory and she never had the chance to put it into practice before. She bit the inside of her cheek as she recalled his explanation of dream manipulation, like the one he had shared with her about Rose. Maggie doubted she had the experience to manipulate anyone's dreams, but maybe she could at least see what he was looking at if his guard was down enough.

Slowly, she raised one hand, being sure not to jostle too much. Her fingertips brushed against his temple, against some end strands of his hair as well. She stopped and waited.

Kol didn't stir at the contact.

Maggie relaxed again before smoothing out her hand against the side of his head gently. She closed her eyes, trying to get her mind into the frame that she remembered Damon explaining to her it had to be in. Just when she wasn't sure it was going to work, she felt her hand unable to pull away from his face and her eyes snapped open. Her brows furrowed thoughtfully and she plunged her full concentration into it.

The bed gave a rumble as her vision began to tremble. The edges of her peripheral suddenly began to close on her, swallowing her in darkness as she felt the air began to rush forward. The coldness sucked her in and she lost the feeling in her body along with her sight.

* * *

Maggie tried to breath, beginning to panic when she felt nothing each breath. The weight against her was suffocating, almost like she was drowning, but there was nothing to ingest. The faintest of lights danced in front of her, becoming nothing more than swirling shades of grey as they moved and vibrated.

Slowly they came into focus and the world around her stopped moving. She blinked, trying to focus, but found objects far away were still blurring and shaking, like from the unsteady hand of a camera. Her perspective was constantly shifting, one moment she would be walking along the street. The next it was like she was some ethereal spectator the scene unfolding before her eyes.

It was a quiet cobble stone street. There was a horse stopped, tied up to a lamp post. Maggie knew immediately something was off by the foul stench in the air, which reeked of human excrement and other odors. But also, more important the lamp post was not powered by electricity, but was actually a burning torch.

A man moved down the street, slipping into the alley way that the horse was left in front of. It was then Maggie realized that her vision was alternating to his perspective. If it wasn't the lack of electricity or the humming of vehicles that told her she was in an entirely different period but also it was the way he was dressed. He wore a black sleeveless waist coat with a white long-sleeve undershirt, which had rather baggy sleeves at that. There were also the matching breeches and over the knee stockings that Maggie would have found comical if she didn't then fixate the face of the man. His hair was longer, messy and almost down to the nape of his neck. But those eyes and that smirk, she would never forget and couldn't believe it was Kol.

He looked more youthful in some way that she had a hard time putting her finger on. He still had that devilish smirk on his lips, but there were a few less centuries of pain and hardship in his eyes. Maggie's vision shifted as she moved with him down the alley, hearing a heartbeat and the smell of coppery blood hitting her senses.

She spotted a female with a male pressed up against the wall. It would've been too dark for a normal human to properly see them. The female wore a large taupe gown, which was hitched up on the rear and made of billowing fabric. A black petticoat was over her shoulders. If she had some sort of hat, it had been discarded, exposing the long locks of tightly curled hair. Some ringlets fell loose from the half up-do. Maggie's breath hitched, or Kol's, she wasn't sure who was who at this point.

The woman pulled back from the man, exposing the bite mark and the blood that coated her lips red. Kol approached them slowly and raised his hands in front of him. He clapped in a calculated and taunting manner, which echoed off the walls around them.

The blonde startled, and looked up to him, freezing while the compelled man remained with his back pressed against the cool stone. She had baby round cheeks and the veins moved around her eyes, quickly fading in alarm at the intrusion.

"Khorosho sdelano, golubka," Kol's voice rolled out in a rugged language that Maggie wasn't entirely familiar with.

The blonde didn't immediately react to his words. She hesitated, glancing between her victim and the escape route which was blocked by Kol.

Kol ceased his clapping and dropped the smirk to ask her curiously, "Kak tebya zovut?"

"I… I don't understand," The woman finally spoke up, shaking her head slightly. Her voice had a distinctly English accent to it.

Kol blinked slightly but recovered quickly, throwing on a charming smile. "My apologies, Miss," He changed his language to the accent Maggie was more familiar with. "I was simply admiring your work."

He stepped closer to her and she was clearly frightened by him. One hand reached up to her lips, shyly wiping away the blood. Her eyes darted to the space around him, clearly considering trying to blur around him.

Kol reached out to the compelled man, inspecting the bite mark. "You are young though, aren't you?" He mused aloud and grabbed the back of the man's head by the hair. He pulled it back to expose the neck. "You missed the best vein." Maggie could see the protruding vein that ran from under the jawline almost down to the collarbone he was referring to.

Her dark eyes followed his actions, she took half a step forward, partly curious to see what he was referring to, but still apprehensive of the mysterious stranger.

"What's your name, golubka?" Kol asked again of the blonde beauty.

Her eyes passed over him several moments, before she quietly replied to him, "Alexia."

* * *

Everything blurred out into darkness again. When Maggie came around and she was walking down a street. It seemed like it was the same night, but she couldn't be sure. There was a weight on her arm and she realized that she had her arm looped through Alexia's. Wait, she was seeing through Kol's eyes.

It was the same night she confirmed when she spotted the same colored dress and petticoat that Alexia was wearing. Alexia was more at ease this time as they walked down sidewalk. A few carriages passed by, sounding loudly with the clatter of the hooves against the stones and the creaking of the wood.

"How long have you been in England?" Alexia asked of him.

"About a month, I've been mostly at the docks," Kol answered her easily, his eyes darting casually around them, but mostly fixating on the profile of her face as they moved.

"You're with those Russians, aren't you?" Alexia picked up quickly with the slight narrowing of her eyes.

"So you have heard! And what do you know about them?" Kol teased her lightly.

"They're crude, loud, obnoxious and constantly in a state of belligerent drunkenness," Alexia quipped with the slight upwards tug of her lips.

"Don't forget the insatiable thirst," Kol added on darkly, leaning into the woman, but she didn't back away from him.

* * *

Maggie was yanked away from the memory just as quickly as it came. A new one bubbled up in front of her eyes of a different night. The energy of this one was much different. She felt on edge, but exhilarated at the same time. Adrenaline coursed through her every vein and the aching in her throat was only a dull roar.

There was an overturned carriage on a dark dirt road. The rising buildings of London were nowhere in immediate sight, but vaguely in the horizon of the moonlight.

The family of four laid in pieces at her feet. Maggie kicked idly at the torn arm at her feet. She didn't mean to do it, she just did it before she could help it. Red was everywhere and splattered on the stockings and sleeves of her shirt. The corpses were a tattered mess of ripped fabric and flesh. Their arms had been removed and the legs plucked like the pedals of a flower by a bored child.

"Kol!" Alexia's voice exclaimed in the darkness. He looked up to catch the blonde vampire standing in a deep eggplant satin dress. She stared back at him in complete horror, her eyes darting over the sight and she didn't even pay any heed to the veins that moved around her eyes from the blood. "What have you done?"

Maggie's, or rather Kol's, chin felt moist but she didn't even bother wiping it away. "Feeding, like I told you, Alex_ia_," Kol sighed out, stuffing his hands in his pockets like he didn't understand why she could possibly be upset.

"_Feeding_? This is slaughter! They're ripped apart, Kol," Alexia stepped closer with a hand rising to her mouth. Tears began to form at her eyes as she took in each one of the victims. Kol wasn't moved by the display of emotion, he just pressed his lips together tightly.

"What _are_ you?" Alexia gasped out, staring at him in a way he hadn't seen before and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Vampire, just like you, golubka," Kol stated casually while his eyes narrowed on her.

Alexia shook her head in disbelief, "No, I feed and drink what I need… this is a massacre. You ripped them to shreds, Kol, what kind of person does that?"

Kol watched her calculatingly. Maggie could feel the way that he briefly considered disposing of her, like he did to the other ones that challenged him in such a way. But he noticed the way while she was horrified, she didn't back away from him and try to escape this time.

"A Ripper does," Kol growled out lowly.

Alexia stopped slightly and blinked at the foreign term. "A _what_?"

* * *

The scene shifted and Maggie lost any sense of time. She couldn't tell if the next one became before or after the one she had just witnessed. The darkness and the trees gave away to four square walls of a crowded tavern. She didn't recognize the bar that she was sitting at, a bit slouched in the shoulders.

People were moving about and chattering loudly, their hearts pounding away. Their clothing told her she was still roughly in the same area. A large hand hammered mug sat in front of her with some sort of amber mead.

The only constant was Alexia. She was sitting next to Maggie, or rather Kol, this time and her voice carried through her ears. She could tell they were in the middle of some sort of conversation. Kol was getting riled up as a realization came to him.

"I'm on to you, golubka!" He gestured the mug roughly towards Alexia, sloshing the liquid around as he did.

"Are you now?" Alexia quirked an eyebrow with a flicker of amusement.

"Yes!" Kol leaned enthusiastically towards her before lowering his voice to share his suspicion, "Elijah sent you, didn't he? He wants me to clean up my act and you're going to make me do it?"

Alexia cocked her head slightly at the name. "I don't know who you're talking about…" She pointed out.

Kol leaned back and pursed his lips together as if considering her sincerity. Finally he decided with a smirk while taking a deep gulp of his drink. "Sure, you don't," Kol didn't believe her and flashed a wink.

Alexia just snorted slightly at his antics and shook her head. She reached up to him and pulled the mug out of his hand. His face froze in surprise at the bold gesture while she took her own swig from his drink. Seeing that, his face broke out into a broad grin.

"I'll tell you what," Kol perked up slightly in his seat and leaned towards Alexia with his forearms against the counter. "You do your… _responsibility_," He gave a mock shudder at the word, "program or what have you." Kol paused slightly, thinking he was a lot more eloquent about an hour ago. "And _I'll _show you how to have some proper fun."

Kol reached to steal his drink back with a smirk.

Alexia pressed her lips together, trying not to smile at him while she considered his offer. "Fun… Slaughtering innocents isn't my idea of fun," She gave disapprovingly.

Kol gasped in mock offense, "Killing isn't the only way to have some fun around here."

"It's not?" Alexia countered frankly, clearly not believing the older vampire knew any other way.

"Are you challenging me?" Kol turned it around with a playful glint in his eyes.

"Maybe, I am, Mr. Mikhailov," Alexia agreed with a sly smile.

Kol smirked at the fake name and Maggie could feel the curiosity and amusement from him towards this blonde.

* * *

The next part she couldn't see anything. She sensed her face was there. Every memory had Alexia in it and Maggie for some reason found herself starting to look forward to each one.

"We're leaving tomorrow, golubka," Kol spoke to her and there was a sense of regret in his tone.

"Already? Where are you going to go?" Alexia's face came clearly with the concern and frown on it. Kol didn't like to see those red lips turned in that direction.

"Vienna… and possible Venice after that," He answered her. Maggie sensed the stay in London had been short, maybe three months at the most.

An idea hit him, Maggie felt him move closer to Alexia and his hands grasped at her wrists, picking them up to hold them in front of his chest. "Come away with me," He requested of her in a hopeful innocence she had never heard from Kol before.

* * *

She was leaning over another dead body. The neck was only a stump of where the head had been. Her fingers were dark and stained from the blood. The ground seeped through the fabric of her knees. The moisture wasn't from fresh rain or the night dew. She, or rather Kol, looked up to see her face again.

Alexia was standing over him with such disappointment in her eyes. "How can it not matter?" She was questioning him.

He clenched his jaw and looked down, "They're just food, Alexia. They're mortals, nothing more than that. Weak pathetic humans."

"You were human once, Kol," Alexia said in a quiet and non-accusing tone this time. Her demeanor shifted to a solemn one. "Doesn't that mean anything?"

He looked back up at her, his dark eyes studying her sharply. She stood there in a pale blue dress with a white coat this time. She looked like a vision of light, especially with her halo of blonde hair, which he shouldn't even be allowed to touch.

"That was a very long time ago," He murmured quietly.

* * *

It was dark again, but Maggie could still hear their voices.

"If Elijah didn't send you, someone else surely must have?" Kol's suspicion was clear in his tone. Maggie could feel his need to find the reason for why Alexia was in his life and the desire to understand it.

"No one sent me," Alexia insisted firmly, but in a patient tone. It was obvious she still had no idea who Elijah was.

Her tone dropped into a softer one as she added on, "You were the one that found me, remember Kol?"

* * *

Dim light brightened up her vision and Maggie found herself a spectator to a small bedroom chamber. It was rather modest at that with a simple fireplace going on a straw stuffed mattress with some heavy wool blankets. The walls were bare aside from the stone work. She could tell that she wasn't in London anymore from the dry winter air and the snow that was piled up on the window panes of the room.

The heavy wooden door to the room opened and two people emerged, paying no heed to Maggie's presence. They were memories that she couldn't alter she realized.

Kol was slumped over with an arm thrown around Alexia's shoulders. Maggie could smell the booze that was wafting off of him and the blood splattered on his clothing. Alexia looked torn between amusement and annoyance as she led the intoxicated vampire over to the cot. If she wasn't supernatural, she doubted she would've been able to move him so easily.

"I'm quite positive that Boris had wet his breeches," Kol smirked lazily as his shins bumped into the frame of the bed. Maggie could sense amused satisfaction from Kol which had something to do with compelled polar bears serving vodka and harassing the guests of Pytor that refused, but she wasn't quite sure.

Alexia shook her head, fighting a smile herself, "I didn't even know you could compel animals." She dropped Kol rather unceremoniously on the bed.

He grinned and rolled onto his back with a slight groan. "Of course you can, golubka," He opened his eyes again to look up at Alexia.

Alexia paused slightly at the pet name and she moved to sit on the bed edge next to Kol without actually touching him. "What does that mean?"

Kol pushed himself up a bit with his elbows to look at her more fully. "Little dove," He smirked at her.

"Dove?" Alexia quirked an eyebrow at that.

The smirk dropped away from Kol's face and Maggie saw his eyes lacking the usual guardedness she had become accustomed to seeing from him, "Yes, at first I thought of little angel… However angels are sent by someone, but you flew to me on your own light. Hence little dove, golubka."

Maggie's chest tightened at the way Kol was looking at Alexia in that moment. But the blonde just rolled her eyes with a chuckle.

"Now I know you're drunk," She leaned forward and pushed a hand against his chest to get him to lie back down.

"And you're alone in my chambers, Lady Branson," Kol smirked mischievously at her as she moved to the end to the bed to help unlace and remove his boots. He felt way too contently satisfied to get up from the bed and do anything with that taunting though. "What a scandal!"

"Only because you can't clean up your own messes," Alexia threw back at him, tossing the boots lightly on the ground and letting him deal with the rest before slipping from the room.

* * *

The room shifted again. It the same chambers that Maggie had just witnessed, but it was clearly a different night. The atmosphere was different this time. It lacked the warmth and jovial attitude that she had just witnessed. There was something thick in the air this time and she could sense it. She was on edge and she couldn't help but pace in the room. She wanted to strike out at something, but it was useless because she couldn't affect anything in this world. Where was this anxiety coming from? Was this what Kol was feeling?

"Don't, Kol!" Maggie could hear Alexia's voice coming from the hallway. There were a few brutish words that she didn't understand from other voices in the hall. A sickening crack echoed in the air and before a heavy thud.

The door was yanked open, Alexia and Kol entered the room. Unlike the prior time, Kol was marching briskly with his fists at his sides. His eyes were dark with a familiar rage that she had seen before. There were no smiles on Alexia's face as she followed two steps behind them.

"Great, do you have any idea how many streltsy I'm going to have to compel?" Alexia snipped after him in irritation a hand moving on her hip as the satin fabric of her dress moved with her corseted form. She wore a dark forget green gown this time and her hair was hung loosely behind her with a braided crown.

"No, but there's one less for you," Kol growled out, waving a hand casually back towards the closed door.

Alexia sighed and shook her head at the stubborn vampire. "Tell me what is going through that mind of yours, Kol," Her tone voiced, trying to reason with him.

He kept his back to her and went for the corner table in the room, grabbing a bottle of some dark liquid that Maggie couldn't immediately identify. "You wouldn't understand," Kol sneered while breaking it open before taking a deep gulp.

"You're right, I wouldn't understand," Alexia challenged, stepping up behind him, "Because you never talk about your past. I don't know anything about your human life or your family."

Maggie could feel the burn going down Kol's throat, even though she stood across the room. She felt the way his hands tensed and his jaw locked. "You want to know about my human life. Fine!" He hissed out between his teeth before loudly slamming the bottle back on the table. He whirled around on his heels to face Alexia, his eyes blazing black.

"My brother was mauled by wolves," His voice came out as a shout as he towered over Alexia. "My mother poisoned me! And my father ran a sword through my chest!" He slapped his hand against his chest, over his heart with a loud thump. "_That'_s my humanity."

Maggie could feel that Kol was expecting Alexia to back away and cower from the anger radiating from his shoulders. But she remained where she was standing instead.

He watched the way she drew in a deep breath, bringing her shoulders up before stepping closer to him, nearly nose to nose. "I know what you're trying to do," She countered in a soft tone, "You're trying to scare me and it's not going to work."

Kol's nostrils flared and he clenched his teeth together. Maggie could feel his hands itching at this, the nails digging into his palms as those round brown eyes tempted to calm him down. Alexia reached up and pressed a hand against his chest.

"Why don't you let it in?" Alexia whispered in a meaningful tone as her other hand reached up his cheek. His eyes shut at the contact, feeling her delicate skin against his, her hand contrasted his calloused and rough ones.

Kol swallowed and took a long moment before he was able to respond. Maggie could feel the anger simmering down as the heavy breathes began to relax under Alexia's hand.

"Because every time I do, the pain haunts me and it doesn't stop," Kol answered while refusing to open his eyes. "I have _nothing good_ to let in."

* * *

Maggie's feet were wet and for some reason she found herself unable to care about it, because quite frankly she could hardly feel her legs anyway. She was humming a tune that seemed somewhat familiar to her, but the rumbling deep voice told her it was really Kol that was humming. The changing perspectives were disorienting but she was starting to see and feel through his eyes more with each scene.

She, or rather Kol, had a bottle in hand as he hummed, his hand swaying back and forth slightly with the tune. Bubbling water soaked his stockings half way up his chins as he leaned against a stone statue. He barely registered the coolness of the rock as he leaned against the sculpted creature.

The humming was out of tone and rather lazy at that. At one point, he brought the bottle towards his rigid companion. "Take it away, porpoise," He demanded, careful to not cross the mouth of the glass with the stream of water that jetted out from the dolphin's mouth. After all, it would be a shame to dilute the liquor.

Kol bowed his head slightly as if waiting for it to pick up where he left off, but then frowned slightly when he heard nothing.

"I don't think he knows that song," A voice piped up and Kol looked up to see Alexia standing by the edge of the fountain.

She was fighting a small smile. Her maroon gown was almost black in the evening darkness, but Kol thought she looked absolutely radiant. Her hair was pulled back into a carefully manicured up style with one purposeful ringlet next to her temple.

Kol gasped in offense at her words and scowled at his new friend, "Why he better! Everyone knows God Save the King!"

Alexia hid a giggle behind a white gloved hand before speaking, "Maybe in Britain they do… but not here in Rome."

Kol jerked his head back slightly as he looked to Alexia, as if he didn't fully comprehend what she said. He then purposely looked around him at the buildings and squinted, like he was really seeing them for the first time. "I thought this seemed a bit…" He began mumbling before giving up and waving his drink in the air dismissively, "It's all the same continent!"

Alexia's laugh run through the air, and Maggie decided, well Kol did, that he wanted to hear that sound more often. That smile of hers caused him to return one like the drunken idiot he was and he didn't care about that fact.

"Hold this," He muttered to the porpoise before setting the bottle down on top of its head, as if it was balancing a ball. He moved towards Alexia, sloshing up water with each step as he did.

He enjoyed seeing the way she was fighting her amusement along with the instinct to be responsible.

"Will you get out of there before the polizia come?" Alexia requested in a reprimanding tone, but Kol wasn't deterred in the slightest bit. There wasn't much that could be done to stop him in one of these moods.

"I don't think I will," Kol smirked and then his face lit up with an idea, "Join me, golubka, and we'll get caught together!" He didn't even bother waiting for an answer before reaching out to her waist. With ease he picked her up, Alexia's feet leaving the ground before they were soaked as he plopped her down in the fountain right next to him. He didn't remove his hands from her waist as he grinned at her appalled and stunned expression.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, but Kol could see the corners of her mouth that she was struggling to keep down. Her small hands were gripping his forearms from the surprise of the movement.

"Living in the moment like there may never be another one," Kol repeated a mantra that he had been trying to get the young vampire to understand lately.

Alexia just shook her head at him incredulously and smiled up at him. Maggie felt her chest warm at the way that Kol looked in that moment, but the same time she also wasn't sure if that was what he felt looking at Alexia.

The blonde then gave a gasp as if something suddenly dawned on her. She looked down at her feet the hem of the dress that was now thoroughly soaked. "Oh, no!" She groaned, stepping back from Kol and inspecting the fabric. "I was going to wear this tonight. Lee's introducing me to his family."

The warm feeling in Kol disappeared in an instant at that claim. His smile was brought down into a bitter smirk, "Is he now? Are you going to introduce him to your nightly pastime?"

Alexia looked up and gave him a disapproving scowl. It was then Maggie understood that whoever this mortal they referred was had no idea what Alexia really was.

* * *

The water splashed across Maggie's eyes to reveal a new vision. Kol was walking down the street with Alexia next to him, her arm looped through his. The gesture seemed so nature, like they have done it many times before and he felt as if they would continue to do so. They were in mid conversation when Maggie became aware of what was going on.

"A mortal, Alexia? What do you expect to come of that?" Kol's face was twisted with distaste. Maggie felt his irritation, like if she literally needed to scratch her arms to rid of it herself.

"What do you mean?" Alexia bristled slightly at Kol's tone, but didn't let it get to her. She had more patience than he would ever have.

"He's a weak little human, prone to accidents and misfortunes," Kol pointed out bluntly. "And let's say nothing immediately _tragic_ befallen him, what are you going to do? Sit idly by while he grows and wilts away into crippled old man?"

He didn't like the way those brown eyes widened in alarm at him, but wanted to dispel these notions she had so badly.

"I… don't think he would ever forgive me if I did that to him," Alexia struggled with the words and Maggie felt her grip tighten on Kol's arm subconsciously.

Kol gave a smug smirk. Maggie could feel how confident that he felt Alexia would never be able to turn someone against their will. She had too much compassion for that, more than he could ever carry.

* * *

Maggie was blinded at first by the sun. It was the first vision in the broad daylight. The rays glimmered off the view of the ocean before them. The hues and smells that assaulted her senses could only lead her to conclude that they were still somewhere on the Mediterranean. There was a garden terrace with a low stone wall wrapped around it.

Maggie had her own body in this time, dressed in the clothing of the time she really belonged to. She could only guess this was a vivid memory with the way it was so well reconstructed. There was a small table in front of her and she wasn't surprised to see Kol and Alexia sitting opposite from each other.

Alexia was taking a sip from a small teacup that Maggie was pretty sure didn't contain any human nourishment. She carefully set the saucer by down on the table as they resumed their conversation.

She could feel the small smile that played on Kol's face as he studied Alexia. Maggie felt more at ease in this sitting, a contentment that tingled through her fingertips and her toes.

It didn't last long as Alexia began to speak.

"I know you think this is a weakness, but it's not I swear it, Kol," She protested against his earlier words. Maggie frowned slightly, not understanding why Kol was feeling a weakness that wasn't necessarily directed at Alexia, but he didn't voice that.

Kol rolled his eyes and the smile fell away from his lips. The contentment startled to dwindle along with it.

"A sire bond is hardly anything to be boastful over, Alexia," Kol considered using golubka, but he didn't this time as his tone carried his aggravation.

Alexia just shook her head, undeterred by the attitude she had grown accustomed to from the vampire.

"This isn't a sire bond, I would've known by now, he's been turned for a while," Alexia denied then paused with a smile gracing her lips, "This is something else, it's new. I don't know how to describe it."

She leaned further in her see and Kol could see the excitement in her eyes, but he didn't share it with each word she uttered. She was smiling so brightly, so full of life, but in a way that wasn't directed at him. A hand gestured lightly above her breastbone. "It's so beautiful, I can _feel it_ too, not just him –"

Maggie couldn't hear the rest of her words. With her last sentence, her voice rose in Maggie's ears to an incomprehensible ringing. It was painful and alarming at the same time. Her hands reflexively clapped over her ears to no avail.

The voices were completely drowned out when she felt the first searing stab into her chest. She looked down but didn't see anything there. Her gut wrenched and twisted in a way that brought her to her knees on the cold stone. The jarring feeling in her bones was nothing to the way it felt like her chest cavity was being hollowed out mercilessly.

Her eyes were clenched shut before she noticed it happening. Maggie sucked in deep breaths, trying to get air, but it never felt like enough.

She couldn't even comprehend on how long that went on before she realized something with horror. Her eyes snapped open, the tears streaming down her face and she looked up to the couple sitting at the table. Everything else around her was blurry except for the way she focused on his face.

Seeing his clenched jaw with his lips formed in a thin light and the slight smirk at the corner was the first sign she was familiar with. The second was the bitterness masked behind his eyes. It was the impassive expression she was so familiar with seeing him wear in the present day.

Maggie broke experiencing the pain that Kol felt in that moment.

* * *

Maggie was still on her knees, clutching the back of her head when the suffocating feeling started to die away. Her forehead was pressed against the weathered stones. Her shoulders shook with gasp she inhaled. Shakily, she lifted her head and looked around her.

She wasn't in the Mediterranean. If anything, it was remarkably chiller here and the sky was overcast. Her palms smoothed out across the course surface and she realized she was kneeling on some sort of pedestrian bridge.

In almost the same positions standing in front of her was Kol and Alexia. The low stone wall that had been overlooking the sea was now an arching one of a different style architecture she had never personally witnessed. There was a wide river before them containing many ships and their massive sails. Her only sense of time was based on the fact none of them had motors or even steam engines. Something in her gut feeling told her she was in Amsterdam, but Maggie figured that was the influence of Kol's memories.

Kol was leaning against the railing with one elbow casually against the stone while Alexia stood next to him. Her posture was rigid and stiff, not just from the etiquette of the time period, with the obvious upset expression on her face.

"I heard about what you did in Greece," Alexia clipped, lacking any pleasantry or humor in her tone this time.

"Did you now?" Kol drawled in a bored tone. "Word is certainly beginning to travel faster in these days. Let me guess, you also heard that I fell off the carriage?" There was a slight sneer in his question, Maggie sensed it had nothing to do with the subject, but still the crushing bitterness and pain she was experiencing in her chest. It was too much for her to even fully rise to her feet as she remained kneeling on the ground, morbidly watching the scene unfold in front of her.

"What happened, Kol?" Alexia tried to reason, ignoring the way he tried to hide with the snarky attitude.

Kol shrugged his shoulders, "I was just taking care of some unfinished business. It was nothing personal."

"Nothing personal?" Alexia exclaimed reprovingly. "That was half a fishing village!"

Kol's jaw set tightly before he took a deep breath and replied to her, "I was just being thorough, Alex_ia_."

"Thorough? Is that what you call it? You deliberately killed women and _children_, little infants and babes," Alexia seethed in disgust towards him before she took a step away from him and began shaking her head in disbelief.

Maggie could feel the pain stabbing through her that Kol wouldn't reveal behind those eyes as he watched her back away from him.

Before fully turning away from him, Alexia stopped with a defeated sigh, "When I first heard, I thought it was a relapse and I could understand… but _that_ I cannot."

Kol's gaze dropped from her face and to the ground. His fingers curled into tight fists but he didn't say anything as she walked away.

It felt like every vein and artery in her chest was constricting on Maggie. It stole away the feeling to the rest of her body and crushed her in its wake until blackness covered her eyes.

* * *

Maybe she was a glutton she thought, feeling the way that Kol took each wound silently and continued to do so for those little moments. Maggie could hear their voices again. There was the faintest strain in Kol's tone that she wondered if Alexia knew was there when this actually happened. It had to be much later on she figured based on Alexia's tone.

"The ceremony is going to be in Istanbul this time," She was announcing in a cheery tone that seemed almost mocking to Maggie, regardless of the innocence behind it.

"Another one? War is on the doorstep and you're out picking out flowers and seating arrangements?" Kol teased her but the edge was there.

Maggie could sense the rueful look from Alexia without actually seeing it. "You know, Kol, you might actually learn to appreciate these celebrations if you actually bothered attending one."

Maggie couldn't hear Kol's response, but she heard Alexia's voice echo haunting in the back of Kol's mind.

"I really wish you would come."

* * *

The last image came to her with clarity that none of the previous ones had. Maggie was standing on a dock. She could smell the salt and must of the low tide in the air. There was the distant squawking of seagulls that carried through to her vampire ears. A massive ship was waiting to with the sails beginning to be unrolled and the ropes being pulled as the canvas rose into the air. Many deck crews were moving about the top side and some were carrying barrels of supplies by the wooden bridge plank.

Maggie was moving not on her own accord. She looked to her right and realized she was mechanically matching Kol step for step. God, that pain was ever present in her chest and she couldn't stop herself no matter how much it throbbed and seared her if she took a breath too deep.

It got a little better when Kol looked up to the top of the deck and spotted the familiar blonde locks. She wore a heavy fashionable coat and a slimmer dress, more appropriate for the travel they would be partaking on.

Kol had a large canvas bag slung over her shoulder, which Maggie just knew contained the supplies he would bring with him for the journey, not that it was much for a vampire.

"Golubka," He called out to her, not needing to raise his voice all that terribly much for the woman to hear him.

Her head turned and he could see the way that her face lit up with surprise. Alexia's hand touched the railing of the ship as she began moving along it towards the boarding plank. Kol grinned in response to her excitement and started moving closer.

It was until he was a few feet away from the boarding plank did he actually look towards it and so did Maggie. He stopped dead in his tracks at the man that was blocking the path.

Maggie frowned as she felt Kol suddenly go still with a mix of apprehension, surprise and maybe even a little hostility. She frowned while she glanced over his casual appearance, wearing the black breeches and stockings of the time with just a loosely fitted white tunic atop. His curly mess of fair hair hung down to his shoulders.

It wasn't until she saw those eyes cold as ice did Maggie identify him.

"Nik, what are you doing here?" Kol growled out harshly, going almost toe to toe with the Original vampire. It was also the first time Maggie ever heard Kol calling Niklaus that name.

"He's onto you, Kol, and he's on his way this very moment," Klaus warned him in a low tone with his hands tucked behind his back.

The hand gripping the strap of the shoulder bag tightened considerably as Kol stared at his brother. Over the shoulder of Klaus, Maggie could see Alexia stopping at the top of the boarding plank and frowning in confusion at the scene in front of her. Niklaus paid no heed even if he knew who she was.

"Who is?" Kol requested and Maggie had the gut feeling that Kol already knew.

Klaus stared at him with no smirk on his face or taunting in his tone before answering solemnly, "Mikael."

Maggie could feel the panic that Kol wouldn't let show on his face. He regarded Klaus with an impassive expression before taking a deep breath and throwing on a smirk. "All the more reason for me to get on this ship then," Kol declared and was going to step around his brother, but the Original didn't move.

"I'm afraid I can't take that risk," Klaus countered him.

Kol furrowed his eyebrows and before he could ask what he meant, he felt the plunge into his chest. His hands shot up to Klaus' shoulders gripping tight, dropping the bag with a thud. Whether it was for support or to push him away, it was unclear. Maggie gasped from the hot edge scorching into her without physically maiming her. She looked down at Kol and saw the dagger, identical to the ones she had in present day, sinking into Kol's flesh with Klaus' hand wrapped around it.

"Please forgive me, brother," Klaus murmured regretfully and there was a slight shine in his eyes but Kol didn't see it.

His gaze was up at Alexia, whose body gave a jerking shudder as she gasped.

"Uletayut, moya golubka," Barely passed through Kol's lips as his skin began to grey and the sensation of his limps began to fade.

Maggie didn't need to understand the language to know the feeling he felt and what it meant. She couldn't hear the shriek that sounded from Alexia. The blackened veins rose from Kol's neck as his, and by extension Maggie's, vision failed and faded into darkness one last time.

_Fly away, my little dove._

* * *

Maggie awoke with a sharp gasp. Her eyes snapped open, blurred by the tears running down her face. She was back in the bedroom. Her body shook, still feeling the pain radiating through her. It almost made her physically ill with the way it scorched her insides and twisted them viciously. She sat up quickly, still in the same spot that she had been in when she plunged into Kol's dreams.

Immediately, she tried to pull her hand away from Kol's face. But it was stopped in midair by another wrapping tightly around her wrist. She was caught and it remained completely unmoving. Her eyes moved back to Kol and saw that his eyes were now open, an onyx shade that drew a chill from her.

Maggie could feel the other hand tightening on her hip, the fingers pressing into her bone. Kol's nostrils flared and his was as rigid as a statue underneath her. His jaw was set tightly, the tension evident in his features. His lips quivered, curling up slightly and briefly exposing his teeth before he finally managed to speak.

He snarled out in a low, furious tone, "_No one_ was supposed to see that."

* * *

_Author's Note: Whoa!_

_So I couldn't help but post this chapter right away since it's probably one of my favorite ones. What do you guys think of Maggie's hunt? How about them cannibals, huh?_

_Okay! Now the part I know everyone is probably going to be freaking out about… Kol and Lexi! Now we're seeing some of where Kol's jadedness comes from, nothing like a little unrequited love, right? This dream sequence was inspired by the thought I had the other day of wondering where Lexi had learned to deal with rippers… _

_Also I apologize for my translations, I used the phonetic Russian translation from Google Translate, so please don't be too mad if it's wrong, it's just a fanfic after all._

_Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE review! This chapter especially I'm super curious to hear your thoughts on._

_Review responses – _

_IrishBeauty: I actually for a long time seriously considered bringing Woodbury and Andrea into this, but I won't be, I'm sorry. I'm keeping this mostly TVD in the end. At one point I had considered having Kol and Maggie finding Andrea at the farmhouse after Woodbury had been overran by a herd. I would count on discovering more about Maggie's blood next chapter and it'll be interesting to see if she gets sick after the hunt. ;D And I'm a total sucker for the Maggie/Stefan and Maggie/Rebekah friendships._

_Kellie: Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy this story and I hope you give TWD a chance. It's a pretty awesome show. It really means a lot to hear such a wonderful review and I hope this chapter further adds to that depth you were talking about as well as Maggie's dark side._

_Nethra: If it wouldn't be totally OOC, I would love to make a Regina George reference haha. _

_M: I think you did a pretty good job of expressing it and thank you so so much! While Kol's reaction wasn't the best this chapter, I wouldn't give up on the idea of bloodsharing in the feature. ;D Unlike Damon who expressed no interest in it because of his brush with death, Kol didn't mention anything about the future._


	46. Chapter 46

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Face Down_

_Scene: Kol's bedroom_

_Jason Walker – What If I Told You_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie outside_

_Secondhand Serenade – Fall for You_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie_

_Mad Langer – Beauty of the Dark_

_Scene: Maggie's [Alaric's] apartment_

_Chapter Forty-six_

Immediately, she tried to pull her hand away from Kol's face. But it was stopped in midair by another wrapping tightly around her wrist. She was caught and it remained completely unmoving. Her eyes moved back to Kol and saw that his eyes were now open, an onyx shade that drew a chill from her.

Maggie could feel the other hand tightening on her hip, the fingers pressing into her bone. Kol's nostrils flared and his was as rigid as a statue underneath her. His jaw was set tightly, the tension evident in his features. His lips quivered, curling up slightly and briefly exposing his teeth before he finally managed to speak.

He snarled out in a low, furious tone, "_No one_ was supposed to see that."

* * *

Maggie winced, feeling the tight grasp on her arm. In all the arguments she's gotten into as she was growing up and the roughhousing with her brother, she never actually had to worry about a grip that was tight enough to not only break, but crush her bones. As Kol held her wrist, she questioned just how much the bone would hold up against his strength, knowing it was only a hair trigger away from being snapped.

Kol's eyes scared her even more. They lacked any warmth, gentleness, or humor that was usually there when he looked at her. Not even a trace of it anywhere.

"I'm so sorry, I thought…" The words bubbled up on her lips as a feeble plea, but she couldn't even finish them. She could taste her own tears on her lips as she spoke.

"You thought _what_?" Kol growled out quickly, barely giving her a chance to speak. "My trust gives you permission to rummage around in my head as soon as my guard is down?!"

Maggie's throat tightened, she shook her head and gasped, but no words would come out. Her nerves were already shaking from the experience in the dream, but now it was even worse as the guilt and realization of what she did hit her full force.

Kol let out an animalistic noise of frustration and twisted Maggie's arm. In a blur of moment, she was pushed off of his lap and shoved stomach down against the bed. Maggie let out a strangled cry at feeling her arm pulled tightly behind her, there was a popping noise in her shoulder, and feeling her face half pressed into the comforter. What hurt more was the fist at the back of her head, pulling her by her hair.

She barely caught the look in his eyes before it happened. The white had disappeared completely as they were consumed by blackness and she didn't need to look over her shoulder to know Kol was vamped out leaning over her. His hand pressed her forearm into her back, pinning her there while the roughly turned her head to the side and forced it down, exposing the back of her neck with her hair pushed up by his hand.

Maggie let out a sob and squeezed her eyes shut, her lips twisting tightly over her clenched teeth.

Kol's fangs ached, whether it was from the rage or not it didn't matter to him. He stared at the back of her neck and lowered his mouth down to it. He was going to bite her. In that place, it wouldn't be pleasant and it would be very painful. It would likely go straight down to the bone and he wouldn't snap it to alleviate any bit of sensation. He would make her feel just as powerless as he felt having someone violate his mind like that. The monster within wanted to take back that dominant control.

His teeth were brushing against her skin when the saltiness hit his nose. Kol halted and took a deep breath, catching the unique scent of her, but more so the smell of her tears in the air. That was when he noticed that she wasn't resisting. He could feel her body trembling beneath him, but he was only using his arms to hold her down. His knees dug into the mattress on either side of her hips. She could have kicked and tried to fight him off, but she didn't.

She just took it.

Maggie felt his hot breath pull away from her neck. Kol's eyes darted over Maggie. Her grimace was evident in the uncomfortable position of her neck and the pain in her shoulder. She didn't bother fighting against him, knowing she deserved every bit of punishment now that she really understood what she did.

The room was silent with only the interruption of a sniffled sob as Maggie gasped for a shaky breath. Kol stopped, barley noticing the veins around his eyes as he fixated on the tears around hers. They slipped back behind the surface while he felt her quivering underneath him. Her face was broken with the glisten of the moisture on her cheeks and the pain in every crease and distortion of her expression.

It was all there because of him.

Kol felt his anger twist into something else and settled in the bottom pit of his stomach. His shoulders still shook, but the fangs receded in his mouth. Slowly, he smoothed out the hand that knotted her hair against the back of her head and eased up on the forceful grip. She seemed so small and fragile beneath him. Maybe if it had been someone else, it would've felt empowering. He wouldn't have bothered seeing past the monster inside.

Instead, he let the hand on her arm go and placed against the mattress to support himself as he leaned over her. The tension in her lips lessened, her teeth no longer visible from wincing. Swallowing forcefully, Kol clamped his eyes shut and turned his head away from her, not wanting to see how pitiful those emeralds would look.

"Get out," He ordered, slipping the hand from the back of her head so he was on all fours. There was enough space between them that she could scramble out from underneath him.

Maggie wasn't going to lie and say she didn't consider doing exactly that. Every self-preserving instinct in her body told her to blur the fuck out of there, and everyone knew by this point that she had a lot of those instincts.

She opened her eyes, panting to catch her breath. The hand behind her back fell to her side and there was a distinct popping in the air, she grimaced slightly from the feeling her shoulder going back into place. She noticed the way Kol's hands were knotted tightly on the comforter, she didn't know if it was to keep himself up or to keep him down.

Instead of getting away from him, she slowly rolled onto her side and finally her back to look up at him. His face was turned away from her, still as a statue and hardened greatly with the uncomfortable restraint and shame-ridden anger. He looked furious and he had every reason to be, but she recognized this kind of fury. It was the same she often experienced, it masked the hurt.

"No," Maggie refused him hoarsely.

Kol inhaled sharply to keep himself from lashing out too much at the denial. His head gave one rough shake.

"Get out of my sight, Margaret," Kol hissed out, still refusing to open his eyes and look at her.

Maggie flinched from the tone, but she didn't make any move to get away from him. Instead, she carefully raised one hand, going with the unharmed arm since that was still throbbing a bit, towards his face. Her fingers felt a quiver when she touched his cheek, she wasn't sure if it was from surprise or the adrenaline coursing through him. Either way, she cupped his cheek and sternly coaxed his head to turn towards her.

"No," She repeated more firmly this time.

Kol opened his eyes reluctantly. Maggie saw a rawness in them radiating less of the anger she expected and more of the pain that came from the memories he had and the way they were put on display unwilling to someone else.

That sickening feeling his stomach worsened when he took in the puffy look of her eyes and the vulnerability of her position, even after attacking her she was still more concerned about him. It was a look of trust, admiration, stubbornness, and hurt rolled into one tantalizing combination that embodied her.

Kol favored his left hand while his right reached up towards her cheek. Gently the back of his knuckles brushed her skin, feeling the moisture in its wake. He started at her cheekbone and moved down to her jawline. For a moment, Maggie began to relax under the simple touch and seeming affectionate gesture.

But by the time she realized what he was doing, it was too late. His fingers already curled under her jawbone and grasped it with his thumb. He forced it up and gave it a twist before her world went black.

* * *

Maggie was lying on her back of one of the living room couches when she began to come around. She was oblivious to the person standing over her as her head turned. A groggy hand began to rise up to her forehead. Before she could open her eyes, a large splash of cold water soaked her upper body.

Maggie shot upright with a gasp, letting out a shudder from the water and quickly trying to blink it out of her eyes.

The bucket carrying the water was dropped down on the ground impatiently as the blonde then folded her arms over her chest.

"Rebekah?" Maggie croaked out in confusion, wiping away some of the water from her cheeks and realizing she was definitely not in Kol's bedroom, but still in the Mikaelson mansion. "What happened?"

"That's what I want to know," Rebekah clipped out shortly with no amusement or pleasantries on her face. When she first spotted the doppelganger, she gave a sigh at her appearance. All that work and one day later she's already back in schleppy jeans, covered in dirt and what looked like dried blood.

Maggie eased up to a seat slowly. "He snapped my neck," She mumbled, rubbing the back of it as she went when it dawned on her. What was that? The third time today she got her neck snapped by him. She paused to look at her wrist, which would have had a dark purple handprint if she was still human. She pulled up the hem of her shirt slightly to look at her hip, knowing that's where the other one should have been too. But both pieces of flesh were now healed and without blemish. She subconsciously rolled her shoulder, recalling the way it was dislocated.

"Clearly," Rebekah commented with narrow eyes, "But _why_?" Seeing the way that Kol had taken off was one red flag for her, but finding Maggie like this was another one. It was quite the opposite of what she was expecting after what she thought were things going well at the Lockwood party.

Reality began to seep back into her with each breath. Every inhale came faster than the last one with the reawakening of the emotions that had been running on high during those moments.

"Oh god," Maggie groaned and used both hands to push her now soaked hair back out of her face. "I really fucked up this time, Rebekah," Maggie looked up to the Original.

Rebekah frowned at the panic in her tone. She leaned down and grabbed Maggie roughly by the arm, pulling her up to a stand. "What did you do?" She lowered her tone forcefully.

Maggie shrugged out of her grasp and began pacing in the room, back and forth in front of Rebekah. "I woke up and he was sleeping, dreaming… and I never tried it before, but I…" Maggie began choking on her words. Rebekah watched her sharply trying to fill in the gaps of her words, ignoring the way the doppelganger was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Oh, no, you didn't…" Rebekah's eyes widened and her shoulders sagged with realization. She remembered how livid she had been when Sage and Damon plotted to get inside her head. Volatile anger ran through their family and she could only imagine how Kol reacted to that.

Maggie only gasped and managed a nod, not being reassured by Rebekah's reaction.

"You realize he has every right to kill you for that, right?" Rebekah pointed out bluntly, her tone was harsh, but there was a bit of sadness to it. She was beginning to like Maggie, but she couldn't blame Kol for whatever punishment he was going to dish out to her now.

Maggie shook her head and kept pacing in the room. One hand tugged at the hair at her temple while her heart was pounding. She could still feel the pain of the memories lingering in her chest cavity.

"I know, but I couldn't stop it once it started," Maggie replied helplessly and she couldn't fight the tears that began form at the corners of her eyes again, thinking back to the haunted look in Kol's eyes and the fury directed towards her when he woke up.

Rebekah frowned, noticing how Maggie's erratic behavior was getting worse and worse each moment. She was getting more strung up and unknown to her getting back to the point she had been when she was knocked out. "Hey, get a hold of yourself," Rebekah snapped out impatiently, seeing she was losing Maggie. "What did you see?"

Maggie stopped in her steps to look at Rebekah again. "I'm… not really sure," She stuttered out, she had a seen a lot of images and didn't even know where to begin to describe them. Maybe she shouldn't even say anything, but Rebekah was his sister so that had to count for something. "There was a girl, a vampire," Maggie corrected herself, shaking her head and going back to pacing, "I think he was in love with her!"

Rebekah jerked her head back incredulously and her expression twisted into pure confusion. "We are talking about Kol, right?" She questioned, safely believing that was the last thing she expected Maggie to say.

Maggie ignored her and kept going, trying to rationalize everything that she saw. "But…" Maggie paused, recalling the looks on Alexia's face in Kol's memories. She was happy towards the end, but it didn't seem quite right. "She didn't love him… I'm not sure she even knew," Maggie gasped and felt another ripple of gut wrenching through her.

She stopped to face Rebekah, hardly really looking at her. She gestured a hand over her heart as she tried to get her to understand. "I didn't just see it, I _felt it_ too…" Her voice trailed off, shameless of the tears that rolled down her cheeks.

Rebekah stared at her in stunned silence. Her mouth was slightly agape, but no sound came from it. Maggie didn't know if it had more to do with her hysterical behavior or the information that she was processing.

A notion suddenly dawn on her and Maggie inhaled a deep breath that lifted her shoulders. "I got to find him," Maggie declared in the clearest tone yet. Even though she had been the cause of this conflict, she couldn't deny the urge she had to be there for him, especially now that she was acknowledging it.

That stir Rebekah out of her shock and she scoffed frankly, "Well somebody has to and you should since this is your mess."

Maggie's brows furrowed at that statement and she cocked her head slightly, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders, "I can't find him… He took off right after I came home."

Maggie let out a groan, "He's probably still furious." She could only take a guess how many necks of been snapped or people drained by this point.

To her surprise, Rebekah shook her head quickly. "No, I've seen him angry and his fits… this wasn't anything like that. He was all _broody,_" Rebekah's face scrunched up as if the word was foreign and unpleasant on her tongue, her gaze flickering briefly down to the floor. She caught Maggie's perplexed expression and added on in clarification, "Kol _never _broods."

Maggie nodded numbly. Maybe Kol never brooded, she couldn't help but think, Rebekah has also never seen him pining away over someone either.

Maggie used the back of her hand to wipe a few of the tears, taking a few moments to calm herself down and force herself to think about a plan of action than her emotions. "I think I have a few ideas of where he could be," Maggie declared.

Rebekah's hands fell to her side and she took a half step forward when she saw Maggie turning to leave the room. She was half tempted to go with her, but knew this wasn't her problem, despite it being about her youngest brother. "Go then! Fix this, I'd really prefer not to have to stake you," Rebekah griped out in a regretful but serious tone.

Maggie hesitated slightly at the backhanded threat or compliment, she wasn't actually sure which. But she just shook her head and went for the front door. She figured that Rebekah meant well and that was just her way of showing it.

* * *

There was less than an hour left of daylight when Maggie finally broke through the clearing. If it was the winter time, the sun would have gone down a while ago, but the June days were playing to her advantage now. Maggie's frustration began to ease up when she heard the running water and spotted the river.

She had to push away the horrible sense of déjà vu and remind herself that the circumstances were so much different this time. Maggie had checked at the Grill at first and downtown to see if Kol was anywhere near there. But then on a hunch, she decided to try to find this place again. Even with her vampire speed, it took her quite a while to find it and she would have to definitely file her tracking abilities under the still learning status.

She let out an apprehensive relieved sigh when she looked towards the horizon and where the water dropped off. Her eyes went to the large boulder and her last memory of it came to the surface right away. Admittedly, it looked a lot different in the daylight now and she was glad for that. It gave her enough resolve to focus on the fact the boulder that was already occupied.

Even with the broad shoulders of the black pea coat style jacket that he often wore, Maggie could see the way his shoulders sagged. Maybe it was from the natural way he sat on the boulder with his legs dangling off the edge and his hands in his lap or from the certain kind of exhaustion in his frame.

Maggie took slow steps towards him. Her feet weren't exactly quite, but she wasn't trying to sneak up on him either.

Kol turned his head when he heard her approaching. His gaze followed the ground to her feet and looked up at her. Maggie stopped when their eyes met. There was no scowl or fury in his eyes. His lips were set in a line, but they weren't taunt or pressed tightly together. If anything she could read from those dark eyes was a sense of tiredness. His lips didn't flicker up or down before he simply turned his head back towards the horizon, as if simply accepting the fact she was there.

Maggie took it for what it was worth. "This is where I jumped," She pointed out in a somber voice as she climbed up on to the rock to join Kol. He didn't say anything or turn again as she lowered herself down to a seat next to him, careful not to even brush his jacket. She let her legs dangle over the edge, mirroring his body positioning. Normally being so close to the edge would've made her nervous, but it wasn't like the fall could kill her now.

"This very spot actually," Maggie clarified and ran one hand lightly over the rock between them as she mused over it. She doubted there was any other reason Kol decided to sit here other than the fact it was the largest and easiest boulder to climb at the edge, just like the way she picked it. She couldn't tell if Kol was listening or not, his expression remained almost completely blank, except for his eyes. But at this point she didn't care, she just had to say what had been on her mind during the hours she was searching for him.

Maggie gave a humorless chuckle, "I thought of my little sister before I did it and I felt like such a hypocrite."

Maggie looked up to barely catch the slightest turn of Kol's head towards her. He didn't say anything, but she knew by that he was listening after all. His brows turned down a little. "She wanted to kill herself and tried to talk me into joining her," Maggie answered the unspoken question, sharing a detail she hadn't even told Glenn or Damon about before. She could sense the way that Kol stopped breathing and remained still as a statue.

"The last thing I thought about was being here with you," Maggie admitted honestly, pulling her hand from the rock and back into her lap. Thinking back to the last memory she saw in Kol's mind, she could appreciate what it felt like to think of someone else before dying.

Kol's gaze dropped from the winding river below the waterfall down to his hands thoughtfully. Maggie could see the gears turning in his mind, but she couldn't pretend to understand in what way they went. She took a nervous deep breath and continued to get the burden off of her shoulders. "It was impulsive… I tend to be an impulsive hypocrite," Maggie stated bluntly, her eyebrows rising briefly with the words.

"I act without thinking it all the way through…" She knew the next part he wouldn't be too thrilled to hear about, but she had to make her point. "After getting the Salvatores' trust, I took off with you the first chance I got. And then I demanded Damon to forgive me for it when I still haven't even forgiven him for kidnapping me in the first place and starting this whole mess," Maggie sighed at the sad reality. She was trying to work past it, but it was hard looking in the mirror at what she had become and what had happened to Carol as well as the rest of her family.

Kol looked over to Maggie's hands in her lap at that. His brows remained furrowed while he thought about her declarations. He couldn't help but think it was odd she seemed to believe that was the only reason why she was here today, but that was something he would address another day. He was more focused on where she was going right now.

Maggie swallowed and fumbled with the words to properly express herself. "My point is, it doesn't excuse what I did… I didn't think through what I was doing and how it might affect you. It was a mistake and I want you to know that I am truly sorry," Maggie apologized sincerely.

Kol looked back to his own hands and Maggie really wished he would say something. He rubbed his hands together as he thought. His fingers ran idly over his daylight ring while the silence carried on between them. Maggie could feel and hear the crashing of water below them, but that didn't distract her from watching the small changes in his facial features.

"Your ignorance will only save you so many times," Kol growled out in a low warning.

Maggie could only nod. She really was in fine form today now that she thought about it. First she bit him without consent and then she meddled with his mind without permission. It spoke volumes that he hadn't completely taken her head off after all of that.

"Ask," Kol demanded shortly, watching the foam that rose up at the bottom of the falls from the churning of the water.

"Excuse me?" Maggie blinked in confusion.

"I will give you one chance to ask about her," Kol clarified tersely, it was pretty obvious he didn't want to talk about it. But he figured it was better than leaving it out there without answers.

Maggie didn't need a cue card to know who he was referring to. Briefly, she wondered if this was his way of forgiving her for what she did earlier. Either way, she was going to take it. Maggie went with the obvious first question, but also the hard one as she questioned softly, "Did you love her?"

A frown marred Kol's face and he held his breath in a way that looked as if he had held been bracing himself for that. Instead of nodding, he just gave a half shrug. "As much as I could have," He answered.

Maggie cocked her head slightly at his vagueness.

Kol ran a hand roughly through his hair before he went on to explain, "Alexia was the type of person that being around her made you want to be a better man." Kol paused in his words to look up at Maggie in the eyes for the first time and he just added on a dejected frank tone, "But I couldn't do it."

Maggie immediately decided she hated that look in his eyes. She didn't really know what to say to take it away either. She supposed she really couldn't after all. It was a part of his past a long time ago and it would always be a part of him. She wanted to reach out to his hands in his lap, but she restrained herself.

"What happened when you were daggered?" Maggie changed the focus a little bit, still tormented by the image of Kol wilting away with the dagger in his chest.

Kol sat up a little straighter on the rock, his eyes narrowing a little bit at the memory. "I spent an 18 yearlong stink in a coffin before Niklaus threw off Mikael's trail long enough for him to _deem_ it safe to undagger me," Kol spat out sourly. At least it wasn't the longest time he spent in a box because of his brother, but it didn't make him any happier about it.

Maggie's eyes widened at that, really wishing those daggers could be used against Klaus. Her curiosity started to grow as she leaned towards Kol a little bit. "And where is Alexia now?" Maggie wondered why she hadn't heard of her before. Based on the dreams, it seemed like they were traveling together quite a bit.

Kol just gave another casual shrug. "I don't know, I tried to find her when I woke up but you saw the last time I was with her," He then shook his head slightly while bitterly looking at the forest sprawled out in the distance before them. "It wouldn't matter now."

Maggie was baffled by that and immediately responded, "What do you mean?" She seemed like a pretty important part of his life even if it was centuries ago. It didn't seem right that he would give up on it so easily.

Kol looked back to Maggie and studied her face carefully, gauging her reaction before replying, "She was a descendant of Finn's bloodline."

A sucker punch to the stomach was the only way she could describe the gut wrench Maggie felt from that simple statement.

The resign bitterness in Kol's demeanor made so much sense. Maggie let out a sigh that was more of an exhale being stolen from her lungs. While they had talked about the loss of his brother and the vampires with that bloodline, Alexia was the first vampire she actually had seen her face and alive, even in memory. It made all that eerie and the reality of it hitting her in full force.

She felt her heart break a little bit more than it already did for him. "Kol…" She started in a soft whisper.

"Don't," He cut her off harshly and looked away from her face. "I don't want your pity."

Maggie's mouth clamped shut quickly and she sat up a little stiffer at the denial, but she didn't back away from him. Stubbornly, she pulled her expression together. "Fine," She conceded, also knowing she wouldn't want that type of sympathy if she was in the same position. "But you're going to take my empathy."

The corner of Kol's lip quirked up a little at her stubbornness. Maggie took that as a good sign.

Her restraint for keeping away from him ran out. She shuffled over slightly in her seat, her knee bumping against his. He remained still while she reached up with one hand to his far cheek. Similar to how they were in the bed, Maggie coaxed his head to turn towards her. He didn't fight her as much this time and it lacked the anger. Kol's eyes held trepidation as he took in those sad emeralds that were dominated by determination.

Maggie's gaze dropped down to his lips. She leaned towards him, her intentions clear as she moved. She felt him inhale, but he didn't lean towards her. Maggie brushed her lips against his before pressing a firm kiss against them. Her hand on his cheek curled so it was just her fingertips brushing against his skin. Kol remained unmoving as she tried to coax his lips to move against hers.

Maggie's hand slipped away from his skin and back to her lap. Reluctantly she pulled away from his lips, feeling a little bit disappointed by the lack of response from him. She was trying hard to open up to him in more way than one.

Before she was far enough away to open her eyes again, Maggie felt a hand quickly grasp the back of her head. Unlike last time, it was demanding in a different sort of way. Kol pulled her back towards him and this time his lips commanded hers. This kiss held an eagerness and desperate need to it that didn't stem from a blood high like the last one. It was a simple, short and closed mouth, but just what she needed.

Kol broke it gently without moving far from her. He leaned his forehead against hers while the hand in hair reached forward to stroke his thumb gently down her cheek. "What are you doing to me?" He murmured in a helpless tone that she wasn't entirely sure was meant to be heard or answered.

Maggie gave a breathless smile before opening her eyes to meet his. "I was wondering the same thing," She retorted, enjoying the irony that he was the one asking her that after Georgia.

Kol recovered from the vulnerability with a smirk in response before leaning back forward to reclaim her lips. After another chaste kiss, Maggie began to feel relieved with the small grin down from him. In a bold move, she decided to wrap her arms around his waist loosely and tuck her head against his shoulder. Just for a while, she just wanted to stay and enjoy the moment.

Kol chuckled slightly at the way she curled up into his side and shook his head incredulously. She would drive him insane at this rate with the way they moved. Despite that, he wrapped his arm around in her response, gently holding her hip, and tucked his cheek against the top of her head. Idly, his eyes watched the water moving, glistening in the last rays of the day and wondered what to make of this woman next to him.

While watching the red and golden hues in the sky, Maggie realized that she was wrong. She did finally get to see this place in the daylight.

* * *

The sun was already gone by the time Maggie's SUV pulled up in front of the cottage. Her and Kol had waited until it set at the waterfall before leaving, just trading the occasional quiet comment, before retracing their route back to where she had pulled the SUV off to the side of the road. Having Kol with her made a more direct route and Maggie felt more confident about finding it from now on.

They opted to drive back to the cottage so that he could pick up his Audi, which still seemed starkly out of place in front of the humble little home.

The porch lights were on and Maggie could see a few more from the living room and kitchen of the house. It was hard to tell who was there though as she climbed out of the passenger seat. Kol cut the engine and followed after her while she walked around the front of the vehicle to join him. He gave a nod towards her and tossed the keys lightly in the air, which she caught easily enough before tucking into her pocket.

Her eyes passed over him one last time while he stepped up towards her with that lazy smirk of his. While she appreciated seeing a side of him that he didn't expose to many people, she was happy that he was back to more of his normal self.

"I'm sorry about your shirt," Maggie apologized and was glad she couldn't blush as brightly anymore. She had spotted the collar of the ruined shirt underneath his jacket when he was holding her at the top of the waterfall. It wasn't like either of them had a chance to change since then.

"Oh no, no," Kol quickly cut her off from saying anything else by pressing a finger to her lips and placing his other hand on her hip naturally. He smirked at her, "That's where I draw the line for accepting apologies, especially for_ that_."

Maggie grinned behind his finger before it slipped away from her lips while he adjusted his steps to stand closer to her, invading her personal space with a devious glint in his eyes. "You're welcome to ruin my wardrobe any day," He teased her and Maggie let out a small giggle before being silenced by his lips.

She knew she was playing with fire, but each advance was harder to resist than the last one. She was also running out of reasons to refuse him. More importantly, she didn't want to refuse him. Maggie let out a slight hum as she felt his tongue slide against hers. Her arms hung loosely around his neck while she rose up onto her toes. For a moment, she just stopped letting herself over think everything and enjoy the feel of the way he held her and incited the burn within her further with each caress.

A low whistle carried through the air before a voice interrupted them, "Honey, you're going to have to start charging admission to that show."

Maggie nearly jumped out of her skin. Her eyes shot open and she pulled back quickly like a fumbling teenager just caught by their parents. Kol smirked at her and caught her upper arms to steady her, as well as not letting her step away from him.

Maggie looked over Kol's shoulder to see Carol on the porch. With the way she was leaning against the post with her arms folded and one ankle hooked on the back of the other, she guessed that she had been there a while. Unable to help herself, Maggie erupted into a low laughter at the situation and buried her face into Kol's shoulder.

Kol just snickered, moving his arms back around her. He peered over his shoulder to see the older vampire stepping off the porch and starting to approach them. He hadn't met this one, but based on Maggie's reaction, she didn't seem to be an enemy.

"Hello Carol," Maggie grinned behind her hand when she finally lifted her face again towards Carol.

"Well, I see you had a successful hunting trip," Carol jabbed at Maggie. She could see the hint of playfulness in her eyes that she was trying to keep out of her semi-stern expression. Kol quirked an eyebrow at the innuendo, but didn't say anything and let Maggie step away from him this time.

"Something like that," Maggie mumbled sheepishly while stepping around Kol and he turned to face Carol.

"How about you go inside while I have a talk with Mr. Mikaelson here?" Carol suggested with a nod towards the house. The question was more of a command.

Kol cocked his head slightly at that, the smirk lingering on his lips. Maggie's eyes widened, but still couldn't find the grin off her face, sensing the Mama-Carol mode she was in right now. "Be nice," Maggie cautioned the older woman before stepping around her and heading towards the house. Before she stepped too far, she mouthed from behind Carol's back towards Kol, '_You too'_ before biting her thumb and walking away.

Kol's eyes followed after her before flickering to Carol with an interested amusement while casually tucking his hands into his pockets. This should be good, he thought to himself. "Ah, I've heard about you," He spoke up when he heard the closing of the front door. "You're the one that told off Niklaus and made my brother wait on the porch," Kol grinned, recalling how Elijah would likely continue to regret telling him and Rebekah about that. "That made quite an impression."

"Oh good, that saves the awkward introductions then," Carol deadpanned in a dry tone, not bothering to ask who it made impression upon and what type. "And I can get straight to talking about Maggie."

Carol's attitude wiped the grin off of Kol's expression momentarily before being taken over by an arrogant eye roll. "Don't tell me this is one of those 'hurt her and I'll kill you' lectures?" He drawled in a slightly bored tone.

Carol simply kept her arms folded and the amusement disappeared from her eyes, boring back at him sternly and showing that she wasn't impressed.

"You do realize what I am, right?" Kol pointed out bluntly with a smug raise of his eyebrows. It wasn't like she could kill him even if she legitimately tried.

Carol nodded and countered, "You could be a horny teenager or a prehistoric unicorn for all I care and I would still be out here because Maggie is like a daughter to me."

Kol had to press his lips together from smirking too much. She was a fiery little thing after all. Being what he was, he found it hard to take it too seriously or personally, but maybe his good mood at to do with something else entirely. His eyes wandered up to house and found in the subject in question trying to peer at them from behind the living room curtain.

"Now, tell me honestly, am I going to have to worry about you hurting her?" Carol asked him sharply, noticing the way his eyes wandered.

Kol flashed Maggie a wink, seeing the way she was shaking her head back and forth, trying not to laugh too much. His lips pulled up into a smile before he answered Carol in an effortlessly innocent tone, "Wouldn't dream of it."

Carol bit the inside of her cheek briefly while she considered the sincerity of his words. He was a devious looking one. She could also see that she was losing his attention and she didn't need to turn around to know why.

"Good, because I like you more than the other one," Carol stated, her voice wasn't warm and about as subtle as a freight train.

This drew Kol's eyes back to her curiously. He was venturing to guess that she was referring to Damon.

"But that's mostly because you haven't kidnapped or killed anyone I know," Carol clarified before it could be overanalyzed too much.

Kol grinned slightly, "That's not really setting the expectations too high."

Carol half shrugged, "Maybe so, but it's still true." She turned to walk back towards the house and added on finally, "So don't screw it up, ponyboy."

Kol snorted slightly and let his gaze drop to the ground, shaking his head. He could appreciate familial protectiveness and couldn't really fault the woman. It wasn't like she directly threatened him or anything.

Wait.

Did she just nickname him ponyboy?

The smirk dropped from Kol's face and he looked up to see the front door closing.

* * *

Maggie was leaning against the entryway into the kitchen when Carol closed the door behind her. Maggie cleared her throat and tried to keep her expression straight, but it still tugged at the edges. She had been able to hear the gist of the conversation and saw Kol's dumbfounded look on his face.

"So?" Carol broke the silence quirking an eyebrow and a smirk showed on her face now that she wasn't in full protective paternal mode.

"Yes?" Maggie blinked with a faux innocent expression.

Carol shook her head slightly and stepped around her to walk back into the kitchen, returning to the pot of water she was heating up for tea. "So you went out to that party, stayed the night and then went on an all-day _hunting_ trip?" Carol pointed out with raised eyebrows as she poured herself a mug.

"It wasn't like _that_," Maggie defended herself, "But we really did leave Mystic Falls for a bit to go hunting."

Carol chuckled. If leaving Mystic Falls to go hunting meant coming back with that on her arm, she might be convinced to go too. "Must've been pretty close though," Carol called her out on the silly grin on Maggie's face.

Maggie thought back to the campsite and didn't say anything. She tried to wipe the grin away from her face instead, but doubted she was doing all that good of a job. "I plead the fifth," She stated in an effort of a serious tone.

Carol snorted and continued on, "Well, guilty or not, you wouldn't have reacted like that if I caught you and Damon doing the same thing." She could just imagine the tense embarrassment that would radiate off of Maggie if that happened. She would probably literally disappear into the floor boards and spend the rest of the evening fretting about it.

Maggie stood up straight at that comment, sobering up at the mention of the Salvatore. She frowned a bit, "What are you trying to say?"

Carol picked up her mug, wrapping her fingers around the steaming ceramic carefully before she paused in front of Maggie. She gave a casual shrug of her shoulders and admitted quietly, "It's nice to see you happy."

With that, she left the room and a rather stunned Maggie behind her.

* * *

Maggie let out a sigh as she leaned back against the side of the house. Her feet were sprawled out casually on the boards of the porch. It at least felt good to take a shower and change into some fresh clothes, but it did nothing for the churning in her stomach. She brought the bottle up to her lips and took another swig, letting the amber fluid burn down her throat.

The first couple of hours after the hunt, she had been hopeful this was what she finally needed. But now, she was sitting with the persistent nauseous feeling, she frowned while staring out into the darkness of the night. She could feel the way her stomach cramped and rolled, almost like if the liquid was still sloshing around inside of her. It was awful, but not quite bad enough for her to be revisiting it and she couldn't help but think that's what made it worse. It was just prolonged.

She killed four people without compulsion and drank from two of them. What more was she supposed to do? It wasn't like the human population could afford having her massacre a half of dozen people on a daily basis.

She tried to shake her thoughts away from it. She swore sometimes focusing on it only made it worse.

Instead, she forced her mind back to her conversation with Carol and the comment about her being happy. That concept almost seemed laughable. Could she let herself be happy after everything that's happened? She thought about Klaus' question. Now that weak little yes was a solid resounding affirmation in her mind.

But the next question was, now what? She had to tread carefully, like Elijah said. There was several matters involved that complicated and one of them was the pair of headlights that were moving up the driveway as she thought.

Maggie squinted slightly at the brightest of the lights before they pulled up next to her SUV and they were shut off. It was then she was able to see the silhouette of the blue Camaro. She took a deep breath behind another sip of the alcohol. _Damon_. She briefly if this was the first or one of numerous visits to the cottage while she was gone today.

The raven haired man in question came sauntering up to the porch, his boots echoing off the steps as he approached. Instead of going with a casual greeting, his piercing blue eyes darted over Maggie's appearance. He smirked slightly at the way she was lounging on the obviously uncomfortable surface. Whether it was hard wood floors or picnic tables, she always made it look like she was relaxing on a tropical beach with a Mai Thai in her hand.

"What are you doing?" Damon had to ask at this point, also to break the silence between them.

Maggie tried to hide her wince behind a shrug before taking another sip, but Damon still saw it anyway. "Stomach's bothering me… just waiting for it to pass," Maggie answered bluntly, waving the bottle slightly in front of her.

Damon cocked his head to get a better look at the label on the bottle. He raised an eyebrow, "So you thought whiskey would make a good antacid?"

Maggie just shrugged. She wasn't a doctor, but it seemed like a good idea to wash down the campers with. His calm reaction reminded her that she hadn't actually told him about her blood issues yet, just that she was drinking from the vein.

Damon narrowed his eyes on her, "How was your _hunt_?"

Maggie sighed slightly. Well, that answered her question about whether or not he showed up here earlier. "It was okay," She commented casually, as if it wasn't that big of a deal. "I made a mess of a half a dozen campers."

Damon quirked an eyebrow at her cavalier attitude, still thrown to see someone else other than him with such a one. "And?" He prompted, clearly fishing for more details.

Maggie saw the hint of alarm in his eyes. No doubt worrying about how badly she lost control. The first time had only been one teenager, not six people. "It was fine, Kol was there. I didn't lose control," Maggie reassured, and probably thought it was best to leave out what happened after that.

At the mention of the Original's name, Maggie could almost hear Damon grind his teeth together. For a moment, he looked away from Maggie while his lips scrunched up in annoyance. He was thinking that the phrase '_Kol was there'_ was starting to get up there with his most hated lines right next to '_It'll always be Stefan_.'

"I'm sure he was," Damon muttered under his breath. Maggie's eyes narrowed slightly, but she left it alone. "What were you doing at the party?" He changed the subject, looking back at her.

"I told you, Damon," Maggie started to get a little impatient with the interrogation. "Rebekah showed up and dragged me to it. You try saying no to a pushy Original."

"Oh, I'm well aware of Evil Barbie's wicked ways," Damon retorted quickly, "But that doesn't explain why you were dancing with Kol."

"Seriously?" This caused Maggie's eyebrows to raise incredulous while she questioned in a blunt tone after taking another swig, "You want go there about why I was with Kol while Elena had her claws all over you?"

Damon opened his mouth and clamped it shut. Briefly Maggie wondered if she would start seeing stem come out of his ears. She half expected him to come back with some snide remark and stalk off.

"Fine, let's table Elena and Kol for another day," Damon snapped, shifting on his feet. "I didn't come here to argue with you, Maggie."

Maggie looked up at him dubiously, still making no effort to stand up, which caused Damon to move directly across from her and lower himself down to a seat. His back leaned against the porch post while he spread his legs out, tucking one knee up with his arm against, similar in body position to her.

"Let's talk, just you and me," Damon suggested in a calmer tone, his blues now on the same level as her emeralds.

Maggie had to give him credit that she was intrigued by this point. So she just nodded shortly and screwed the cap back on the whiskey bottle. Laying it on its side carefully, she rolled it towards him across the floor boards. It rattled loudly against the wood and jumped a bit at one specific seem before Damon caught it effortlessly.

She watched him unscrew the cap and take a gulp while rolling around what he wanted to say in his head. She wasn't sure if leveling with him would be a good thing, but there was only one way to find out. But she didn't really want to fight with him either and potentially push him back towards Elena, especially after her chat with the doppelganger at the party.

"Why is it that no matter how many times I tell you I love you and I know that you love me, there's still this distance between us?" Damon gestured a hand between them, metaphorically referring to the couple of feet of space. His voice was not accusing this time and Maggie could see the genuine imploring in his eyes.

Maggie shifted in her seat to sit up a little straighter. "What do you mean?" She made a weak attempt at deflecting from it, but she knew what he was referring to. Even with their declarations, she still kept him at an arm's length and it wasn't just because of Elena or Kol being in the picture.

Damon just tilted his head in a manner as if to say, '_Really, Maggie_?' He gave her a knowing look, "You have no idea how much time I spend trying to figure out what's going through that mind of yours and wondering why is it you won't let me in, especially when you know that I _want _you." Damon screwed the cap back on the bottle and rolled it back towards making, not breaking his eye contact with her as the glass rolled against the wood.

Maggie swallowed thickly under that heated stare. She wasn't completely clueless or a prude, she always noticed the dark stares and lingering touches that she received from Damon. It was still something for him to just flat out say it. Maggie caught the bottle and tilted it back upright. Maybe it wasn't the best treatment of whiskey, but who cares.

"Well, it's not like there's much left to mystery," She grumbled while looking down and fingering the cap anxiously.

Damon quirked an eyebrow, "Come again?"

Maggie took another gulp to mentally prepare herself before just laying it out there. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid to get that close with you because I don't know if it's really me you're seeing or Rose." The whole situation might seem endearing and sweet to some attention-deprived angsty teenager, but not her. This takes moaning the wrong name in bed to a whole new level.

Damon could safely say that he wasn't expecting Maggie to openly show such insecurity and he didn't have an immediate answer for her.

"And you can't say that you still don't think about her. I see it in your eyes sometimes and we both know she's why you took me in the first place. I don't want to just be the carbon copy of the woman you used as a distraction from Elena, who looks exactly like Katherine and you can't say that didn't influence anything. So where does that leave me?" Maggie couldn't stop the words once they started pouring out of her mouth.

When she ran out of breath that was when her mind caught up with her mouth. She winced and looked up from the bottle in her hands, "Okay, that was harsh, I didn't mean –"

"Don't," Damon cut her off. "Don't try to take it back… for you to say it, you obviously must have been thinking it for a while now." His jaw was set stiffly and Maggie noticed the way his hands were curled into fists. She was rather amazed that he didn't get up and walk away at that point.

Maggie just swallowed thickly, and put the cap back on the bottle before rolling it back in his direction. Damon caught the bottle, but he didn't pick it up from the wood while his eyes remained on the wood. Those blues could cut into the floorboards with how sharply they studied the grain while she wondered what was going through his mind.

Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair, genuinely at a loss for this one, but at least he was trying. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do to convince that I see _you,_ Maggie," Damon conceded, wondering if there was anything he could do or if that was something she had to come to terms with. "But I can tell you one way that I'm in love with you that I'll never be with Elena or Rose." He didn't bother mentioning Katherine for the obvious reasons.

Maggie fidgeted with her fingernails anxiously as she stared back at him. The conviction in his voice caused her throat to tighten and she could only take in the faint smirk on his lips as he continued on. She wished it stirred more of a feeling within her to hear such words, but it didn't and that was partly why she didn't tell Kol about her feelings earlier. She could see the power someone had over the other in this situation and they could get crushed so easily by it.

"Elena and Rose were constantly trying to see the good in me and get me to show my humanity," Damon tried not to mock the words too much to keep to his point, but it slipped a bit anyways. "As if what they were seeing right now wasn't good enough. _You_ don't shy away from the worst parts. You accept it all as it is. I don't have to worry about scaring you away with the ugliest side."

Maggie's eyebrows furrowed at the way he grinned at her, finishing his words with a sip from the bottle. He was right, she wasn't out to fix anyone. Maggie just shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not going to try to change you or anyone… If I did that, you wouldn't be the same person."

Damon just smirked at the way she pointed it out as if it was the most logical thing in the world and didn't realize how much that could matter to someone. It just made him want to convince her all that much more.

Damon didn't say anything immediately and fell into silence, letting Maggie muse over his words. She began to relax back against the siding of the house while her eyes passed over him. She couldn't lie and say his words didn't warm her, what woman wouldn't be touched by that? But something didn't settle fully with her and she wasn't referring to the nauseating blood in her veins.

"You know, some day you're _really_ going to give me a chance," Damon broke the silence with a cocky smile.

Maggie snorted slightly at that and teased him lightly, "Yeah? What makes you so sure?"

He just gave a confident half shrug, "Consider me persistent." It wasn't like he didn't have eternity to get her to come around, after all.

Maggie managed a short laugh, especially now that the tension between them was beginning to fade away. If there was anyone that would stick around to wear you down, it would probably be Damon. She didn't deny the part of her that urged to slide over. It was too easy to picture herself curled up between his legs the way he was sitting on the porch and carry on the teasing conversation in hushed tones. But she recognized only the superficial level of comfort it would offer in comparison to the day she just spent with Kol.

"I'm just amazed we managed to have a conversation without any screaming or breaking anything," Maggie deflected, commenting in a light tone. It felt refreshing in a weird way that neither of them ended up raising their voices.

"Oh, I better do something about this," Damon picked up quickly. "We wouldn't want anyone mistaking us for mature adults," He gave a look of mock horror at the last two words.

"That would be awful," Maggie tried to deadpan, but it broke at the end.

Damon smirked and picked up the whiskey bottle, keeping his eyes on Maggie while he casually tossed it over his shoulder. Maggie quirked an eyebrow at the action until she jumped from the sound of the bottle shattering on the gravel driveway behind him.

"Better?" Damon asked mischievously.

"Much," Maggie agreed with a smile, even if it was a waste of whiskey.

Damon used his hands to swiftly push himself back up onto his feet, briefly brushing off his jeans before stepping up to Maggie. He offered both hands for her to grab and pull herself up. Grinning up at him, she took both hands let her legs stretch before standing up too.

Being so close to him, his expression shifted while retaining the lightness in his eyes. His hands let go of hers just to reach up to her face and cup her cheeks gently. Maggie inhaled deeply at the tenderness in his touch and demeanor. His thumbs stroked lightly over her skin before he murmured, "I love _you_, Maggie Greene, you and all of your homicidal and infuriatingly beautiful tendencies."

Maggie couldn't not kiss him back after that. She could feel the sweetness and affection in the way his lips moved against hers, but for her it was bitter. She could feel Damon in each way the small pressures and sensations, as well as those hands sliding down to hold her against him. And she tried to return it, wanting to get that feeling that he was feeling towards her.

But as she did, she couldn't help but notice the little details. The angle she had to turn her head up to kiss him wasn't as high. The length of his hair on the back of his neck that her fingers liked to play with wasn't quite the same. When she realized what she was comparing that to, that's when the first little seedling pitted and started to grow in her gut. It was just the start now, but she knew what it was.

When Maggie pulled away from the kiss that was when she knew that she was wrong again.

The morning after killing those walkers at the county line wasn't the last time she would feel guilty for kissing Damon after all.

* * *

It was close to noon the following morning when Meredith Fell came briskly around the corner of the hospital hallway. She let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair, tugging slightly on the hair tie as she walked back towards her office. She hadn't made it until lunch time and she was already craving another cup of coffee.

And what she wouldn't do to enjoy the simple days of going to a snotty café and ordering a complicated latte that took three different languages to name. No, instead she had to settle for the instant packets that the supply runs raided from abandoned hotels. You know, the ones that are so bad even though they're free the guests would still leave them behind.

She stopped at her office door, turned the handle and stepped inside. Immediately she was met by darkness, which was only broken by the bands of light coming through the blinds from the hallway. Meredith threw on the light and then finally looked up to her desk.

She visible jumped and let out a startled noise at the occupant already sitting in her chair.

"Maggie!" Meredith gasped, "What are you doing here?"

The vampire smirked at the way she could hear the human's heart rate pick up, like a hummingbird struggling to get away from a vice. Maggie had her hands calmed tucked in her lap while she waited for the return of the doctor.

"Waiting for you, clearly," Maggie pointed out in an amused tone. The room itself wasn't entirely that interesting. It had the desk, strewn with papers and folders. A mostly useless computer sat on the corner and she could see the layer of dust on it. The opposite wall from the windows and door had a line of locked filing cabinets and the far corner had a small refrigerator unit. Otherwise, entirely freaking boring.

Meredith had her hair pulled back into a messy bun, wearing some toothpaste green scrubs underneath her white coat. "Why me?" The doctor asked suspiciously, but kept her tone polite as she walked forward to the desk. Carefully, she placed the folder in her hand to exchange for a different one that she would need soon.

"I want you to run some tests on my blood," Maggie declared, having decided it was time to take matters into her own hands and get some answers.

Meredith's expression tightened in confusion at the request, but otherwise she seemed to relax. A simple blood test wasn't really that big of a deal. "Sure, but I don't know what you expect me to find. There isn't exactly a science for the supernatural. If you come back later, I can get a sample," Meredith turned with the folder in hand and began to move back towards the door. "I have to prep for surgery in a half hour right now."

Meredith let out another gasp, nearly colliding with Maggie suddenly standing in her path and blocking the door.

"The surgery is going to have to wait," Maggie stated darkly, the smirk gone from her expression. "You're going to run those tests now, and if you don't, I'll make sure there's no operable limp left of that patient."

Meredith swallowed and backed up a step from Maggie. The vampire merely cocked her head slightly at the human. She was a short little thing Maggie realized now that she was standing face to face with the doctor. Based on her tight grip of the manila folder, she was inclined to think that Meredith was taking her threat seriously.

"But they're… going to take some time to run them," Meredith tried to reason and Maggie could see she was trying to use as an excuse to get rid of the vampire.

"I'll wait," Maggie decided firmly before a slow taunting smirk twisted its way on her lips. "I have nowhere else to be."

"Fine, I'll do it," Dr. Fell conceded reluctantly, not wanting to chance the vampire leaving her office and potentially attacking someone else.

Maggie watched her closely as she backed away towards the wall of filing cabinets and went to a locked one that kept medical supplies. She placed the manila folder on the top and reached into her pocket for the keys, unlocking several of them.

When she opened a middle drawer and began to reach inside, Maggie spoke up in a warning tone once more, "If you would like me to demonstrate how quickly I could break your arm before you ever syringe me with that vervain I would be more than happy to."

She saw the way Meredith's shoulders tensed and she momentarily froze. The doctor let out a short sigh before closing the drawer and opting for one of the top ones. Maggie just smirked while she pulled out the necessary supplies for the blood sample.

Maggie rolled up the sleeve of a certain black jacket from Kol she wore while the doctor moved back over to her. She kept her stare unblinkingly on her while she watched her movements closely. She didn't care if that unsettled the human even more. The needle that pierced her skin was a little rougher than it should have been, but Maggie didn't wince or respond to it. She waited in patient, tense silence for her to finish the sample before rolling the sleeve again.

"It should take about an hour," Meredith forewarned her while she gathered up the vials, leaving the manila folder behind now that her plans had changed and giving a meaningful look towards the door.

Maggie nodded and side stepped out of the way for the doctor to pass. She watched her open the door and was half way through the doorway before she spoke up again, "Oh, doctor, I would hurry those tests along if I were you."

Meredith's eyes widened and her hand tightened on the frame of the door. In contrast to her tense expression, Maggie kept one of casual amusement.

"We vampires aren't exactly known for our impulse control," Maggie smirked and her eyes rolled towards the ceiling as if hearing something else in the building, "And there's just _so many_ beating hearts in here."

Meredith glared coldly at her. "Got it," She acknowledged tersely before disappearing from the room.

* * *

Meredith could only hope she wouldn't regret this decision later. She moved through the hallways of the hospital with a purpose. She only briefly acknowledged her colleagues along the way. It did cross her mind to go down to the nurses' station and use the military grade walkie they used to radio in Sheriff Forbes or whoever was on duty at the police station. A potential hostage situation would definitely cause some panic on the channel too. But before she did, she did run those tests and what she found was now nagging at her curiosity.

She should have had at least two police officers flanking her when she returned to her office, but she didn't and just hoped she would come out alive with that decision.

She paused at the door to her office again. She could see through the glass panel that the lights were off again. A part of her really hoped that Maggie had left, but she figured they were probably off so no one would come looking for her in there.

Opening the door and flicking on the lights, Meredith braced herself for the worst. She half expected blood to be splattered all over the walls at this point. But instead, she found Maggie sitting at her desk again, this time with her feet propped up casually on the keyboard. She was leaning back and throwing the last usable writing utensil up at the ceiling. The tip of the pen was buried deep within the cheap tiling.

Meredith let out a sigh, partly of relief and irritation. There must have been three dozen pens and pencils up there. It would be a pain to get all of those down. Only a vampire could be so menacing and childish at the same time.

Maggie looked towards her with a smirk, spotting the folder with the test results hanging at her side in her hands. Her gaze flickered briefly back up to her makeshift dart board. "What? I had to keep myself occupied somehow," Maggie commented innocently on Meredith's exasperated expression.

The doctor shook her head and began approaching the desk slowly. "I guess it's better than going through my patient files," She muttered bitterly, knowing the regular files were kept with the rest of the hospital documents, but she kept her special cases under lock and key here.

"Oh, I did that too," Maggie said frankly and nodded towards the filing cabinets.

Meredith gave a startled look towards the furniture in question and noticed all the locks had been busted open. A few of the drawers were closed, but not completely so that the seams lined up and it was obvious anyone could look through them now.

"So many '_animal attacks'_, it's a wonder that the FWS didn't launch an investigation," Maggie poked fun at the terrible cover story that had been used in several of the documented vampire attacks she came across prior to the outbreak.

"They did," Meredith deadpanned, "Damon compelled them away." She remembered hearing about that one from Alaric afterwards, personally glad she had nothing to do with it. The doctor purposely placed the folder down shortly in front of Maggie with it open to the first page. She really didn't want to stick around and chit chat with the vampire after earlier.

Maggie dropped her feet from the desk with sudden interest. "What did you come up?" She questioned seriously while her eyes began to dart over the first page, an obvious print from a lab machine that she was not qualified to understand.

"Truthfully, very little," Meredith stated with a sigh and tried to focus at least on the medical aspect of this. Maggie's face tense with obvious displeasure at that, but she went on to explain, "Sometimes with normal vampires or supernatural creatures, their blood appears to be identical to human blood, like werewolves, or it's so different it's hard to take away much from it because there isn't a rational science behind it, like vampires."

"But for vampires, I can read a few things like red and white blood cell count," Meredith pointed out the data in question, "Which doesn't mean much since I haven't studied enough vampires to know what a normal level would be. One thing I _can _do is at least roughly estimate what the blood type of the vampire was as a human." Meredith thought of her theory of that being the factor in why some vampires seem to have a preference to certain blood types over others, but that was another study for a different day.

Instead she flipped through the pages to the last one and pointed out another data table, "And that's where _you_ are unique."

Maggie frowned thoughtfully as she read over the page. The two remained silent while Meredith was leaning over the desk and the only noise in the room was the steady ticking of a second hand on the wall clock above the door.

Finally, Maggie looked up at her in disbelief, "Are you saying that I don't have a blood type?"

Meredith gave an uncertain nod, "At least not a human one as a vampire. It's hard to say without knowing anything about your medical history. Do you recall ever getting blood work done before or receiving a blood transfusion?" She was at a loss with just as much as Maggie was and extremely curious to find out more about it.

Maggie slowly shook her head as she thought about it. She was young, it wasn't like she ever had to worry about getting her blood tested for cholesterol and such. She had been relatively healthy too, no major accidents. In fact, with Hershel being a vet, they rarely ever went to a hospital.

"So you're basically saying I'm not human?" Maggie questioned, trying to sort out what all of this really meant.

"No… I mean, clearly you are, or were, rather. I just honestly don't know what you are _now_," Meredith clarified, standing back upright with her arms folded casually over her chest.

Maggie nodded absently, flipping through the pages again to look at the data. "What happens when a human receives the wrong blood type?" Maggie asked curiously while thinking about the subject.

Meredith frowned slightly at the odd question. "It's rare that ever happens, but they could have a hemolytic reaction, which kills off the red blood cells and can be fatal," She answered matter-of-factly.

Maggie schooled her expression into a masked blank one and nodded. Suddenly, she snapped the folder shut and rose to her feet. Meredith watched her apprehensively. Now that she got the information she wanted, she wasn't going to stick around longer than that.

"As enlightening this has been, I'm going to be on my way now," Maggie declared and tucked the folder under her arm. "And I'm going to keep this."

"Just like that?" Meredith questioned incredulously, also mentally swearing at herself for not stopping to make a copy along the way. The adrenaline hadn't done much for her preplanning.

Maggie started to walk towards the door and noticed the way the doctor tensed as she passed. "Relax, doctor. You cooperated and got the information that I wanted, I have no reason to harm you or anyone else in here," Maggie explained bluntly, unable to help the slightly taunting smirk in the process.

Meredith was hardly reassured but glad to see the vampire slip from her sight, closing the door after her.

Once she was sure that she was gone, Meredith moved to her seat and sank down in it heavily. She let out a deep breath and flexed her fingers, trying to calm the shaking from her hands. Looking around the room, it was eerily quiet and calm for having just been held up by a vampire. Her eyes flickered towards the ceiling, shaking her head in aggravation at the pens and pencils.

Then they wandered towards the filing cabinets and the patient files that Maggie admitted to reading through. Suddenly remembering her comment about the animal attacks, Meredith shot up from her seat and went over to the refrigerator unit. At first place, it seemed fine, but bending down and looking at it more closely, she noticed the lock hinge was broken at the seam.

Meredith pulled open the door. Where there was supposed to be two trays, there was now only one with just three vials of blood left in it. Meredith's stomach dropped and she muttered, "What the hell?"

* * *

That night Maggie took up residence in Alaric's old apartment. Earlier in the day, she had packed some of the clothes from the cottage and moved them over. She explained to Carol and Daryl that she would like to slowly transition to having her own place. Having the three there at the cottage was a little crowded and she wanted to eventually be independent anyway.

She managed another shift at the Grill with Matt after her run at the hospital. That was where she found out from Matt that Elena had been acting really strange since the Lockwood party. He went on saying how paranoid she was about his and Jeremy's whereabouts. Matt said he figured Rebekah must have given her a good scare from what he heard from Stefan. Maggie laughed it off pretty easily and played innocent on the whole situation.

Maggie spent part of the day cleaning up the apartment and getting rid of some of the dust to the place. It wasn't starting to feel like home, but eventually she would make it something of her own and get rid of the screaming bachelor vibe to it. At the end of the day, she found herself sitting at the small dinette table with her feet propped up on another chair.

She brought a bottle to her lips, taking another deep sip of the bad alcohol and letting it burn down her throat. At least this was one drinking problem that she could handle and it would help curb the other one. She looked at the tray containing numerous vials of blood in front of her, idly picking them up and studying the labels.

The Mystic Falls Hospital logo was on all of them and she recognized the handwriting of Dr. Fell's from all the patient files she looked at. There were three subject names on all of them. The first one she left behind back at the hospital, thinking there was no way in hell she would ever take it, even as an experiment. She would rather desiccate than drink Elena Gilbert's blood.

The second one was of the greatest intrigue to her. It was dated the most recently taken and had a notice about the high potency of the blood. "Looks like someone's been playing dirty doctor," Maggie mused with a smirk behind the bottle while she stared at the name curiously. She placed the vial back in the tray. She wasn't sure how she felt about possessing that vampire's blood. She would have to think it over before she did anything with it.

The last one, which was also the one that had the most donations, she had been expecting and didn't feel guilty about possessing. Her finger ran over the name on the label. _Damon Salvatore_.

Before she could muse over it much further, there was a sudden knock at the apartment door.

Maggie's ears perked up at the sound and she put the handle of liquor down on the table. Carefully and swiftly, she picked up the tray of blood vials and moved towards the kitchen. She placed it inside the refrigerator, next to the half a dozen blood bags she had picked up before sneaking into Dr. Fell's office. That was an interesting experience picking up her first supply of blood from the nurses.

Closing the door behind her, Maggie shook the thoughts away from her mind and went to answer the door. She peered through the peephole and a smirk came over her expression. It looks like someone got the message she passed along through Matt.

Unlocking and opening the door, Maggie leaned against the frame as she cocked her head slightly with a friendly smile and a devious glint in her eyes.

"Hello Jeremy."

* * *

_Author's Note: Hmm, now what is Maggie up to? _

_What do you guys think of Kol's reaction? Hopefully he wasn't too mean to Maggie! And Maggie's starting to feel guilty about kissing Damon, uh oh!_

_Next chapter, we'll find out what happens with that vampire blood that Maggie stole and what she's up to with Jeremy. _

_And my Kolie's out there, chapter 48 will be the one you've been waiting for all fanfic. ;D_

_Let me hear your thoughts and opinions on this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW, they motivate me to update sooner!_

_Review responses –_

_Nethra: I'm glad you loved the gore! I will definitely try to incorporate some more in the future chapters. It was a lot of fun to write and I thought if there was anything that would make Maggie full on snap it would be the voluntary version of what they tried to avoid becoming in TWD._

_M: It's a good thing to wonder about, but I actually won't be addressing that since it would likely be 500 years in the future and I couldn't even imagine trying to write a story based on such a world. I'm glad you liked the TWD elements, they were so much fun to write. I will say bloodsharing will be a big theme from this point on in the story now that we're seeing Maggie's options being limited and she's starting to consider the possibility of it (but also considering the consequences of the intimacy of it)_

_UrieNanashi: It's looking like a pretty solid theory now and we'll get to see it play out from now on! By stealing the blood vials, that buys her some time to come up with a plan. But don't worry, Kolie will prevail after that dream debacle. Thank you so much for the awesome review, I look forward to hearing from you again soon!_

_Wileby: I teared up a bit while writing it haha! I'm glad you liked it. _


	47. Chapter 47

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs:_

_Sleepster – I Was Wrong_

_Scene: Jeremy and Maggie_

_Sara Bareilles – Breathe Again_

_Scene: Carol and Maggie talking about Damon and Kol_

_Chapter Forty-seven_

Closing the door behind her, Maggie shook the thoughts away from her mind and went to answer the door. She peered through the peephole and a smirk came over her expression. It looks like someone got the message she passed along through Matt.

Unlocking and opening the door, Maggie leaned against the frame as she cocked her head slightly with a friendly smile and a devious glint in her eyes.

"Hello Jeremy."

* * *

Jeremy's face picked up once the door opened to reveal Maggie. "Hey," He acknowledged simply while Maggie stepped aside and held the door open for him to enter. Her eyes passed over his appearance and she raised an eyebrow at the Grill shirt underneath the blue zip up hoodie he wore with his jeans.

"I didn't think you had work today?" Maggie commented with genuine curiosity and shutting the door behind them.

"I didn't, but Elena didn't know that," Jeremy grinned slightly while shoving his hands in his pockets and taking a look around the apartment, noticing the changes. "Did Matt tell you how weird she's been acting lately?" He asked idly, seeing Maggie had removed the now useless TV and stand, but kept the stereo along with rearranging the furniture to just give it a fresh look.

"Yeah, I heard about that," Maggie muttered vaguely watching his back while he casually moved around. It would be so easy to grab him right in that moment. At the mention of the doppelganger's name, the urge to give his head a twist was strong, but Maggie didn't let it show on her face.

She could hear the way his heart was beating. There was a slight edge, his weight was light on his feet, he was nervous but he didn't seem to be afraid. Oblivious to the fact she was the reason why Elena was being so paranoid.

Maggie busied herself by moving over to the dinette table where she left the bottle of liquor, grabbing it and going into the kitchen area to get two glasses.

"So this is your place now?" Jeremy broke the silence, pausing over by the bookshelf, catching out some of the titles that Maggie had rummaged from a few abandoned houses.

"Pretty much," Maggie replied lightly while pouring two glasses, as if she wasn't thinking about forcing her blood down Jeremy's throat or mentally kicking herself for not grabbing a vial of Elena's blood after all. Oh the guilt and torture it would've caused her if her blood had been used to turn her own baby brother. "I'm still going to stay a bit at Carol's, but it's nice to have a place closer to everything."

Jeremy nodded absently. "You mean closer to your family," He pointed out, turning to look at Maggie, remembering the conversation with Beth outside of the high school.

Maggie's hands stopped over the bottle while screwing the cap back on, looking down at them. She took a deep breath at the reminder. "Yeah," She gave simply. Her family, she missed them terribly and she wanted to be near them, but she could only get so close right now.

Taking the two glasses, Maggie swiftly joined Jeremy over by the bookcase and held one out for him. "Here, you look like you could use this almost as much as I do," Maggie smirked at him.

Jeremy's eyebrows rose slightly at the amber liquid, clearly not expecting that, but he didn't really know what to expect when Matt told him that Maggie wanted to see him. He chuckled slightly and took the glass, eying it at first. "Is this all you have?" Jeremy asked, noticing the counters in the kitchen were remarkably clean and absolutely clear of any evidence of cooking or food.

Maggie gave a half shrug, "Aside from the obvious, yes. Human food doesn't hold any appeal to me so far." She knew at some point it would, she had heard of the other vampires eating food for the experience, but her body just wasn't at that point yet. She still had to figure out dietary issue number one first.

"Really? Not at all?" Jeremy asked in a slightly dubious tone, thinking that it hadn't taken long for Elena start eating food again. They couldn't keep her away from chocolate if they tried.

Maggie frowned slightly as she thought about it. "Not really, no… but then again, we've only ate what we could scavenge for most of the past year, so I think I've forgotten how a lot of things taste," She muttered, momentarily distracted from the thoughts of whether to confront Jeremy directly when he wakes up or let Elena find him in transition.

She snapped out of it and perked up slightly, "But at least_ this_ I haven't forgotten," She gestured towards the drink in hand and raised it towards Jeremy. "Cheers."

Jeremy grinned a bit before clinking his glass against hers. Maggie kept her eyes trained on him, perhaps standing a little closer than she needed to as well. While she took one large gulp, Jeremy took more of a conservative sip. She noticed the way his throat tightened slightly at the burn.

For just a sip, Jeremy briefly thought he was seeing double already. But a flicker of a gaze just over Maggie's shoulder made him realize that they weren't completely alone. Before he could pull the glass away from his lips or react too strongly, she spoke up.

"Don't tell her I'm here," Rose warned Jeremy quickly. "But you _need_ to leave now."

Maggie saw the way Jeremy's eyebrows turned down before his eyes snapped back to her as she swallowed the liquid. His heart rate picked up, but she wasn't sure if it was from her close proximity or something else. She took it an opportunity to step closer to him and turn her body towards the wall the bookshelf was up against, her shoulder nearly brushed against his in the process.

Jeremy was hardly listening to what she said next. His eyes were darting back and forth between Rose and Maggie, while trying to remain mostly on Maggie. It was weird seeing the two of them again. The contrast was strange this time. Rose was the one with a hard, alarmed expression while Maggie seemed contently at ease.

"I'm serious, Jeremy, you really need to get away from her," Rose warned, frustrated at being a ghost and unable to do anything as she watched the way things were unfolding lately. "She's going to kill you."

"…naked."

Jeremy's head shook almost violently from the two voices, which sounded almost the same except for the accents, blurred together in his mind. His eyes darted to Maggie to realize that she was looking at him expectantly. "I'm sorry, what?"

Maggie hid her suspicion under a smirk before nodding in front of her. "The walls," She repeated herself, "They're so bare, I feel like I need to add some life to the place and I need ideas."

"The walls, right," Jeremy cleared his throat awkwardly and tried not to let his mind going into overdrive from hearing the words kill, naked, and bare almost in the same sentence. He glanced towards the walls in question, not really sure how to help since his mind was nowhere near it. "Some pictures maybe? I could go through those boxes you brought with Beth and pull out some, if you like," Jeremy suggested, not knowing how Maggie felt about them.

That name brought Maggie's mind to a tire screeching halt.

Beth… With her own agenda going on, she had momentarily forgotten there was something going on between her and Jeremy. Maggie sucked in a deep breath and tried to hide it behind taking another gulp of her drink.

She had to find out if Jeremy really meant something to Beth. If he was just another Jimmy, it wouldn't be as hard to kill him. But if it was serious, she was struggling enough with it right now. Maggie kept him talking because of that reason.

"No thanks," Maggie muttered absently while she watched Jeremy's expression. There was a reason why she had let those photographs go. "I think I need something new," She voiced her thoughts. "Something that doesn't remind me of anything."

Jeremy turned his head back to Maggie sharply. All of the sudden, he wasn't so sure if she was just talking about decorating her apartment anymore. He tried to ignore the ghost that was standing behind Maggie and really focus on her expression. Her eyes fell to the ground in her own thoughts and he noticed there seemed to be something haunted about them.

Maggie inhaled deeply and picked up her shoulders in an action that seemed a little forced to Jeremy. "I have an idea," She declared with a lighter look in her eyes. "If I found some paints and a canvas, would you paint something for me?" She asked, remembering the drawings in his room.

"Don't, Jeremy, she's just trying to keep you around longer," Rose cut into the conversation again, this time standing directly behind Jeremy and he just barely managed to keep himself from jumping in surprise.

He was more surprised and flattered at the request. "Uhh… sure, yeah I could do that," He reached up to scratch the back of his head nervously, while trying to remain calm. He struggled to recall anyone wanting a piece of his artwork other than his family. At the same time, it was really uncomfortable having this ghost hanging around.

"You can't trust her, Jeremy!" Rose's voice began to rise in aggravation.

Jeremy couldn't hide his reaction to that. His face twisted incredulously at the accusation. He knew Maggie, he had been there since the first day that she arrived in Mystic Falls. Rose, she had been helpful but he had never known her. If anything, the thing he knew her most for was kidnapping Elena and intending to hand her over to Elijah. Who was she to preach to him about trust?

"Are you okay, Jer?" Maggie didn't bother hiding her suspicion any more now that she could see the teen was clearly reacting to something that wasn't actually there.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He shook his head, clearly trying to get rid of some sort of headache coming on. Now that it was obvious something was up, he didn't try to act indifferent. He stepped back away from Maggie and momentarily closing his eyes, rubbing them with one hand. "Just some ghosts have been nagging me lately," He explained, not understanding what was it that had them so stir crazy lately. Usually at most it was just Anna.

Maggie pressed her lips tightly together after finishing off her drink. The ghosts. That was another factor she couldn't predict or really control. She wondered which was he was referring to, but she didn't want to draw attention to the fact.

"Maybe I should get going, Elena is probably freaking out anyway," He came up with an excuse. It wasn't that he believed Rose, it was just a confusing situation and maybe he should step away from it.

Maggie clenched her jaw and her gasp on the glass tightened at that. Okay, so maybe she wasn't going to kill Jeremy tonight, but she didn't like how spooked he seemed all of the sudden. Something was definitely the matter and she had no idea which ghosts were saying what. She still had to get to the bottom of how important he is to Beth.

But, if she couldn't kill him now, that didn't mean she couldn't create some disunity in the Gilbert household.

By the time that thought dawned on her, Jeremy had already put his glass down on an end table by the sofa and was starting to make his way for the door.

"She tried to attack me at the Lockwood party," Maggie stated bluntly, lacking any smile or concern on her face at this point. She looked back up at Jeremy and clarified, "Your sister."

"_What_?" Jeremy exclaimed, turning back towards Maggie at that, freezing in his steps. "Why would she do that?" He blinked in disbelief. He knew that Elena didn't like Maggie and constantly tried to warn him and Matt, but he didn't she would actually attack her.

Maggie didn't know for sure what was going through Elena's mind, but she heard Rebekah's words and it didn't take a genius to figure out there had been ill intentions. Maggie turned towards Jeremy and put on an innocent expression. "I'm not sure, I just told her I didn't agree with the way she's been toying with the Salvatores," She put on a faux sympathetic frown. "It's wrong to do that to brothers."

Jeremy ignored the ghost at his elbow nudging him to just go out the door. Maggie's words hung in the air and he let out a sigh. He wished that he found it more surprising, but it really wasn't. He took a few steps back towards Maggie, joining her in the living area. In the past, he didn't particularly care about who his sister was with. He didn't get involved when it came to Matt, but the trouble the Salvatores brought was an entirely different ball game.

"Some days…" Jeremy admitted quietly, "I wish they had just left after Stefan saved her."

Maggie's eyebrows rose at that statement and she bit down the instinct to ask him which time.

Jeremy went on to say, "Then none of this supernatural stuff would have happened to us." If it could have been avoided, so many people buried in Mystic Falls' cemetery would still be with them today. Uncle John and Jenna just to name a few and his sister wouldn't be slowly turning into someone he didn't recognize.

Maggie's expression pulled together thoughtfully while she considered that sentiment. "You're not the only one that wishes they had just been left alone," Maggie murmured softly, having caught herself wishing they had picked a different store to check out that fateful day.

She shook her head slightly, not letting herself get too distracted by those thoughts and stick to the task on hand. "But you've been there for me since the first day I got here," Maggie shifted the attention back to Jeremy, taking a step forward to him. He remained still while watching her lift a hand to his face. Her lips turned up at the memory of him trying to reason with her at the Grill.

Jeremy swallowed thickly at feeling her hand caress his cheek, but he didn't back away. He focused less on the voice behind him and more on Maggie's face. He could tell from that expression she didn't have a lot of people to trust or look after her.

"If she's planning something against me, I can trust you to tell me about it, right?" Maggie boldly requested but kept it to a quiet whisper with a mask of concern.

Jeremy froze at first. His gut reaction was to say that was something his sister wouldn't do, she wouldn't plan to kill anyone. But he knew that wasn't true anymore. He couldn't say that after everything that's happened, the incident with Finn being one of them.

"Sure," Jeremy agreed with a numb nod. A part of him couldn't help but rebel the slightest bit against Elena. She had been the one to tell him to stay away from Anna and she hadn't turned out to be evil at all. As far as Jeremy was concerned, Elena was making gross assumptions about Maggie just like she had with Anna.

The relieved smile that broke out on Maggie's features only reinforced that feeling for him. Before he could say anything else, Maggie pulled him forward and he felt her arms wrap tightly around him. "Thank you," She gave softly next to his ear.

The stiffness in his shoulders began to ease as he raised his arms up to return the embrace. Maggie could feel the way his heart hammered against her chest and she had one arm wrapped around his waist while the other a little higher to lightly dance her finger tips against the back of his neck. She tried not to think about how long it had been since her last taste of blood and how warm this human body felt against hers.

Jeremy looked over Maggie's shoulder to see Rose standing there, her shoulders drooping with a defeated and helpless expression while she shook her head.

He shot her a harsh glare before closing his eyes and tucking his chin against Maggie's shoulder, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Mentally, he also took a few moments with his eyes shut to force away the unwelcomed guest.

* * *

Maggie stood over Jeremy's body with her arms folded over her chest. He lay sprawled out, motionless on the couch with his neck at a slightly odd angle. She cocked her head slightly as she stared at him with a blank expression.

It didn't take much to convince him for one more drink after that. One drink became two and she stopped counting after that point. Once he loosened up, he ended up being quite the chatty young thing. She definitely heard an earful about his frustrations with his sister, particularly about being compelled by a certain other vampire. Honestly, from what she heard, she would be pretty upset to be sent off to Denver like that too.

Maggie was broken from her musing thoughts by a knocking at her apartment door. She frowned and her eyes snapped to it quickly. It was very late and beyond an acceptable hour for social visits. Never mind there was the fact she told very few people about where she was.

Approaching the door silently, Maggie stopped and listened. She could pick up one rather fast beating heart just on the other side of it. She tried to peer through the peephole and was met mostly by darkness. Maggie cocked her head slightly at who she was able to make out though.

She moved to place her back against the wall next to the door frame, out of direct sight before turning the handle and letting it swing widely open. Instead of saying anything, Maggie stood posed and waited for the newcomer to grow bold. When she spotted the first foolhardy hand to cross the threshold, Maggie made her move.

The brunette gave a cry of surprise as she was suddenly pressed up against the brick wall, her cheek mashed roughly against them while her arm was twisted around behind her.

"I didn't know you made house calls too, doctor," Maggie sneered from behind her.

Meredith Fell vainly struggled against her grasp. She wore a dark jacket, but Maggie could still see the paste colored scrubs underneath. She must have come straight from the hospital, she had to guess, and only stopped to pick up one thing. That one thing was now being twisted out of her wrist.

"I just want to talk," Meredith explained quickly, wincing from the way Maggie twisted her arm.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow and raised the silver weapon behind her. "Is that so? And you needed a gun?" She challenged her, letting the doctor get a look of the piece in her hand before her fingers loosened the clip of bullets and let it drop to the ground with a clatter.

"It was that or the Council," Meredith warned her, gritting her teeth.

Maggie's eyes narrowed on the older woman. It was obvious she wasn't really trained on how to handle a gun, besides the fact she was a doctor. She came in waving that gun around like it was a flashlight.

But she had to admit she had a point with the mention of the Council. "Fine, let's talk," Maggie snapped and let go of her roughly, stepping back away from Meredith and shutting the apartment door. She tucked the gun into the waist of her jeans, even though it was useless now anyway.

Meredith took a moment to roll out of her shoulder and taking a deep breath to calm herself down from the sudden attack. Her eyes darted over the apartment, noticing how different it looked now that Alaric wasn't living there. They froze at the form lying on the couch and widened in alarm. Maggie was watching her closely as she did.

"Is he…?" Meredith stuttered out, not sure how completely to finish the question.

"Sleeping off some liquor," Maggie quickly in a casual hushed tone. "I didn't want him driving home," She sighed slightly, frustrated she had gone from planning to kill him to worrying about his wellbeing.

"No need to assume the worst, doctor," Maggie mocked with a smirk and moved back towards the coffee table where the bottle of liquor in question was almost empty.

Meredith frowned and didn't tear her eyes away from Jeremy until she stared long enough to notice the gradual rise and fall of his chest. "You haven't given me much reason not to," She muttered dryly, resisting the urge to point out that vampires in general usually don't.

Maggie kept a comfortable distance between them and just raised the bottle to her lips with a grin. She shrugged her shoulders innocently, "Death threats are much more effective than pleases and thank you's. It was nothing personal."

Meredith didn't share her amusement, instead just keeping her hands stiffly curled into fists at her sides. Instead of commenting on that, she decided to get straight to the point. "I need those blood samples you stole," Meredith demanded.

"I think we both know that's not going to happen," Maggie retorted darkly. She wasn't just going to hand them over after the trouble she went through to get them.

"You don't understand, I use those to help people," Meredith began to explain, which Maggie already knew she read about it in the files. "What if there's an accident tomorrow at the turbines? People could _die_ without those vials, Maggie. That blood can save people, especially during times when we don't have the same technology we used to. I need them."

Maggie just rolled her eyes. Oh, the bleeding hearts in this town could unite and throw a convention.

"Touching speech," Maggie mocked, "But save it for the award ceremony."

Meredith sighed in frustration and briefly wondered where the young woman that had fretted over Jeremy's death in the Grill had gone. The one in front of her was cold and unmoving.

"Just get more samples," Maggie suggested in a dismissive tone.

"I just got them from recently," Meredith shot back shortly. "If I can't say that I ran out, the Council will find out what happened to them."

Maggie glared at the obvious threat, but didn't rise to it any further than that. "Why haven't you told them already?" She countered in a suspicious tone, finding it odd the doctor was showing up here in the dead of night without a half dozen police officers with her.

Meredith hesitated before answering. She spent the rest of her shift contemplating her question. She couldn't deny the side of her that was naturally curious at the medical oddity that was Maggie. She wanted to find out more about her unusual vampire blood and that couldn't happen if the Council staked her. They would definitely stake her if they found out what she had done.

"I can still tell them," Meredith pointed out quickly.

"Or I could kill you before you do," Maggie replied sharply, her eyes narrowing threateningly but not approaching the doctor.

Despite how the human's heart was fluttering rapidly, Meredith still came up with a response. "You'd still have the Council after you."

Maggie just glared at Dr. Fell, trying to size up whether or not she was bluffing about all of this.

"Or…" Meredith emphasized the word, filling in the gap of silence. "We can talk –"

"You mean blackmail," Maggie corrected her impatiently, folding her arms over her chest after putting the bottle down. "You came here to try to blackmail me, let's not sugarcoat it. Bold move," The vampire hissed out.

Maggie briefly considered how long it would take for the vervain to pass out of her system and make her forget this whole ordeal. Unfortunately, being a doctor, people would notice her disappearance rather quickly.

Meredith didn't bother disputing Maggie's claim. Instead she just threw out her offer, "Give me the samples back plus one of yours… and I won't tell the Council about what you did or what I find."

Maggie could see how determined Meredith was trying to be, but there was the fear in those brown eyes. She was just a civilian with soft hands, she didn't deal with the same dangers Maggie has. The vampire's nostrils flared in irritation and she stepped up to the doctor, going nearly nose to nose with her.

"No dice," Maggie growled out lowly. "I refuse to be some lab rat and I'm keeping those samples." She had a theory and she didn't owe to anyone. She was not going to be forced under a microscope.

Meredith instinctively took a step back from Maggie, her gut twisting and telling her to get out of there immediately. Roughly she just nodded her head and conceded in a quiet voice, "Alright then, it's your choice." That left her only option to go to the Council after all. Maggie seemed to be rather unyielding.

Maggie noticed the finality in her voice and nearly let out an animalistic snarl of frustration at the way the doctor began to back away towards the door.

She could still kill the doctor before she says anything to the Council, but that would be an even bigger blunder to try to cover up. She might be in over her head with that one. Maybe just breaking into the hospital would give her a half a chance of talking her way out of it.

"Wait," Maggie called out when another idea came to her. The doctor stopped with her hand on the doorknob, casting a nervous glance towards Maggie.

"What if I got you different samples?" Maggie proposed, reigning back some of the irritation from her expression. "_Better _samples."

This clearly caught the doctor's attention as she cocked her head slightly. "Like what?" She immediately asked, her brows furrowing.

Maggie had to try not to smirk too much as she shrugged, "Perhaps, some more of those older and more potent samples."

There was only a few of them and Maggie could only imagine the doctor wouldn't mind getting a few more. Her hunch was correct because it didn't take long for them to come to an agreement. Maggie had two days to get it settled. She hoped she didn't need that much time, but she would take it.

Dr. Fell left shortly afterwards and Maggie was quite okay with that. Once the door shut behind her, she let out a deep sigh. The room was silent, save for the steady heart rate of Jeremy still sleeping on the couch. She wondered if he slept like the dead normally or if that was just the alcohol.

She gave him one look before slipping from the living room and heading for one of the closets. Not really thinking anything of it, she grabbed a spare blanket and pillow for him. Coming back to his side, she laid the blanket over him gently and carefully lifted the back of his head to slide the pillow underneath. At least that should be more comfortable for him.

Maggie remained kneeling on the ground a few minutes while she tucked the blanket up to his shoulders and she pushed the confrontation with Meredith out of her head. She focused on the steady rise and fall of Jeremy's chest, the way his mouth hung slightly agape, and his features at ease. His forehead didn't have any crease lines in it from the worries he had been telling her about.

Unable to help herself, Maggie reached up and smoothed out a few hairs from his forehead, managing a small incredulous grin. When it had just been her and Elena, it was so easy to make that threat against Jeremy. She really did mean it too at the time. But it wasn't so easy now, actually looking at Jeremy, seeing how much he trusts her. More importantly, this was the same boy that had been wiping away_ her _tears after she had been put through the ringer by that witch.

She could still kill him, she told herself, but she hoped it wouldn't come down to that. Leaning forward, Maggie placed a simple kiss on his forehead before standing up and heading to bed herself.

* * *

The next morning it was really tempting to go with Jeremy back to the Gilbert house. Maggie couldn't lie, she would have really enjoyed to see the look on Elena's face when she figured out where Jeremy had been all night. She was probably freaking out enough already and that would just be the icing on the cake.

However, Maggie had more important things to worry about than a petty rivalry. She had this blood issue on her hands and she had to tread carefully with it. So instead, she bid Jeremy goodbye with one more hug and a promise to see him later at the Grill.

She pulled out a vial of Damon's blood and a blood bag from the refrigerator. Maggie sat down at the dinette table with the two life sources in front of her. She frowned thoughtfully at them for a long while she mused over her theory. With Kol, she had drunk a considerable amount of blood, feeding from two people. That amount of blood just from the vein under compulsion would have made her rather sick, but she kept it down with a taste of Kol's blood. She wondered if that had anything to do with it, but she didn't know for sure.

What she did know is that the small vial of vampire blood in her wouldn't be enough to sustain her. And she had to make the vials left last as long as she could until she knew for sure what was going on. Just one vial and she would starve, probably attacking the first human she got her hands on or if she somehow she restrained than she would desiccate.

But maybe if she tried a smaller amount of human blood and a shot of vampire blood, that wouldn't make her as sick. That was the idea anyway when she popped open the lid of the blood bag and began to down it. Something about this made her feel like an undead mixologist. Maggie cringed slightly from the taste of the bagged blood. It was cold and almost slimy down her throat. The metallic taste was unpleasant and immediately made her wish she had a human instead.

Shaking her head slightly, Maggie moved onto the vial of blood once the blood bag was empty. Briefly, she wondered if it would taste like Kol's blood. She still couldn't get the memory of that taste out of her head, at times her tongue would run along her lower lip and roof of her mouth, thinking about it.

Maggie took a deep breath and popped off the cap of the vial. She didn't even recall raising it to her lips before the taste exploding on her tongue. It was rich and robust. She caught the hint of amber in it and a slight honey hue. It was similar to the other blood, but different. She couldn't tell if that made it better or not, but it poured down her throat smoothly.

Maggie barely caught herself at the door of the refrigerator. She hadn't even noticed getting up and instinctively going for more. She blurred out of the kitchen and into the hallway outside the apartment to stop herself from getting more.

She took several minutes to calm herself down, forcing the fangs that slipped out and the veins underneath her eyes to go away before she trusted herself to go back into the apartment.

* * *

Maggie shut off the engine of the SUV and climbed out carefully. She tugged Kol's jacket around her and buried her hands into the pockets. Maybe it was a little gusty to wear it here, but she hoped that it would work in her favor and there was a certain level of comfort that it brought her. Her boots echoed against the walkway as she marched open to the large double doors of the Mikaelson mansion.

She still had mixed feelings about being at the massive residence. At least two of the inhabitants she didn't mind being around so much, the obvious being Kol and the other Rebekah. The one she disliked the most she was grateful was gone and that was probably the only reason why she was willing to hang around this place at all. The last one she still didn't quite know how she felt about, Elijah.

She raised a hand to the door and knocked loudly. It only took a minute before the large door was opened and revealed the one she had the most mixed feelings about.

If Elijah was surprised to see the doppelganger, he didn't let it show. "Good morning, Ms. Greene," He greeted her politely and opened the door wider for her, allowing the vampire to enter naturally.

"Hello Elijah," Maggie returned, resisting the urge to bite the inside of her cheek apprehensively.

"I take it you're here to see Kol?" Elijah suggested as the two walked into the foyer.

Maggie just nodded absently while her eyes flickered around the house. Every time she came here, she noticed a new detail she had missed the last time. This time it was the detailed marble work of the flooring. Klaus really had gone over the top with this place.

"He's actually out at the moment, but he should return shortly," Elijah explained when he noticed Maggie's eyes flickering to the staircase, as if expecting the youngest Original to come down them any moment.

Maggie frowned a brief moment at that, they had agreed to meet here. But she recovered easily enough since it presented an opportunity. "That's fine, I was actually hoping I could talk to you," Maggie looked to Elijah pointedly, her eyes passing over his appearance. It didn't surprise her to see him in another dark business suit, immaculate in clean cut cleans without a fleck of dust or anything.

Elijah cocked his head a bit curiously at Maggie. "Very well, I was about to go for a walk. Would you like to join me?" Elijah gestured down a hallway that led to the back portion of the house.

Maggie nodded and followed his lead. Very little was said between them at first while Maggie was trying to sort her thoughts into words. Elijah led them out some back French doors and onto a patio before heading towards what appeared to be some sort of garden path. She subconsciously shook her head at the fact the mansion was large enough to have any of this.

She kept her hands buried her pockets, noticing Elijah had one in his pant pocket casually as they walked. Her eyes passed over the gardens, which were rather well maintained and beginning to bloom with a vibrant array of spring flowers. She briefly wondered if hybrids kept it up or some compelled humans.

She was a little nervous to be walking side by side with Elijah, but she kept reminding herself of their last conversation and hoped it was true. "That night at the Grill, when we were talking about my family…" Maggie broke the silence between them, despite enjoying the mild morning and the pleasant feel of the sun on her skin.

Elijah gave her a brief nod of recognition and to go on.

"What exactly did you mean by taking an interest?" Maggie wanted to clarify. He made it sound like she was a simple business investment, but there had to be more to it than that and she wanted to know just how deeply the Original was unknowingly entrenched in her life.

"Ah," Elijah acknowledged and took a moment to collect his answer. "It was nothing overly intrusive I assure you. I made sure to that your ancestors had a safe passage to the New World and their identities would not be so easily traced," He began to explain.

Maggie gave a disbelieving snort at that piece of information, causing Elijah to stop and quirk an eyebrow at the reaction. "My grandfather always blamed the family name getting butchered on an incompetent immigration worker," Maggie filled in.

There was a brief flicker of amusement in Elijah's dark eyes. He inclined his head slightly, "Well, that's not entirely far from the truth." They came around a corner into a different part of the gardens. Maggie was hit with the pleasant aroma of the flowers, which seemed to carry deeper hues to it than she ever recalled. It was soothing in a way, which was probably part of the reason why she was beginning to relax.

"From there, I made sure your family was able to get an ideal landholding in a quiet part of the country," Elijah went on. Maggie had a feeling the term ideal had more to relate to a certain white oak tree, but she wasn't going to bother arguing with that point. She just nodded along absently and took it all in.

"I took precautions and made sure supernatural creatures stayed away from your family. Otherwise, I mostly left them to prosper on their own. Every ten or fifteen years, I checked in to see if there was the birth of a doppelganger," Elijah's tone remained rather diplomatic.

This caused Maggie to stop in her steps and turn to face Elijah with a stunned expression. "Checked in?" She repeated while the implication of that settled in. "Have we met before?" Maggie didn't think so, but at this point anything was possible.

Elijah stopped to mirror her and the corner of his lip quirked up a little. "No," He answered easily. "I was briefly acquainted with Josephine, however. Had things gone differently, we likely would've met in a few years," He paused and added on to Maggie's slightly perplexed expression, "When you've been the same age as Rosemarie when she turned to know for sure."

Maggie swallowed thickly, not really sure how she was supposed to respond to that. Even if the outbreak hadn't occurred, he was saying that her eventual involvement with the supernatural would have been unavoidable.

She didn't say anything and Elijah didn't push the subject. Eventually, she just nodded and turned to keep walking along the winding garden path of the estate. Elijah calmly mirrored her steps while she mulled over the concept. It seemed hard to picture her growing up on the farm and him just showing up one day, possibly to take her away. But then again, her becoming a vampire was hard to imagine happening and it did.

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about," Maggie changed the subject after about twenty minutes, clearing away the thoughts of her family. Elijah nodded simply, having noticed the tense and pensive state of the woman.

She stopped again to face Elijah more assertively. She wasn't really sure how to approach this, so she decided to just lay it all out there. "Why did you donate a sample of your blood to Dr. Fell?" Maggie asked, having her suspicions to the answer but wanting to know for sure.

Elijah's eyes narrowed slightly in surprise at the subject matter. There was only one way for someone to know about that and he wasn't exactly pleased about it. "She desired it for her research," He explained tersely, "And we also share an affinity to help those who would otherwise not be able to be saved."

The look in Elijah's eyes was practically telegraphed to Maggie. He didn't expect her to understand that urge. It reminded her of the way that he claimed she lacked any warmth or compassion. Maggie had to fight the initial defensive gut reaction from that look and those words.

"Right, well, I stole the vampire blood samples she had and she's going to out me to the Council if I don't come up with new ones," Maggie quit beating around the bush and got straight to the point.

If she had been talking to anyone else, say Damon, she could just imagine the snarky comment or the way he would blow up. Instead, Elijah didn't react very much, except for what she could see in his eyes. There was the mix of confusion and surprise. There was an eerie calmness about his demeanor.

"Why would you need vampire blood?" Elijah had to question, not wanting to get distracted by the morality of her other acts.

"I have a theory, which could have serious implications if it's true, but I'm not comfortable with sharing it until I know," Maggie admitted honestly. She figured she had a better shot at getting Elijah to donate blood, to the cause of helping the hospital, than she had of getting a vampire to donate theirs to hers. She could think of possible one that might be willing, but if it was really as intimate as Kol claimed it was, Maggie didn't think she was ready for that.

"So you've decided to come proposition me for my blood?" Elijah challenged with a raise brow. While his expression didn't seem threatening, there was something slightly intimidating about the cool exterior.

Maggie smirked slightly, shrugging her shoulders and unable to help the teasing tone in her voice. "I'll leave the propositioning to Dr. Fell. I prefer to think of it more as negotiating," Maggie corrected him.

Elijah's jaw clenched the slightest bit at the slant, but he didn't add any fuel to it by commenting on it. Instead, he fixated on the mentioning of negotiating and the implication that he could get something out of this. She wanted to make a deal, but she already made a mistake in being transparent with what was at stake for her.

"You don't seem to understand the fine points of negotiating," Elijah commented with a hint of smugness in his tone.

The smirk faded from Maggie's face and she just nodded nonchalantly. "Formalities aren't my strong point," Maggie retorted simply. She never could've cut it as a politician or diplomat. "Is there something you want that we can agree on?" She got straight to the point.

Elijah pressed his lips together as he thought it over. His eyes remained boring into Maggie and she tried not to flinch under the gaze. It wasn't lost on her how bold it was to ask an Original for their blood, even if it was to be used for a different purpose. She noticed the way his thumb turned the daylight ring on his finger thoughtfully. It was similar to the one that she wore, not exactly, but definitely alike in some ways. She kept her hands in her pockets at that realization.

"Perhaps…" Elijah conceded and took a step closer to Maggie. "Would you happen to know what my brother has done with a particular set of daggers?" Elijah asked, but seemed like more a demand in his controlled tone.

Maggie bit her lip and hesitated to response. Of course she knew what she did with them, but that didn't mean it was wise to tell him. She took a deep breath and countered, "I don't have them." It wasn't actually a lie, but Elijah didn't seem pleased by it. "But even if I did, I wouldn't trust them with anyone."

Elijah turned his head slightly with an imploring gaze at that declaration.

"The daggers can't be used against Klaus, so I'm not interested in them. But I also wouldn't want to see anyone use them against Kol, I think it's pretty obvious why," Maggie couldn't help but smirk a bit. She noticed the tenseness in Elijah's jaw lessened at that. She also added on, "Or Rebekah either, she's not so bad either."

"I see," Elijah grinned a little bit, but he also noticed the way she didn't mention his name. For what reason he wasn't exactly sure, but there didn't seem to be any malice in her eyes when she spoke.

For a brief moment, Maggie was worried that was the only option he was putting on the table. But then Elijah looked at her a little differently as he moved onto a different thought. This one wasn't as friendly and the grin slipped away from his lips immediately.

"Your antagonism of Ms. Gilbert," Elijah clipped out and Maggie didn't hide her shock at hearing that. "You threatened the life of Jeremy Gilbert, did you not?"

"She told you about that?" Maggie gasped slightly. What an interesting development, she thought. So Elena hasn't told the Salvatores, Matt or Jeremy about what happened, but she went to the Original. She wondered what else was going on there.

Elijah nodded shortly. "Indeed, she confided to me the nature of your conversation with her," His tone held a slightly reprimanding touch as he proceeded. "Regardless of your true intentions, I suggest that Jeremy does not come to harm."

Maggie's eyes narrowed stiffly on him. One thing she was beginning to learn was that Elijah didn't just suggest you do something, it was in your best interests to do it. But she didn't like being pushed around and now she understood why maybe Elena would go to him for help. She clenched her jaw tightly as she mused it over. She didn't want to lose her leverage against Elena.

"So let me get this straight," Maggie produced the words carefully. "If I agree to not kill Jeremy Gilbert, you will make the necessary donations to the hospital and Dr. Fell?"

"Indeed, with one more stipulation," Elijah agreed. "And that is you keep me informed in the progress of this theory you are testing." The way that Elijah understood it, he could have compelled the information from her, but at least this way he was giving her the opportunity to cooperate.

Maggie shot him a rather sour look. She didn't exactly like that stipulation, but even she had to recognize when she was backed into a corner. She was running out of options lately and she couldn't let her pride turn this down.

"Deal," Maggie agreed and pulled her right hand from her pocket to hold out to him.

In the end, donating some blood that would be used to heal people wasn't the most outrageous request made of him. With that thought, Elijah raised a hand and took Maggie's carefully, giving it a firm and decisive shake. The smirk tugged on his lips and Maggie's expression eased up from some of its harshness.

As they their hands fell, Maggie took consolation in the fact Elijah clearly must not have learned about her conversation with Rebekah. She was already struggling with the idea of killing Jeremy, but that didn't mean she still couldn't turn him.

Maggie turned her body and began walking along the path once more. Elijah took the prompt to join her and they were silent for a few minutes while she thought over their agreement.

"Why _are _you concerned about Jeremy?" Maggie asked curiously, thinking it slightly odd that he would be invested in the situation.

Elijah frowned, but it wasn't necessarily directed at Maggie. "Elena has already lost and suffered so much because of the actions of my family," He explained while absently keeping his gaze on the path ahead of them. "While she has her friends and her guardian, Jeremy is the only immediate family she has left."

Maybe the explanation would have moved someone else, but Maggie wasn't impressed. She just frowned deeply in return, turning into a bit of a scowl. She had to bite back her initial comments that entered her mind.

"My father and Beth are all I have left of my family," Maggie murmured quietly. "But I also found a new family through all of this." She turned her head to see Elijah watching her behind a masked expression before she declared, "I'm not going to value her loss any higher than my own or anyone else's. I've lost my mothers and my brother. You've lost your parents and your brothers. Everyone has felt loss. We are all orphans in this world."

Elijah didn't have an immediate answer for her. He kept his hands tucked into his pockets while he contemplated her words and she could see he was a little thrown by her honesty.

It kept her going to address another issue she had a bone to pick with since their conversation in the Grill. "And I also want you to know you're wrong about me," Maggie's tone wasn't accusing, but firm. "You were right in that I don't bleed myself dry for everyone, but that doesn't mean I'm not compassionate. I love _fiercely _and I will do anything for my family and the ones I care about."

Elijah regarded her appreciatively and didn't necessarily agree with her viewpoint, but he could admire that sense of loyalty. "Well," He noticed the fire in her eyes when she spoke and he hoped what she was saying was true. "I have been known to be wrong on the rare occasion."

* * *

The garden path looped around back towards the mansion and they moved onto lighter subjects as they began to approach the house. Maggie found it more tolerable to be around Elijah the more time she spent talking to him. He was just different than the company she was used to keeping with it, in the end finding she didn't necessarily oppose it. Occasionally, he would slip a quiet comment that would cause her to smirk and realize that there was a little personality under the suit.

As they were walking back up towards the patio where the garden path started, Elijah was reiterating what had happened on the porch the night she was bit by the hybrid. Maggie couldn't help but let out a laugh as his recitation of Carol's words, which seemed completely ridiculous in his accented calm tone.

"She said and I quote 'I don't trust anyone who wears a suit during a zombie apocalypse'" Despite himself, Elijah's lips quirked upwards while Maggie shook her head, biting on her lip. "Is my attire really that offensive?"

Maggie paused in her steps and turned to him. "A little bit, but it really doesn't help how you wear it," She gestured a hand in front of her lightly to the space between them, glancing down at the suit.

"_How_ I wear it?" Elijah repeated incredulously.

Maggie nodded, "Of course, the way you carry yourself. You always seem so uptight and stiff." If Elijah was taking offensive to her words, he didn't show it. If anything, he humored by the whole situation that a woman wearing a men's jacket and jeans was lecturing him on dress.

"Here, let me show you," Maggie declared and didn't wait for him to respond before she stepped up to him. Her hands reached up immediately for his tie and Elijah's eyebrows rose, but he didn't move while Maggie stared at her fingers loosening it up.

"First, you need to get rid of the noose," Maggie decided, pulling on the loop and tugging at the fabric.

"I believe it's called a tie," Elijah emphasized the proper term. If he was uncomfortable by her suddenly standing so close to him, he didn't let it show. He felt the tie slip from around his collar and saw it in her hands.

"Tie, noose, they both can choke the life out of you, same difference," Maggie muttered with a shrug and held the tie out towards his right hand. "Hold this," She ordered.

Elijah hesitantly took said tie in hand and Maggie ignored his rather flabbergasted expression as her hands went back to his collar. Her eyes were set with determination while a little amusement tugged at her lips. "Second, just because there's buttons there, doesn't mean you have to use _all _of them," Maggie teased lightly while her fingers loosened the collar, opening up it up a bit and proving to the world that Elijah Mikaelson did actually have a neck.

Elijah opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately opted to just close it again. His hand continued to hold the tie limply in the air, as if he wasn't entirely sure what to do with it or the unpredictably of the woman in front of him.

Satisfied with her work on the collar, Maggie smoothed out of the fabric on one shoulder while her eyes darted up. She gave a sigh, "And the hair, don't even get me started on that…" Every single strand didn't have to be perfectly combed. She reached up towards it, but before she could touch it her hand was caught.

Elijah's left hand clasped over hers quickly. "I think you've sufficiently made your point," Elijah stopped her and Maggie's eyes snapped back towards his.

For a split second, Maggie thought she was in trouble. But she watched the way pulled her hand down to almost in front of his mouth. "But I'll take your suggestions under consideration," He added and she caught a brief smirk before he placed a polite kiss on her knuckles.

The gesture was the same chivalrous one she had seen from his brothers. Looking at him as he did it, Maggie was struck again by how similar he looked to Kol. They had the same brown eyes, angle of their nose, thin set of lips and dimple in their chin.

Maggie gulped a little bit as he pulled his lips away from her skin. Then as if hearing something else, Elijah's eyes darted away from Maggie and he turned his head towards the French doors.

"Brother?" A voice interrupted them and Maggie followed it to spot Kol standing in front of one of the open doors. He wore his black pea coat jacket, looking like he had just come in from some sort of run or trip. His hands were stiffly in his pockets and his eyes trained darkly on Elijah.

A smile immediately lit up on Maggie's face at the sight of the youngest Original and she stepped away from Elijah, her hands slipping with it.

"Kol," Maggie let out a soft whisper and started crossing the distance between them.

"Maggie," Kol acknowledged tersely without actually looking at the woman. He kept his eyes trained on Elijah, who turned towards Kol as Maggie walked away from him. The eldest brother regarded him with a cool stare while rolling the tie and folding it casually in his hands.

Maggie stopped next to Kol's side and the smile faded into a frown when she sensed the hostility radiating off his shoulders. She turned her head back towards Elijah briefly and her brows furrowed in confusion at the apparent staring constant. There was some sort of silent exchange going on between them she didn't understand.

"We should probably go," Maggie suggested to Kol vaguely, not wanting to say they might be late if they stick around longer in front of Elijah.

Maggie raised a hand, placing against Kol's upper arm. The action was enough to break his stare and he looked down at her. His eyes softened a bit before nodding shortly. She gave his arm a small squeeze before letting go and turning towards the patio doors. Kol moved with her and she felt an arm slip around her waist.

Kol gave one more warning glare over his shoulder at Elijah before disappearing into the house with Maggie.

* * *

Maggie bit slightly on her thumb nail as she sat in the passenger seat, leaning her elbow against the frame of the window. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at Kol periodically. The car ride was silent, except when she gave him directions of where to turn and when. She did notice the whiteness in his knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel. Briefly, she wondered if it would break under the pressure.

Kol kept his eyes trained on the road and there was the hint of a scowl on his face. Maggie wondered what had set him off, whether it was something she did or had occurred while he was gone. He seemed in a pretty good mood last time they were together, but she knew that could change at a moment's notice.

Kol sat rigidly in his seat. He didn't know what to think of the annoyance that itched at his skin. Something flared up inside of him when he stepped out onto the patio and saw his brother with Maggie and her hands on him. He didn't have any claim on Maggie and she was free to do what she wanted. But man, something about seeing the way his brother kissed her and her hand on his chest he really did not like.

"Last one on the right here," Maggie announced finally as the vehicle slowly came to a stop on the abandoned street. It was a quiet part of town, somewhat close to the neighborhood he had originally shown her.

Kol reached down to the shift to put the SUV into park. Before he could pull away from it, Maggie clasped her hand over his to get his attention. "What's wrong?" Maggie asked. Kol looked slowly from her hand to see her genuinely concerned expression.

He took a deep breath before countering with another question, "What did Elijah want?" He hadn't even realized they were on apparently friendly terms until what he just saw.

Maggie frowned slightly. His tone was blunt, but it wasn't exactly accusing. She shrugged her shoulders and just answered him honestly, "He wanted me to stop trying to kill Jeremy Gilbert." She hadn't told Elijah about her close call at the apartment last night, but the idea was still there.

That caused Kol's head to jerk back slightly, blinking incredulously at what he just heard. "You were going to kill Jeremy? Why would you want to do that?" He questioned, remembering how distraught she had been the first time he cornered her in the Grill.

"It's kind of complicated," Maggie began to explain. She doubted he would care about the tension between her and Elena. Rebekah would, but not Kol. Before she went further, her eyes snapped on him quickly, realizing something, "Wait, why do you care? You did kill him."

"Nuh uh," Kol denied quickly, his face twisting up into an innocent grin. "That doesn't count. I knew he was coming back."

Maggie just snorted and rolled her eyes at his expression. "That doesn't explain why you care," Maggie pointed out, not letting herself getting distracted by his charm.

The smirk slipped away from Kol and he just gave a slight shrug as he thought about it. "He grows on you," He murmured, recalling his time in Denver. Even though most of it had been a hoax. "In a pathetic puppy sort of way," He clarified cheekily.

Maggie shot him a rueful glare but just shook her head and moved to climb out of the car, her hand slipping from his. Even though she hadn't really answered his question, Maggie noticed that Kol seemed to loosen up a bit before he joined her at her side.

"They're here?" There was a bit of an arrogant sneer in Kol's tone as he looked over the decrepit house. It was a single story ranch style with faded yellow paint. The front door hung loosely on its bottom hinge, leaving it open to whoever felt like wandering into the dark creepy house. The yard was overgrown and the windows had been boarded up at one point. In general, there wasn't anything appealing about it.

"Yep," Maggie popped the 'p' as the two of them walked up the cracked walkway towards the front door, which had three short steps in front of it and a rusting awning.

"Why here?" Kol had to ask while they reached the steps. It wasn't that he was expecting her to hide them in the knife drawer with the other utensils, but this definitely surprised him.

"No reason what so ever," Maggie announced lightly with a smirk. She had picked the address completely arbitrarily. "Which is what makes the perfect place to hide them," She added on.

"Huh," Kol acknowledged, glancing briefly at Maggie before deciding to go up the steps. "Well, let's get them then –" He stopped short at the entryway of the door.

He frowned and grumbled, "What the hell?" His eyes furrowed as he was stopped by an invisible barrier.

Maggie just kept her arms folded across her chest, the smirk remaining on her lips, standing off to the side from him. "Yeah, we'll have to wait for some backup," She answered his confusion. "_I _don't even have an invitation."

Kol cocked his head slightly at her. He knew this part of town, it was long since evacuated. "But how? Only someone from the Council or a city official can sign a new deed for houses," Kol wondered. Anyone on the Council would be one of the last people he would want knowing about the daggers.

"That's true," Maggie agreed, "But lucky for me, I know someone that values family loyalty above Mystic Falls' Council, who happens to have access to official documents."

Kol was about to question it further, but his ears picked up the sound of another vehicle turning down the street. Both vampires turned their heads to see the approaching police cruiser. It clicked in his mind whom she may have been referring to. A grin tugged on his lips, but he was still apprehensive about it. "And what exactly did you tell him?"

"Only what was necessary, what was in that box is dangerous in the hands of the wrong people, especially the Council," Maggie shrugged while watching the cruiser pull up behind the SUV. It wasn't exactly a lie, just a slightly stretched truth.

Kol chuckled slightly and the two vampires watched the form of Rick Grimes climb out of the cruiser. It was still weird for Maggie to see him in a dark blue police officer uniform. She had been so used to the tan Sheriff uniform of King County, which had gotten darker with stains and wear from life on the road.

"Hello Maggie," Rick greeted roughly while approaching the two. His blue eyes darted anxiously between them, lingering particularly on Kol. It was clear that he hadn't really been expecting the Original's presence.

"Officer Grimes," Maggie acknowledged in a teasing tone at the title. Rick offered a short nod of acknowledgement to Kol, but didn't say anything. The Original stared back at him blankly.

"Are you sure about this?" Rick asked hesitantly, gesturing towards the front door.

"Positive," Maggie reassured, knowing Rick probably wasn't entirely comfortable with Kol being there. The officer held any comments back and just stepped inside the doorway of the abandoned house. He paused to look back at the two vampires.

"You may come in," He extended the invitation to the both of them. Kol gave Maggie a curious look, but she didn't say anything as she stepped inside and followed after Rick. Kol was the last one to enter, hesitating slightly at the threshold, but not obstructed this time.

He squinted slightly in the darkness and the trio halted briefly in the hallway. "You'll probably need these," Rick hand back Maggie a pair of objects from small decorative table left in the hallway. She pulled them onto her hands and turned around to offer a pair to Kol.

Kol scrunched his nose at the gardening gloves, which were stained and had a slightly funky odor to them. Regardless of that, he begrudgingly followed Maggie's lead and pulled them onto his hands. Anxiously, he followed closely behind Maggie as they made their way through the house. He wasn't quite sure how Rick pulled it off since it was so dark and musty, but he must've been pretty familiar with it already.

They came around a corner to where the basement door was left open. Maggie being the closest one was hit with it first. He heard her sharp intake and saw the way she took three steps back away from the door, gasping slightly. "Whoa, a little heavy on the vervain there, Rick," Maggie pointed out while a hand covered her nose and Kol could see the way her eyes began to water.

Kol stepped up closer to the door and that's when he caught a whiff of the strong stench wafting from the basement. His face scrunched up with distaste as well.

"I was just being careful," Rick shrugged and leaned his shoulder against the frame of the doorway. Obviously the smell didn't bother him in the slightest, but he watched the reaction of the vampires with keen interest.

Kol was more resilient to the smell, but it was definitely unpleasant as he could feel the way it singed the inside of his nostrils. Despite that, he squinted into the darkness of the basement stairwell to see what exactly was causing it. He frowned noticing a lot of water, clearly it had been flooded and he would guess there was probably a good four feet of water there.

"What exactly am I looking at, Maggie?" Kol finally had to ask.

Maggie remained a few safe steps behind him, clearing her throat before launching into the explanation. "Well, when I got the box I knew I had to hide it somewhere a vampire, hybrid or a human couldn't find it… which is just about impossible," Maggie frowned slightly at how long she had mulled that over. "So I figured the next best option is one that would take at least two of those to get it."

"I found this place, put the box in a safe down there and busted a few water pipes. Then Rick made up a new deed on the house and he brought in the vervain and wolfsbane," Maggie finished while Kol nodded along absently.

Well that explained the extra unusual aroma to the vervain, Kol thought to himself. He squinted into the darkness and now it made more sense that he could make out a few branches of the infamous plant floating in the water. Add a couple of hot days and it must have been practically marinating in here.

"So I'm guessing it's your turn to go for a swim then?" Kol turned his head to look at Rick, clearly no vampire or hybrid was going to go near that water.

Rick chuckled slightly and shook his head. "Not quite, but allow me," He answered and Kol sidestepped out of the way to let the Sheriff pass. He took a few steps down and paused at the hand railing that ran along the stairs. It was then Kol noticed the end of rope that was knotted off on the railing.

Rick grabbed onto the rope and started giving it a pull. Kol could hear the water sloshing around in the basement and the sound of objects bumping into each other. Watching Rick pull up more and more rope, he now understood the need for gloves. Any inexperienced vampire or hybrid would have singed the flesh off their skin even if they just reached for the rope, never mind diving into the water.

After a minute or two, the safe in question came into sight and Kol's brows furrowed slightly. This wasn't some small lockbox. It was a floor safe that probably stashed some redneck's hunting rifles at some point. It butted up against the stairs and that was as far as Rick could pull it. He looked over his shoulder and offered the rope out to the Original. "You're going to have to take it from here," He stated.

"The buoyance," Kol realized, casting a quick smirk to Maggie. "Nice touch." Sure, any human if they had figured out to pull on the rope could bring the safe closer, but pulling it out of the water was definitely beyond question. Kol murmured a warning to the human and Maggie to take a few steps back and leave plenty of room beyond the basement door.

Following his request, Kol blurred down quickly, grabbing the rope. Thanks to his supernatural strength, it didn't take too much to get the safe out of the water. It banged heavily against the stairs as he dragged it up and free of the doorway, into the informal dining area that was next to the basement door.

He carefully darted around the water that dripped off the black, somewhat dented and abused box. He didn't want to get any of it on his clothes. Maggie's nose wrinkled slightly as she took a step closer to it while Rick went and shut the basement door, to stem some of the vervain odor.

"It's in here?" Kol asked expectantly, looking to Maggie to open up the safe.

She nodded, it looked the same as she left it. Instead of touching it though, she glanced over at Rick. "Could you give us a few minutes?" She requested politely. The officer pressed his lips together tightly but conceded, nodding once before turning and heading down the hallway back towards the front door. She hadn't given him a proper look at the daggers before and she didn't think it would be wise now to.

Once it was clear he was outside and out of hearing range, Maggie looked back to Kol. "I don't actually know the combination so you'll have to break it open," She admitted. It was just a safe she had scavenged and it looked like it had already been cleaned out when she found it.

Kol smirked a bit and nodded, setting to work to pry the thing open. It took a few minutes of busting the handle and one of the locks before he was able to force the first seam open. The metal groaned, but gave way under his hands before it snapped loudly in the air. Maggie took a step back slightly at the sound, but remained curious as the contents were revealed.

Sure enough, the inside of the safe was nice and dry. Almost completely empty except for the dark stained wooden box she had found on the passenger floor of her SUV that morning. Pulling off the gloves from her hands, Maggie bent down and gingerly picked up the box.

She opened the lid briefly to check the contents. Quickly, she counted six daggers and a bottle of ash. Just like she left it, which wasn't surprising because only her and Rick knew about this. She looked up from the box to see Kol standing directly in front of her, clearly expecting it to be handed over at that point.

"You know, you agreed to protect my family. The Grimes are a part of my family, so are Daryl and Carol," Maggie pointed out the fact she didn't just see anyone with the Greene last name as family. For a brief moment she had considered adding Glenn to the names, but he turned his back not just on her but the rest of them when he moved out.

Kol opened his mouth to protest, but stopped when he thought back to their conversation in the woods. She had said to protect her family and stop killing her bloodline. He pressed his lips together slightly and his eyes darted out towards the hallway where the officer was outside. Maybe that was another reason why he was so willing to help, he figured.

"Just how many are there?" Kol grumbled out with a sigh, just keeping an eye on three people was easier, but he did make that agreement after all.

Maggie couldn't help a small giggle at the slight pout on his face. "I could draw you a family tree if that helps," She suggested in a teasing tone.

Kol shot her a rueful look and Maggie just grinned while holding out the box to him. He carefully took it and tucked it under his arm. The two of them made their way out of the house, she faintly heard him muttering something about maybe taking her up on that offer.

* * *

They didn't stick around the house long after that. Both vampires were eager to get away from the vervain and Maggie could definitely use a drink after that. Before her and Kol went their separate ways, because she knew he would have to take care of the daggers, she told him that she would be working that night at the Grill taking care of some stock. She hoped he would pick up on the hint to stop by. It was boring by herself, but she also wanted to see him again.

Maggie stopped back at her apartment for some blood after that. She downed another half a blood bag, the taste was still unpleasant but she had to stomach it. She was half way through her third vial of vampire blood before she realized she was even doing it. The blood she drank was Damon's again and she mentally berated herself for being so careless about the limited the supply. She didn't have much left, but she still had a little time to figure something out.

That evening as the sun was beginning to set in the sky, Maggie was back at Carol's cottage, eager to spend a little time with the older vampire. Admittedly, with the vampire blood that she was starting to drink, she did notice an immediate difference. The human blood still sloshed around in her stomach, but it wasn't unbearable. If anything, it was like the first time she drank blood the night of her transition.

Maggie sat the small dining table in the kitchen while Carol fussed at the stove, making some of her special tea for the two of them. They were mostly talking about little things, like the mess Daryl made of the place. He had managed to get a couple of rabbits, Carol wrinkled her nose at that. She was pouring a couple mugs of the tea when she decided to change the subject.

"Okay, missy, you need to figure out what you're doing," Carol suddenly declared, there was a grin on her lips but Maggie could see the seriousness in her eyes. The older vampire moved towards the table and offered a mug out to her as she took a seat across from Maggie.

"What do you mean?" Maggie wrinkled her forehead in confusion, her hands wrapped around the warm ceramic and she had one leg tucked underneath her casually as she sat.

"With Damon and Kol," Carol pointed out bluntly. "I heard Damon come by the other night… there's nothing wrong with enjoying the attention, but you're going to be heading for disaster if you keep this up." Carol took a careful sip of her tea while she watched the surprised slackening expression on Maggie.

Maggie felt her stomach drop, but she knew what she meant. It was one thing to balance the affections of a couple young men, but the fact they were both dangerous supernatural creatures heightened the stakes. For a good moment, her mouth hung open slightly and she tried to think of what to say to defend herself. If it was anyone else, she would've gotten more defensive and deflected from it, but it was Carol and she could always confide in her.

"I don't know what to do…" Maggie admitted in a quiet and somewhat helpless tone. She shook her head and her eyes dropped from Carol, even though there wasn't any sign of judging from the older woman. "I want them both for different reasons," Maggie added and bit her lip as her finger trailed over the lip of the mug.

"I know," Carol said softly, pausing thoughtfully before continuing, "There's nothing wrong with wanting, but you need to figure out what you _need._" Preferably before someone got seriously hurt, but she didn't feel the need to add that one. The caution was already in her tone.

Maggie nodded shortly, keeping her eyes down, but not answering Carol. She raised the mug to her lips and took a careful sip of the liquid. It burned her tongue, but she didn't care. It healed up in the matter of seconds anyway.

"Talk me through it," Carol suggested, seeing the turmoil in Maggie's expression. Yes, she was putting her on the spot, but ultimately she was trying to look out for her and help in whatever way she could.

"Seriously?" Maggie snorted slightly, briefly looking up from the mug.

"Absolutely," Carol answered easily and Maggie suddenly felt like she was sitting down for some counseling from a therapist. She could see Carol was serious about it, too. Maggie gave a sigh and shifted in her seat, tucking both legs underneath her.

"Start with Damon," Carol prompted when she saw Maggie apparently conceding, but obviously not sure where to begin.

Maggie managed a brief grin. "Okay, Damon…" She murmured and her eyes drifted absently away from Carol while she thought about it. "Most of the time he's infuriating at best and he's snarky, but… I know this sounds odd, but he's reliable for me. I know he would always be there." Maggie's nose scrunched slightly as she tried to find the right words, "There's something comfortable about him." Safe wasn't the right word to describe Damon Salvatore, but it was something along those lines.

Carol was looking at her dubiously at that, but she didn't say anything. She just lifted her mug to her lips and nodded for Maggie to keep going.

Maggie paused for a minute, thinking about the few times he has made her happy. When there wasn't something hanging over their heads, she did enjoy herself with him. "But, he's still hung up on Elena," Maggie pointed out with a disheartened tone. "And I don't know if I can forgive him for what he has done," She added referring to the obvious kidnapping that started all of this.

"You love him anyway though?" Carol clarified in a gentle tone when Maggie's voice trailed.

Maggie nodded with a little bit of a guilty look in her eyes. Before she could dwell too much on it, Carol asked her another frank that caused her thoughts to stop.

"But you're not in love with him, are you?" Carol's eyes narrowed slightly, not accusingly but suspicious from what she was reading off of Maggie's body language.

The room was silent, except for the quiet ticking of the stove still cooling off from heating up the water. It was so subtle that most humans would have missed it, but to Maggie's ears it was deafening along with what Carol just asked.

Slowly she shook her head and she had to blink away the slight sting at the corner of her eyes. "No," She admitted in a small whisper. Maggie tensed her shoulders in one shrug before adding on, "But I think I could be some day… once I get past everything else." She couldn't help but think maybe Damon had a good point, she just needed some time and things would eventually work out between them. She had to admit it was a little endearing how confident he seemed to be about the possibility of them.

Carol frowned thoughtfully at that. She thought it sounded a little bit like settling and Maggie had already done that once before with Glenn. It would be easy to make that same mistake again since that was what she was familiar with. She didn't say that though, she wanted to hear the other part of it before she added her opinion.

"And what about Kol?" Carol was more curious about that one, since she had only heard bits and pieces. After the other night, it was pretty obvious there was something going on there though.

Maggie let out a slow deep breath as she tried to shift her mind onto Kol. "Being with Kol is… intense," She tried to find the right word for his overwhelming presence, thinking she had even noticed it from the first day she bumped into him. "It's easy to get caught up in him," She explained, which could be a good and a bad thing at the same time.

"There's something commanding about him. He's a little arrogant and cocky, but… that isn't everything," Maggie's face began to pick up into a smile as she went on. "I know he admires me and I think he respects me, too. He grounds me in a way that Damon doesn't." The more she thought about it, she was sure. It wasn't like he ever tried to hold her hostage in a basement and he's done everything she's asked of him, in one way or another. He has been the best to help her with her control lately too, but he could also cause her to lose it.

"He's unpredictable," Maggie went on, thinking how his mood could change so quickly. But it wasn't always in a bad way. Maggie chuckled a little bit at memory before she relayed it to Carol, "I went swimming with him and he didn't know what Salsa was, so he decided right then and there for me to show him… soaked to the bone, barefooted and with no music."

Carol gave an appreciative grin at the way Maggie's face lit up, but kept a subdued tone in her eyes while she listened.

The smile slipped away from Maggie's face as she thought about the cons of Kol. Both vampires had them. "But being with him is also destructive," She was barely a month old vampire and she had already killed five people, most of which encouraged by Kol. There was also the fact he murdered a large part of her ancestry.

"And I don't know for sure how he feels," Maggie mentioned, remembering Elijah's warnings. She's seen the memories with him having his emotions shut off. It could all be a game for him and she might not even know it.

There was another short silence while Maggie's mind wandered to the hunting trip. The tip of her tongue ran against the roof of her mouth at the memory of his blood on her lips and his hands on her body.

"It seems pretty obvious to me," Carol declared, getting up from her seat and walking over to the stove to pour herself another cup. "Why you're not in love with Damon," She added on to clarify what she was referring to.

Maggie gave a humorless snort, staring down at her almost empty mug. "Yeah? And why's that?" Her tone was a little bit bitter while her finger idly ran over the ceramic handle, thinking the answer had something to do with either Petrova or Rose.

"Well, you're not in love with Damon," Carol paused to look over her shoulder at Maggie frankly, "because you're already falling for Kol."

* * *

_Author's Note: How many Kolie's are clapping now? _

_So no Damon in this chapter, but more characters we haven't seen much of. What do you guys think of the scene with Jeremy, Rose and Meredith? How about that Elijah bonding moment with Maggie? _

_Next chapter – Maggie's reaction to Carol's observation and well… I'm not going to give away more than that because it'll be a good chapter! _

_Fun side note: in the original writing of this chapter/section of the story, Maggie was going to kill/turn Jeremy in a fit of rage after blaming Elena for the death of Hershel – however, I scratched that subplot and opted for this one with Elijah and Meredith Fell instead. _

_Review responses –_

_IrishBeauty: It looks like a declaration is coming up soon, but I wouldn't expect sunshine and roses! (Otherwise it just wouldn't be Kol and Maggie, right?) And nope, Jeremy is fine, I hope I was able to show how conflicted Maggie is with that. I actually thought about going 'Dun dun dunn' but I didn't want to be too cheesy. :P_

_M: (Every time I write a response, I feel like I'm writing to a James Bond character haha) Thank you so much for the awesome words! Haha, yeah I like the Margaret moments too, it's like using someone's full name and that 'Ooooh you're in trouble'. We're seeing just a little taste of the vampire blood (since she only has a little), but maybe next chapter we'll see more. ;)_

_Wileby: The Mama-Carol moments in TWD show are pretty awesome too! I would say the Kolie ship's sails are raised and it's about setting off now, no? At the moment, no Maggie does not realize that Lexi and Alexia are the same person since she doesn't know Lexi's full name or know what she looks like. Buuuut, we've seen ghost Rose, so maybe there's a chance of ghost-Lexi too._

_Sky410: Thank you for the review! I can appreciate it's a little frustrating, but Maggie is definitely leading Damon on and now she's starting to see what she really wants too. And yeah, the waterfall is their special spot. _


	48. Chapter 48

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: (There's a lot of songs this chapter, but it's action packed and I hope you take the time to listen as you read!)_

_Aerosmith – I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (Scene: Kol and Maggie dancing)_

_Pink – Run (Scene: Kol breaking down)_

_Fleetwood Mac – Landslide (Scene: Beth and Maggie singing)_

_Ed Sheeran – Kiss Me (Scene: Returning to Maggie's apartment)_

_Jack Johnson – Fortunate Fool (Scene: Afterwards, to end of chapter)_

_Chapter Forty-eight_

"It seems pretty obvious to me," Carol declared, getting up from her seat and walking over to the stove to pour herself another cup. "Why you're not in love with Damon," She added on to clarify what she was referring to.

Maggie gave a humorless snort, staring down at her almost empty mug. "Yeah? And why's that?" Her tone was a little bit bitter while her finger idly ran over the ceramic handle, thinking the answer had something to do with either Petrova or Rose.

"Well, you're not in love with Damon," Carol paused to look over her shoulder at Maggie frankly, "because you're already falling for Kol."

* * *

Maggie's head snapped up to Carol sharply. She stared at the back of the vampire while the older woman turned to finish refilling her mug of tea. The words hung in the air while she watched her move and Maggie remained frozen, letting the first reaction bubble up as it may.

Maybe she should have come up with some sort of quick denial. Or maybe she should have laughed it off as Carol being ridiculous. It was a bit ridiculous, here she had been so worried about having feelings for Damon after Glenn, but apparently there are not one but two guys to consider.

Maybe she should have been offended by the claim. It was a rather direct and brutally honest thing to say, not that she ever expected anything less from Carol. But Maggie just let out a soft sigh. There was something resigned about the feeling it gave her. Like if Carol was just saying something a part of her already knew.

Maggie shook her head slightly, the feeling she got at the party now being put into words. "That scares me," She admitted quietly. There were so many uncertainties and even if it did turn out well, what would being with Kol turn her into?

He wasn't a knight in shining armor. She had considered him a dark angel before and she thought that still true. He has watched over her. But, she's also seen a glimpse of how dark things could get. With him, she would see just how twisted and black it could get.

"Well, that's why they call it falling," Carol stated while moving to take her seat again across from Maggie. "It's exciting, but mostly terrifying."

* * *

Maggie sighed as she tossed another empty box full of scrap into the dumpster in the back of the Grill. She wandered back into the building, ignoring the warm summer air in the process. It was probably the tenth time she was thinking about how close her apartment was to the Grill. It wouldn't take much for her to just hop in the car, or even run, over there and grab another vial of that vampire blood.

She shook her head while she walked in the back service door. It felt like she was dealing with the first days of blood cravings all over again. She had to force herself to stay at the Grill and tried to busy herself with her work to take her mind off of it. Despite that, she still worried about what she was going to do when the blood vials ran out. Her mind wandered back to her agreement with Elijah, she wondered what would come of that as well.

When Maggie came through the service entrance to the front of the house, she realized someone was sitting at the bar. Well, he was sitting on the counter with his feet on a stool. He had a cardboard box next to him and he was squinted at the small plastic boxes, having a few of them in his hands.

"Kol!" A smile picked up on Maggie's face. Even though she spent a good time worrying about what to do with her new revelation, she was still looking forward to seeing him and wasn't hundred percent sure that he would show up.

The Original looked up and flashed a smirk. "Hello darling," He greeted in return and watched Maggie approach him from the other side of the bar. She leaned her elbows against the wood as she tried to peer inside the box.

"What do you have here?" Maggie asked curiously and then realized it was mostly filled with an assortment of CDs. All of them still had the plastic shrink wrap on them and price tags that she recognized from Barnes and Nobles on them.

"Some music I found," Kol explained, having had the box around for a while now from one of his exploratory trips. "I was thinking you could help me sort through what is good or not." He was completely lost in all the names and album art. He didn't have the slightest idea where to begin with it.

"Really?" Maggie was surprised to see the genuinely hopeful look on his face. It seemed so innocent. It was hard to imagine someone having no idea where to begin with music.

Kol just shrugged and there was a bit of a sheepish grin. "Well, Bekah is about as useless as I am when it comes to this," she only spent two decades less in a coffin than he did. "And Elijah… well, he's Elijah," Kol snickered slightly and Maggie grinned. He didn't need to say it, she couldn't imagine the eldest Original putting up with something as trivial as this either.

"Alright then, I still have to do a few things, but read me off the names," Maggie conceded. It seemed a little silly to her, but she could see the appreciation in Kol's eyes at her agreement. She briefly wondered just how much normal time he spent with his siblings. It must have been confusing and disorienting when he first woke up and how many people took the time to just reacquaint him with everything.

So while Maggie went back to work, Kol would read off the names from the covers. They started making three piles. One was the trash ones, which Maggie thought the world could have done without, many annoying teenie bopper bands went in that one. Another one for the absolute keepers. And the last one for ones that Maggie didn't care for, but they weren't horrible.

Maggie found herself laughing a lot at some of the faces that Kol made at the names or bizarre cover art. Many of which she had never really given a second thought until then seeing someone completely unfamiliar with them regarding it in a fresh light.

Kol would grin or smirk when he tried to get Maggie to explain why some bands were particularly bad or what set them apart from others.

She was finishing up her work when he picked up a particular CD and flashed the movie cover it had been featured in to her. "What about this one?" Kol asked ignorantly.

Maggie dropped the last box she had to move on the counter and gasp. "Oh come, on you _have_ to know them," She sputtered out immediately. She reached out for the CD easily and Kol let it slip from his fingers.

"Umm, nope," Kol denied. Through the course of it, she figured out that he picked up on a few Indie and alternative band names from the time he spent with Jeremy in Denver. Apparently he had pretended to know what the teen was talking about without having the slightest clue.

"But… but, it's _Aero_smith," Maggie exclaimed while looking down at the single track in her hands. It had a large red clearance sticker marked on it, which didn't surprise her with how old it was. "Everyone knows them."

"Coffin, remember?" Kol reminded in a tone that almost rang with a 'Duh' at the end.

"I know," Maggie mumbled, "But you must have at least absorbed _something_."

If there wasn't such an adorable pout on Maggie's face, Kol might have been more offended. But instead, his face just twisted incredulously with his eyebrows furrowing at her claim. "How?"

"Osmosis, I don't know!" Maggie huffed out and Kol snickered at her. "Here," She declared suddenly and her fingers began to rip the plastic off the case. "The Grill has a stereo."

Kol quirked an eyebrow and watched as she moved behind the counter, crouching down to where the audio system was hooked up. It had been a while since anyone used it, but there was no reason for it not to work.

"What's the style of dance for this music?" Kol asked as she pushed a couple of buttons, having asked her the same question a few other times.

Maggie shrugged, even if it was to herself while she opened the disc tray. "Slow, I guess," She answered thoughtlessly, she hadn't really danced to this particular song since an awkward high school dance.

Once she had it cued up, Maggie stood up again and then she realized there may have been another meaning to that question. Kol wasn't sitting on the bar counter anymore, but standing in the open space next to it. He was looking at her with an expectant smug expression as the first horns began to carry through the speakers.

"Seriously?" Maggie dropped her hands to her sides while trying to bit down the grin from her lip and shaking her head.

"Come on, Maggie," Kol tried to coax and raised a hand out towards her.

Maggie chuckled and moved forward to him anyway, it wasn't like she could really deny him. "You know, not all music has to be danced to," She teased him lightly as he took her hand in his. Naturally, his other came to her waist and she mirrored it with a hand on his shoulder.

"You forget that the phonograph was in its infancy when I was daggered," Kol pointed out frankly while he began to lead her through the steps. "I lived in a time when music was a privilege for celebrations."

Maggie didn't have a teasing remark for that. It was easy to take for granted the little things that she grew up with and also easy to forget just how old Kol really was. One hand, he looked like a charming young man just asking a girl for a dance.

She just bit her lower lip slightly as she listened to the chorus of the song. If she was still human, she would've been blushing brightly at this point from the intimacy of the slow dance. She could feel Kol's eyes on her and already knew the lazy smirk was on his lips. Knowing how she felt made her stomach flutter with nerves even more.

Mentally, she wanted to curse out her song choice, Steven Tyler was not making it easier either. "Are you sure you didn't use this as an excuse to put your hands on me?" Maggie jested, partly trying to deflect from herself.

"Pfh, I don't need an excuse to do that," Kol answered smugly without hesitation.

"Is that so?" Maggie's voice rose slightly with a quirked eyebrow at his over confidence.

"Absolutely," Kol retorted and then his eyes took on a darker glint as he lowered his tone. "I've seen the way you look at me, darling, even when you're not riding a blood high."

Maggie swallowed thickly as his voice rolled over her, almost like a purr and it was then she realized this was Elijah probably meant by ensnare. But she was already in it too deep to anything about it. She kept her eyes locked on his, refusing to let them wander anywhere else.

"How would you know what way that is?" Maggie challenged, also not directly acknowledging what precise way that was.

Kol inclined his head to the side briefly noncommittally. "You're an open book to me," He replied simply. Some people you could read and others could not, it was just something you do and most of the time it was difficult to explain why or how. Maybe in time you could learn to read someone, but would be forced and never completely authentic.

He took her apprehensive, but full attention as an opportunity to demonstrate how. "Right now, for example, most people refuse to make eye contact as an obvious sign they're nervous… but you refuse to break, unwilling to back down no matter how excited or uncomfortable you get," Kol's tone was calculated but laced with teasing.

Maggie felt a lump form in her throat as he slowly began to dissect her body language, staring at him with wide eyes.

"And your heart raced every time you were near me, even when you pretended to hate me. I may not be able to hear it now, but I know it's racing," Kol smirked, remembering the way her breath would hitch and the thumping song when he cornered her as a human.

His voiced dropped into a whisper, "I can tell by the varying pressure of your hand, trying to subtly grip without doing so too tightly, giving away how you feel," referring to the one gripping the shoulder of his jacket. "There's also the tension in your shoulders and the slight falter in your footsteps, even though you can dance, as if trying to decide between continuing this dance or stopping for what you _really_ want."

Maggie parted her lips to say something, but she really didn't know what it was. It was captivating and terrifying at the same time to hear him pick apart her reactions to him down to the slightest detail. His voice sent a shiver down her spine and she couldn't help but drop her eyes down to his lips as he finished.

His head was inclined closer to hers and she was leaning into him. Maggie found it harder to avoid his feet with how close he had her pulled to him. So instead of trying to keep up the dance after all, she made a very purposeful halt in her steps.

That was enough of a signal to Kol for him to lean down and capture her lips. Her hand being held in the air by his slipped to wrap around the back of his neck. Maggie let out a soft approving noise against his lips as she leaned up into him.

His arm on her waist wrapped completely, pulling her body against his while the other went to her spine, up by her shoulder blades. Maggie sucked firmly on his lower lip before parting her lips to get a proper taste and feeling of his tongue running against hers.

This was the right rate of movements and pressure, stirring her to want even more and more as she thought to herself. The feel and texture of his hair running through her fingers made her want to knot it even further.

Before she could get too carried away by it, Kol was the one to ease back from the kiss. Maggie had to keep herself from whimpering as she rolled back onto her heels and opened her eyes. Kol took in a deep inhale to catch his breath and she could see his brows furrowing thoughtfully.

"There's just one thing, I don't understand," He breathed out, not completely pulling away from her so Maggie left her arms looped around his neck.

Maggie didn't fully trust herself to speak so she just nodded for him to continue.

"You used to hesitate… around me, now you don't," Kol tried to grasp the way she would hold onto him before like she wasn't sure if she wanted to push him or pull him closer. He had asked her about it before, but he didn't get an answer. "What changed?"

Maggie moved her hands down to his shoulders, looking at him clearly. Now or never, she thought to herself. "That night when Klaus healed me," Maggie began and she saw the deepened confusion on Kol's face from the mentioning of his brother. "He asked me if I had feelings _for you_."

She didn't need to say more for him to get what her answer had been. She felt Kol grow still underneath her hands and his expression turned into a controlled mask. She was pretty sure he wasn't even breathing.

"He was probably playing a mind game," Kol denied quickly, knowing his brother and that sounded very much like something he would do.

"Probably," Maggie shrugged and a frown began to form on her face at Kol's demeanor, "But what does it matter? It's still true."

A slight growl boiled up in Kol's throat and he grasped at Maggie's wrists to pull her hands off his shoulders. Maggie felt her stomach drop as he stepped back and away from her, feeling like a wall of icy reality slapped her in the face.

"You shouldn't have let him get to you like that," Kol snapped out and ran a hand through his hair. He turned away from her, shifting on his feet anxiously. His eyes flickered over towards the CD box, briefly wondering if he should grab it or leave for later.

"What?" Maggie gasped out, shaking her head. Her hands began to shake from the obvious rejection in Kol's voice, but her mind wasn't quite grasping what was happening. She was trying to tell him how she felt and he was focusing on Klaus instead.

"Kol," She called his name in a firmer tone, being met by the back of his broad shoulders. "I'm telling you that I have feelings for you, doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Kol stopped and Maggie could almost hear him grind his teeth together. This was getting too much for him right now. He was just having fun, it wasn't supposed to get like this. Deciding to hell with the box, he turned on his heel and snapped out at her.

"No," He sneered coldly and Maggie took half a step back from him in shock. "I stopped letting things like that affect me a long time ago."

Maggie jerked her head back and gasped. She knew what he was saying, but she didn't want to. "Bullshit," She called out as he started to turn towards the front door. "I don't believe you."

Kol let out a scoff and Maggie saw him roll his eyes, but he didn't halt or say anything to her.

Seeing him going for the door, Maggie's voice dropped to a lower warning tone. "Kol, don't you dare walk away from me," She tried to keep the tears that formed in her eyes at bay.

"Stop me," He shook his head in a condescending manner. He didn't even give the courtesy of looking over his shoulder before stuffing in his hands in pockets.

Something flared up within Maggie and Kol was only a few feet towards from the door when she blurred towards him. He barely caught the blur in the reflection of the glass, but she was faster than he was expecting her to be before her arms wrapped around his head, particularly under his chin.

He barely processed his surprise of her attacking him when his neck cracked loudly and Kol went limp in Maggie's arms.

A few tears ran down Maggie's cheeks when she suddenly dropped Kol, like if she had been scorched. Her mind caught up with what she had just done.

Oh shit.

Well, now he would have to listen to what she had to say when he woke up.

* * *

Stefan fingered the metal of his car keys anxiously as he walked into the boardinghouse. Normally he wouldn't be too suspicious of the quiet house, seeing as Damon wasn't around unless Elena or Maggie was, but tonight he was on edge. And it had everything to do with the black SUV he found parked outside of the house. He knew Damon wasn't here and neither was Elena.

He heard the clanking of metal and something moving around in the basement. "Maggie?" Stefan called out when he reached the top of the basement stairs. He spotted the doppelganger closing the basement cell door behind her.

Maggie looked up at the younger Salvatore like a deer caught in headlights. He stopped at the top step, his green eyes darting between her and the basement cell.

"What's going on here?" Suspicion seeped into his voice immediately.

"I," Maggie faltered slightly, knowing she would likely run into someone, but this was the only place that might be able to contain Kol's initial reaction when he woke up. "I need your help. I just need a few hours. Can you make sure Damon and Elena stay away?"

Stefan started descending the stairs, several worry lines appearing in his forehead. The request was odd enough, but he noticed the way she remained by that basement door. "Who do you have in there?" He asked sharply, not necessarily agreeing to anything without knowing what was going on completely.

"You're probably better off not knowing. Please I just need some time alone," Maggie tried to plead with him and at first stepped in front of Stefan to block his path from getting to the door.

But that wasn't enough to stop Stefan. He hesitated at her warning, but ultimately placed a hand against her shoulder and stepped around her swiftly. His eyes peered through the barred window at the form lying on his back on the cot.

Stefan's jaw dropped slightly and he froze. For a long moment, he blinked, looking back and forth between the basement cell and Maggie. She was right, he definitely did not want anything to do with this.

"You're insane," Stefan stated bluntly, glancing at the dark haired Original. There was a very distinct lack of dagger in his chest and that was the only acceptable time to store an Original in the Salvatore boardinghouse as far as he was concerned.

"You need to get out of here before he wakes up," He reached down to the metal latch of the door. But he was stopped by two hands wrapping around his wrists.

He looked up to see Maggie staring with soft, pleading eyes. "Please, Stefan," She murmured softly. "When have I asked you of anything?"

Stefan hesitated at those eyes begging him to trust her. He shouldn't trust her, but he would admit that he wanted to. He frowned and thought about what she said. She really never had asked anything of him directly before. Whatever this was, it must be pretty important to her.

He took a deep breath and shook his head, figuring he would probably regret this later. "Fine," He conceded and pulled his hand away from the latch. "But I want a full explanation later," He pointed a finger at her to emphasis how serious he was.

Maggie let out a relieved sigh and nodded eagerly.

* * *

Maggie pushed the heavy door shut behind her as she stepped inside the basement cell. It wasn't locked, but if she was going to do this, she needed to be in the room with him. She tried not to let her hands shake. Her heart was pounding and her mind racing with only semi-coherent thoughts going through them.

Her eyes fell upon Kol's form, lying on the cot unmoving. It was eerie to see someone so still like that, knowing they could spring to life at any point again. This time they wouldn't be returning on as a flesh eating walker. Instead, it would probably be one very angry vampire.

She just hoped her insight was right. She only had her experience with Kol and the memories she saw with Alexia to go on.

Maggie's thoughts stopped short hearing a sharp inhale from across the room. She could see Kol's chest rising from the first gasp. His eyes flickered while his head rolled back to the side, to a more natural position. She saw his eyes open, being met by the cold ceiling of the basement cell and there was a brief moment his brows furrowed in confusion and disorientation.

The black irises darted around quickly and then there was a blur of movement. Maggie felt her back pushed up against the metal door and she gasped. A pair of arms enclosed her to the door and the blackness that nearly consumed her vision came from Kol's eyes as he leaned inches away from her.

"What the hell is this?" Kol snarled out fiercely. The tension in his jaw and the fury around his eyes made his features almost grotesque, more characteristic of the monster that he actually was.

For a brief moment, Maggie was panicked by it. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but she had to see it through now. "I told you not to walk away from me," She responded defiantly, keeping her chin up. "You're going to hear what I have to say."

Kol let out a growl and slammed the palm next to her head against the metal door. It shook the door violently and clashed loudly next to her ear. Maggie jumped slightly by reflex, but refused to look away from Kol. "Get out of my way, Margaret," He snapped out, ignoring her words and wanting nothing to do with this dungeon.

"No," She denied immediately, setting her eyes harshly.

Kol's lips curled back a bit in annoyance and she briefly thought she saw fangs among his teeth. "Get out of my way, damnit, so help me I will-"

"You'll what? Rip my heart out?" Maggie challenged, cutting off his words and raising her voice at him. "Go ahead!"

Kol stopped slightly and narrowed her eyes on her, but Maggie kept going. She reached up to the hand he just slammed against the door and grabbed his wrist. Forcefully, she moved it to place it against her chest, right above where her heart would be, while refusing to break eye contact.

"Go on, it's right there," She hissed at him. "If it really means _nothing_ to you, then rip it out!"

Kol pressed his lips down tightly together and his nostrils flared at her defiance. He broke the eye contact to look down at the hand on her chest. He could feel the undead movements beneath his palm. His fingers began to curl in and dig into her flesh, but she didn't flinch away from him or yield.

He looked back up to her face, to see her staring at him. Those emeralds were determined with a glisten to them. Maybe they were from the way she was wincing from the pain or she had been crying earlier, he really couldn't tell. Either way they were still taunting.

She was waving a red flag in front of a bull. He couldn't deny the monster within him that itched to comply with her request. If it really meant nothing, then he could do that without feeling any guilt or remorse. He could plunge his hand straight into her chest cavity, breaking the sternum and ribs protecting it to grasp at that red, beating organ which had given him so much grief lately.

Kol let out a groan of frustration and pulled his hand away from her chest. Stepping away and putting some distance between them, he reached up to the back of his head with both hands, tugging at his hair in aggravation.

Maggie let out a gasp at the relief of the pressure from her chest. "I didn't think so, you can't tell me I mean nothing to you," She reinforced, watching the way that Kol paced back and forth like a trapped animal. He could overpower her or kill her like she taunted, but he didn't and that counted for something.

"So what?" Kol sneered out mockingly. "You think because I gave you five minutes of attention that I have some sort of feelings for you?"

Maggie bit her tongue. That stung and she had trouble hiding it, but she clenched her fists and tried keep herself steady.

But she knew what he was doing, it was the same tactic she used against other people all the time. He was trying to be hurtful and deflecting from himself because he was panicking. "Actually, I think you're using this posturing nonsense to hide the fact that I got to you. I got under your skin a long time ago too," Maggie countered, unable to control the borderline shout of her voice.

"Oh please," Kol scoffed and rolled his eyes. What was this ridiculousness she was going on about? He really wished he could compel her to stop all of this and let him get out of there.

"Yeah," Maggie was only getting more riled up as the levee started to break on it. "I can even tell you the moment you started letting it back in, too." It seemed so ironic he was the one that had given her the lecture about shutting off her emotions, when it was clear that he thought he had done the same thing.

Kol stopped in his steps to look over her at this. He narrowed his eyes on her, not fully turning towards her. "Great, let's hear this theory," He bit out sarcastically, clearly she wasn't going to give up until he had to suffer through this bout of delirium she was suffering. His eyes looked away from the glistening light in hers though, he didn't want to see that.

Maggie ignored his attitude and went for it anyway. "You might not have realized it, but it started the day you admitted to admiring me," Maggie took a step forward away from the door of the cell. Kol twisted his expression incredulously at that, but Maggie counted for something that he was listening to her at all. She was still a mortal then!

"And don't you dare deny it," Maggie hissed out warningly, not willing to take him having been lying at the time as an excuse. "I saw the way you were looking at me out on the county line that day," She threw his own earlier words right back at him.

Kol didn't have a comeback for her. He remembered those days and how sincere he had been when he told her he thought she did was magnificent. Kol stood rigidly still after turning to face her fully.

Maggie took another bold step towards him. "You can't admire the beauty of something and feel nothing at the same time, Kol," She pointed out daringly. That moment was just the spark of everything leading to this.

"You started caring that night at the waterfall," Maggie declared, remembering the way he had tucked the jacket over her shoulders. It was a small gesture, but each one after that only confirmed her conviction that it was the small ways that Kol showed it. "And whether you like it or not, you couldn't stand the thought of me dying. You could have killed me any time and you didn't, you wouldn't even let Klaus do it."

Maggie watched the way Kol's anger subsided into something heavier and darker. "No," He started shaking his head in denial. This time, she wasn't sure if he was saying no to her directly or the reality of what she was saying. He started to repeat the word over and over, looking away from her.

"Then explain to me what happened after my transition," Maggie countered his refusal. "Explain to me all those times you looked out for me, why was my transition so important to you? Why did it so much to you whether or not I shut off my emotions? Why did you take care of me after the Lockwood party?"

Maggie could see Kol's shoulders shaking while his eyes darted around the room. Maybe he was seeing something that she wasn't. She noticed the way his hands opened and closed, flexing out the energy coursing through him without actual release. "I don't know," He snapped out, his tone taking on a helplessness for the first time in their conversation.

He thought of what Elijah had told them. He backpedalled, "I just felt obligated… I sired you, it happens." But he stopped himself short when he realized what he said. Kol didn't need to look up at Maggie to know she heard his snag.

He let out an aggravated shout as he turned and slammed his fist against the stone wall. His knuckles crunched and broke immediately under the impact. The pain didn't matter to him though, he barely felt it and the bones were snapping back into place soon afterwards.

This couldn't be happening again, he wouldn't let it happen. He wanted to shout and scream that she was lying and it didn't matter. But there was the voice in the back of his mind. It whispered into his ear in a taunting knowing tone, saying she was right and he knew it. There wasn't anything she saying that he hadn't been trying to turn a blind eye to.

He didn't want to let it back in. Maybe he already had been letting it back in. The more he thought about it, the bigger it grew. But all he knew, the more he thought about it, the more it shook at his resolve and the more helpless he felt to that crushing feeling starting to swell up inside of him.

There was another slam of his fist against the wall again. He barely saw Maggie back up against the metal door of the basement cell. The source of his current anguish still refused to even leave the room. There was a slightly terrified look in her eyes as she watched Kol repeatedly pound his fist against the wall in frustration. She winced at the sound of the bones breaking, snapping back into place before he flexed it his fingers and broke them again.

She held her breath and kept her eyes to the ground. From her peripheral, she could see Kol's movements without directly looking at them. She didn't want to think about whether or not there was blood on his knuckles, she couldn't let that distract her right now. The feeling of not breathing was uncomfortable, like a balloon trying to inflate inside her throat, begging her to gasp and get more air.

It had been too long since he let it back in, he panicked. It would be brutal and ruthless, but now that the door had been opened metaphorically, it would come flooding in like a wall of crashing water. Maybe it had been open for a while now and he had just refused to openly acknowledge it until now.

Maggie didn't know how much time had passed before the initial rush of Kol's energy burned out. He turned and pressed his back against the slightly stained wall behind him. She didn't know what to think of the twisting of his expression. His head jerked and he slowly sank down to a seat on the cold floor. It was like he was hearing voices that weren't there.

Tears started to roll down Maggie's cheeks as she watched him. She remembered the dream, how much pain she had felt going through it. If that was even a fraction of what he was going through now, she could see how it was almost literally crush him. It broke her heart, but she kept reminding herself that it was necessary.

"You're going to let me in, Kol," Maggie vowed to him. He wasn't really looking at her. His face was buried in his hands. His shoulders shook violently with hissing gasps escaping between his clenched teeth. "I can't say that I'm good for you, but I'm what you need," She wasn't sure if she was telling him or herself, but it still felt true.

She winced for every injury he inflicted upon himself and each pained noise that passed his lips. But she couldn't leave now, even in the worst of it, she didn't want to.

At this point, he was facing his own demons. Each one taking a knife and driving it through his chest, paying retribution for everything that he had shut off. She couldn't imagine what bringing back a couple of centuries of shut off emotions would feel like. She saw it before her eyes in the form of Kol.

Any other day he was intimidating and had an empowering presence. He towered over most people naturally with just his height alone and his reputation overwhelming everything else. But now, he was just like a shell of man, quivering on the cold floor in the dimly lit room. The animalistic noises he had let out earlier were reduced to almost pathetic whimpers.

He looked broken. But sometimes you had to break something down into pieces before you could piece back into something better or new. So Maggie waited and stood there through each gut wrenching moment of it, feeling the emotion radiating off of him in the process.

Minutes, maybe hours passed before he began to calm in a haunted way. His head sagged down in his hands. She couldn't see his expression because his knees were curled up, blocking her view. One hand remained in his hair while the other hung in the air limply above his head.

Carefully, Maggie took a few steps towards Kol, not wanting to be on the other side of the room a moment longer. It didn't look like he was going to be lashing out physically now that he had exhausted himself. She moved to stand by his side before slowly sinking down to kneel on the ground next to him. He didn't stir, she wasn't even sure if she was even still there in his mind. Mentally, he was somewhere else completely now.

Looking at the limp hand in the air, she reached her hand out for it, wanting him to know that she was there for him in all of this. No sooner had she clasped, his tightened around her fingers and his body shifted to lean into her. He didn't lift his head up but the other arm wrapped around her torso. He tucked his head against her shoulder, just by her neck, and Maggie took it for what it was worth.

She pressed a salty kiss to the top of his head and held onto him while she felt his body shuddering against her. His shoulders quivered and she remained on the floor by his side for it. She pressed her cheek lightly against the top of his head while they sat mostly in silence, thinking that he had a firm grip on her heart.

Eventually, the shuddering stopped and Maggie was alarmed when Kol went completely slack against her. His boot scuffed lightly against the ground while his legs stretched out slowly underneath him. The tight grip on her hand loosened up immediately and the arm around her waist slid down.

Maggie held her breath long enough to realize that Kol had stopped breathing. She blinked in confusion before it dawned on her.

He passed out.

She didn't think vampires could pass out, but she could imagine even they must get so overwhelmed at sometimes the brain would shut down. That's what it seemed like happened to Kol.

Gingerly, Maggie lifted Kol up to slip an arm under his shoulders and the other at the back of his knees. If she wasn't a vampire, there was no way she would be able to pick him up so easily. Regardless of that, she left his head leaning against her shoulder as she slowly rose to her feet. She was able to get a good look at his face this time.

It was slacken, at ease of the barrage of emotions that had been assaulting him. It looked like if he was just sleeping and not pushed to a breaking point.

Maggie was relieved to get out of the basement cell. She didn't want to stay in that wretched room ever again if she could help it between tonight and her experience with it. She made her way up the basement stairs, which was a challenging trying not to stir Kol or bump his legs against the walls on the way up. She had no idea just how long he would be out.

She made it to the top of the stairs and was intending on heading up the other staircase to the bedroom level when she spotted Stefan coming into the main hallway. The rest of the house was silent and she was grateful for his apparent cooperation.

She could practically count the worry lines in Stefan's forehead like the rings of a tree when he stopped in the hallway. There was a level of alarm to see the Original limp in her arms too. He opened his mouth to say something, but Maggie cut him off with a warning glare.

"_I'm okay, we'll talk later_," She mouthed to him, not wanting to risk waking Kol. She didn't really know how long Stefan had been in the house or just how much he had heard. At this point, she didn't really care either, she was utterly exhausted.

The Salvatore looked like he wanted to say something, but he remained torn standing where he was. He just let out a defeated sigh. Maggie took her chance to just head up the other stairs. She made her way to one of the guestrooms, not caring if Stefan didn't like it or not.

Gently, she placed Kol down on the bed on top of the blankets. She went to close the door and locked it behind her before making her way onto the bed too. She lay down next to Kol without actually touching him, tucking her hands underneath a pillow as she settled in. She didn't know what would come of this, but she wanted to be there when he woke up.

* * *

"_United Flight number 3656 from Denver will now be arriving at Gate B12."_

The automated message repeated for the third time over the intercom of the busy concourse. Maggie let out a soft sigh as she sat in the first row of the low back blue seats. When you first sat down in them, they seemed a little bit comfortable. But after a few hours of waiting, they made your back ache in places that shouldn't.

She sat with her black laptop bag at her feet. She had to move it off the seat next to her as the gate began to fill up with the begrudging passengers, waiting for the arrival of the late plane. She had been frowning at the arrivals and departure board of Chicago's O'Hare airport prior to this. There were so many random delays from flights coming in different parts of the country. There weren't any bad storm systems she was aware of.

Maggie jumped slightly at a vibration coming from her hip. She lifted herself up slightly in her seat to pull out her cell phone from the tight jean pocket. Flipping the phone over, she frowned slightly at the incoming call labeled "Home". She had been receiving so many weird messages lately.

"Hey Daddy," Maggie greeted, taking the call. She barely waited for an acknowledgement before asking, "Did you get my text?"

Her eyes wandered over to the two attendants behind the counter, in their prime dark blue uniforms. She could see one of them answering a phone from the ground crew line.

"Yeah, they changed the gate, I guess the earlier flight was delayed or something," Maggie shrugged slightly while listening to Hershel on the other side. She could never pretend to fully comprehend the domino effect that one late plane could have on the third highest trafficked airport in the world. She had to hooved it from Concourse C when she found out about the gate change.

"_Attention passengers of United Flight number 3656 to Atlanta –"_

"Oh, hold on a minute, I think the plane is here," Maggie cut her father off on the phone to listen to the attendant now on the PA system for the gate.

"_We apologize for the delay, the plane as just arrived at the gate. We will begin the deboarding process, conduct the maintenance check and refuel as quickly as possible before proceeding with the connecting flight to Atlanta. Please stay close to the gate and we will be calling boarding groups shortly. Again, we apologize for the delay and on behalf of United Airlines we'd like to thank you for choosing to fly with us today."_

Maggie rolled her eyes slightly at the last statement. It was a cheesy cue card read line that every attendant always repeated and she doubted anyone actually believed it.

"Yeah, it looks like it'll probably be a thirty minute delay at least," Maggie sighed out over the phone, resuming the conversation now that the echoing voice wasn't dominating.

Maggie nodded along and frowned, listening to her father carry on over the phone. He wasn't angry, there was genuine concern there. "I know, Daddy, I'm trying to get home as soon as possible, I promise," She repeated the same mantra she had been for the last twelve hours to him.

* * *

Maggie's eyes snapped open and she let out a shaky deep breath. Her heart was pounding from the dream she had. It was a memory, of course. While it cut off early and didn't seem that big of a deal, she knew exactly what it was from. The beginning of the outbreak, literally just before things began to fall apart. That was the day she found that Shawn had been bit and a little more than twenty-four hours later Annette would be too.

She shook the memory away from her mind, it was only one of many that haunted her dreams. Looking around the room, she realized she was still in the boardinghouse. Reality of the previous night came back to her like the way the morning light filtered through the windows. Maggie gasped and lifted her head, looking to her right.

Her hand stretched out on the bed and was met by nothing.

Disappointment bubbled up immediately at realizing that Kol was gone. She didn't know what to expect when she had drifted off to sleep the previous night. Maybe he would wake her in the middle of the night, demanding to know what was going on. Or maybe he would have waited until she woke up. But she frowned at the fact he was just gone.

She couldn't really blame him too much though. She doubted that he was particularly thrilled to realize that he was in the Salvatore house.

One thing she did notice was the fact her shoes were no longer on her feet. Also the covers were no longer underneath her, but tucked over her. A small smile tugged on her lips and Maggie shook her head in disbelief at that little action. How he had managed that without waking her was beyond her, but she still appreciated it nonetheless.

Maggie climbed out of the bed and found her boots, waiting her at the foot of the bed. She took a few moments to sort through everything that happened while she slide them back onto her feet and began lacing them up. It seemed like some surreal nightmare, the empty silence of the impersonal guestroom added to the effect.

Once ready to go, Maggie almost walked to the bedroom door, noticing it was unlocked. But then she remembered there was about a ninety-nine percent chance that Stefan, and possible more people, were waiting downstairs for an explanation.

And honestly, she wasn't ready to face them just yet.

So Maggie did something she hadn't done since her rebellious days of high school to avoid her father. She literally climbed and jumped out of the bedroom window, landing into a crouch on the ground and using the opportunity to blur away from the boardinghouse to avoid having to face Stefan.

She didn't even bother risk getting caught by starting up the engine of her SUV. She could come back for it later. Call it immature and she probably wouldn't argue with you this time.

* * *

Her fingers were sore and ached, but she refused to stop. She had finally gotten the chords down and now she was beginning to flow through them like they were meant to sound. A satisfied grin pulled on her lips, a few straight frizzy hairs clouding her vision but she refused to stop. Pausing for a moment, she backed up and started from the top of the chorus again.

Naturally, she started to hum along to the tune, partly to walk herself through it and remembering the way she heard her mother singing it in the kitchen when she was little. It was still early in the morning, but she knew outside on the front porch she probably wouldn't wake the others. It was nice not having school on this particular morning. Her feet tapped lightly against the wood of the porch while she sat in the bench swing.

"That's the song Momma used to sing," The voice caused Beth to visibly jump, cutting the chord off immediately and looking to the opposite end of the bench. She had hardly even felt someone else sit down on it.

Some of the tension eased out of her shoulders at seeing Maggie sitting there. She had one leg tucked underneath her, the other draped over the edge of the seat. Where had she come from? There was only the Greene car parked outside in front of the house.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Maggie apologized, even though Beth appeared to be relatively calm, she could hear how her heart was racing.

"It's fine," Beth murmured quietly. Even though she was apprehensive about Maggie because of her nature, she was still relieved to see her older sister.

After the emotional strain of the previous night and the memories, Maggie just had to see her family. She knew she wasn't supposed to be here, but there was only so much she could take alone. She smiled softly at her little sister, the blue eyed and blonde haired angel of the family.

"Jeremy's been teaching me to play," Beth admitted quietly, looking down to the light stained guitar in her lap. It was a bit bulky with her tiny frame. At first she had been hesitant about the idea. The last person who played in their family was Otis.

Maggie gazed down at the guitar thoughtfully. Beth didn't need to say anything to know she was thinking the same thing. It was like the awkward moment when Glenn had asked who played in the family back at the farmhouse right after Shane barely made it back alive with the medical supplies for Carl.

"You really like him, don't you?" Maggie asked quietly, wondering just how much of her sister's life she had been missing since her transition. She had her own issues she had been so wrapped up in. She was missing out on her sister going back to high school, seeing Carl trying to become reacquainted with childhood, watching Judith grow and being there for her father.

A blush rose up on Beth's cheeks and Maggie knew the answer before she said anything. "Yeah," She admitted quietly with a shy smile.

Maggie returned it with a reassuring smile herself. "I'm glad," She said sincerely. "He's a sweet boy." A part of her was thinking that turning and killing him was officially off the table with that. She couldn't be selfish with her sister's happiness.

Beth didn't say anything in response, she was rubbing her fingers slightly. Maggie could see how red they were from strumming the strings. Maggie could tell that she was thinking about asking how she's been doing. But she didn't really want to get into that now.

"Will you sing for me?" Maggie nodded towards the guitar with a hopeful tone. They used to sing together occasionally and Maggie always insisted Beth had the better voice.

Beth gave a bashful roll of her eyes, but the fingers went back to the strings anyway. Maggie inhaled a slow and controlled deep breath when the familiar tune began to reverberate off of the instrument. She couldn't count the amount of times she remembered Annette singing that song in the kitchen over a sink of dishes.

Beth's voice picked up once she got passed the intro. It started off soft before it built up confidence and strength. She had sung in church and that was where they both learned what they knew. It wasn't professional training in any means and there were imperfections in her technique, but that's what made it perfect to Maggie.

She pressed her lips together tightly, grinning affectionately at her little sister while she rolled through the words. It brought her back to those lazy Georgia summers, when things had been a lot simpler.

Maggie cleared her throat quietly and waited for a chance to join in with her sister, "_Well, I've been afraid of changing, 'cause I've built my life around you…" _Her voice accented Beth's in soft undertones. They hadn't had the chance to sing together since the first night at the prison in exercise field. At least this time it was a lot more hopeful than that time.

Maggie could see in Beth's eyes she was also thinking of Annette. Except things were different now, Maggie would be the one to look at her little sister. The idea of changing was ironic and complicated. She would have to watch her little sister grow older, while she didn't age physically herself, but she would feel it too.

Maggie's voice drifted away first and she let Beth finish out the last line of the song. The last strums of the guitar echoed in the air and Maggie had to push away the sting at the corner of her eyes.

Neither sister said anything at first and Maggie knew why. Beth's gaze was up over her shoulder towards the front door. Maggie had heard them come outside during the song, but she didn't bother turning around. She didn't need to hear the heart beat or the unusual stride to know who it was.

"May I have a minute alone?" Hershel requested, looking to Beth. The young girl nodded, knowing it really wasn't that much of a question.

Beth moved the guitar to place it down on the ground next to the bench. She could come back for it later. Maggie calmly kept her hands in her lap and didn't move from her seat while Beth moved to stand up. She knew she shouldn't be here.

Before Beth left, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Maggie. The vampire stilled momentarily before returning the gesture carefully. "Love you, sis," Beth whispered to her quietly.

"Love you too," Maggie gave her a reassuring squeeze before releasing her. She watched her stand upright again and followed her as she disappeared through the front door.

Maggie let herself take in the sight of her father after that. He still had the wispy grey beard and his hair pulled back into ponytail. He was starting to look a little healthier, gaining some weight back in his cheeks and a little bit of that fire in those beady eyes again.

Using his crutches with that dangling pant leg, he moved towards where Beth had been sitting a moment ago and eased himself down to a seat with a slight grunt. He shifted the crutches to one hand while he looked out over at the yard and the street. There was a little more life on it now that some of the other houses were starting to get cleaned up. He figured other families would begin moving in before they knew it.

"I'm sorry I came over unannounced," Maggie apologized quietly, remembering how he had asked her to leave that night. "I just needed to come…" She didn't know who she wanted to see more, she wanted to see everyone.

Even though he didn't acknowledge it, Maggie knew that Hershel was listening. His free hand went down to the thigh of the stump, he rubbed at the muscle absently. "I can still feel it sometimes," He said with a humorless snort. "I thought Carl was messing with the CD player again. I was going to put a boot in his behind and then I realized I was just kicking with air."

Maggie bit her lip while the corners of her mouth turned up as Hershel chuckled. She kept herself from saying anything though. She knew her father, he said everything for a reason.

Once his laughter wore out, Hershel remained quiet and pensive. She wanted to ask how everyone was doing, but she resisted the urge, knowing this was entirely up to him.

"I've grown up with my faith and ideals," Hershel sighed out softly, his voice with that natural rasp. "Many of them have been challenged and changed in the last year… and Beth is all I have left of my family."

Maggie frowned and stared down at her lap, fidgeting with her fingernails uncomfortably. This is the part where he's going to ask her to leave again, she figured.

"It took me so long to accept what I had lost that I hadn't been willing to consider I might be wrong this time," Hershel continued on, turning his head to look at Maggie fully. Her quiet submissive demeanor was such a contrast from the last time he saw her.

Her eyes shot up to his, not quite willing to believe what he just said.

"No soulless monster could have sang the way you just did, the way my daughter used to," Hershel explained while thinking of how much time Beth and Jeremy have been trying to convince him to give Maggie a chance. "I'm not saying I'm ready to accept it today or even the next day, but I am trying."

A sad smile worked its way on Maggie's face. She just nodded and used the back of her hand to stem any tears from falling. It wasn't an open armed welcome, but it was something and it was more than she was honestly expecting when she came here this morning.

"Take all the time you need, Daddy," Maggie replied sincerely. She took it as her cue to leave while Hershel's gaze remained on her thoughtfully. She slipped the leg out from underneath her and silently rose to her feet.

She was over by the front steps when she heard a throat clearing behind her. It was quiet, barely audible to humans, but it caused her to stop. Placing a hand on one of the wooden posts, Maggie looked over her shoulder back at Hershel. His eyes had followed her every movement and his lips moved as he fumbled with forming what was on his mind.

"Would you…" Hershel glanced towards the screen of the front door. "like to come inside?"

Maggie felt her heart swell and she nodded right away. "I'd like that," She agreed softly.

* * *

Needless to say, her stay at the Greene house had been a lot longer than she expected, but she wouldn't have traded it for anything. To gain an invitation from Hershel was beyond any of her expectations. She knew it wasn't an invite to move back into the house. Something inside of her doubted she would ever live in the house with them again. A vampire trying to play house with a bunch of humans was just an accident waiting to happen, even one as unique as herself.

It was a relief to see Carl though. He still wore his father's Sheriff hat, even though there weren't any walkers for them to fight anymore and his father was trying to move on with his life as an officer now. Judith was getting bigger by the day and Maggie was amazed how much she had missed. She spent much time talking with everyone, catching up on what she had missed during her transition. She purposely kept a respectful physical distance from everyone though.

Eventually, she had to excuse herself, but not without an invitation to a picnic they were planning. It seemed funny to think of things like that, but she has appreciative of it anyways. At least one aspect of her life was starting to look up. Maggie made her way back to her apartment, walking since her SUV was still at the boardinghouse.

Once she left the Greene house, her mind wandered back to Kol and wondered if he was okay. It was close to noon by this point and she hadn't heard anything from him since last night. She didn't feel like going back to the boardinghouse to explain to Stefan she really had no idea what would happen next. If anything, maybe some blood and a hot shower would be enough to think things over and come up with something.

Maggie stepped into her apartment and was dropping her keys on the dinette table when she sensed something was off. Maybe it was her vampire senses, but something definitely did not belong here.

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she looked around the studio apartment. Everything seemed to be how she left it. It was rather well lit by the natural light coming in from the tall windows. Slowly, Maggie walked through, glancing at the kitchen and heading for the recess just short of it where the bedroom area was.

When she came around the corner, Maggie stopped at the familiar form standing by the bedroom area window. Briefly, she wondered how he found her here, but after witnessing his tracking skills she figured it didn't take much at all for him to figure out.

Kol had been staring aimlessly out the window when he heard the apartment door open. He tore his eyes away from the scenery when he sensed Maggie approaching. His eyes flickered over her attire, she was wearing the same clothes he was from the previous night too.

Maggie swallowed thickly and wondered if he had been waiting for her here this whole time. She took a few slow steps forward, but remained hovering by the foot of the bed. There was something raw in his expression, like if he had been worn down and exposed. It was the same look in her eyes from the turmoil of the previous night and seeing her family again.

Maggie kept her hands at her sides while Kol had his in his pockets, still wearing the jacket. It wasn't like temperature bothered either of them anymore.

"I panicked," Kol stated softly, lacking any of his usual sarcasm or over confidence. He added on to clarify, "When I said it didn't mean anything."

"I know," Maggie acknowledged right away. She probably would have done the same thing if she was in the same situation. Hell, she had thrown Damon against a wall and denied it flat to his face the first time he admitted feelings for her and she didn't even have her emotions shut off.

Kol's mouth formed a slight 'o', taken back by the easy acceptance. His eyes dropped down to the ground briefly, his brows furrowing. If anything, Maggie would've guessed he seemed uncertain about being there.

"I'm not some jaded fool that needs to be fixed," His voice took on a defensive tone. He didn't want to be anyone's pet project. He wasn't going to magically turn into some fun loving person now that his emotions were back.

Maggie let out a breathless snort. "I'm not out to change anyone," She agreed frankly. She wasn't going to try to sort out anyone else when she had her problems to deal with. Broken doesn't repair broken, it just doesn't make sense.

"Okay," Kol said, even though it was clear on his face that again was not the answer he had been expecting. He stepped closer to Maggie, his eyes flickered over her face, searching for what she didn't really know.

"I'm not going to stop killing people or become some Mary Sue vampire," Kol stated firmly. He couldn't change his ways before, this time wasn't going to be any different and he didn't owe it to anyone.

"That's fine," Maggie nodded, refusing to break eye contact from him. Who was she to judge anyone about killing when she's done that and worse? She couldn't change his past either. Making such a drastic change like that would make him a different person entirely too.

Kol's shoulders sagged slightly, almost in frustration, like if he had been expecting another argument. But her agreements took the steam right out of that. She just accepted it for what it was and he didn't know what to do with that.

"Damnit, Maggie, why do you have to do this to me?" He grumbled and stepped back away from her, glancing out the window. He yanked his hands roughly out of his pockets, ruffling his hair up a bit with one. She was just the doppelganger, he was just going to kill her and everything got messed up sideways instead.

"Do what to you, Kol?" Maggie challenged, stepping up behind him, refusing to let him get far away from her. She had a hunch, but she couldn't go off of hunches anymore. She needed something more solid and she felt her chest tightened with the tension in the room.

Kol snorted slightly, "I think you're well aware of what." He didn't trust himself to turn around and see those green eyes. Hearing her voice set him on edge with the way it had made him unravel and fall apart at the seams last night.

"Tell me," Maggie requested firmly, refusing to back away from him. She wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, but she refrained when she saw them lift from a deep inhale.

"All of this," Kol muttered and turned on his heel to face her. Maggie's hands were caught on his upper arms while he leaned over her. The harshness slipped out of his expression and his voice dropped into a whisper, "Making me care when I didn't want to… making me feel _for you_," He emphasized the similar words she had spoken to him last night.

Maggie's gasp was silence by his lips. She inhaled the scent of him and felt the hurried pressure of his lips against her. It was desperate, eager, and full of the need she had wanted to see from him. One hand fisted tightly on the shoulder of his jacket, not wanting to him slip away if he changed his mind. The other went to the back of his head, holding him to her.

His hands went to her sides, pulling her hips firmly against his before sliding the fabric up. He began to push the cotton of the cardigan off her shoulders while she felt his tongue plunge into her mouth. Maggie let an approving noise and paused in her grasp to shrug each sleeve off before tossing the cardigan lightly away.

She pulled back from the kiss slightly, just enough to tug at his jacket, returning the favor. Not being high on blood like the last time she got this close to him, she was consumed by the natural husk of him, the sound of his breathing and the way her heart was thrumming with excitement.

The fabric dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Maggie blindly fumbled as she kissed Kol before her fingers found the buttons of his shirt underneath. Quickly, she worked her way up them and had to strongly resist the urge to rip them all off as his hands ran over her hips and slipped underneath the hem of her tank top.

Instead of pulling his hands away to immediately shrug off the shirt, they slide down and around to her rear. He grasped a cheek firmly in each hand, earning a moan against his lips as he pulled her up towards him. He broke his lips away from hers to dip down to her neck, placing a few there softly as he bent down a bit.

His hands moved down to the back of her thighs before picking her up suddenly. Swiftly, he set her down a seat the edge of the bed, placing himself between her legs. While the bed was on a high rise frame, it left Maggie to open her eyes, looking up at him.

Kol paused a moment to take in those swollen lips and the desire clear in her eyes. A smirk worked its way up on his lips, he promised in a husky tone, "I'm going to ruin you for any other man."

Maggie let out a small shudder, feeling her stomach tie into even further of a knot. She could stop it now, if she really wanted to, but she didn't. Her eyes wandered up from her hands, to the planes of his chest that she could see from the exposed shirt and to his face. He smirked at her in a towering and commanding way, the attitude she was more used to seeing from him.

"I know," She whispered at the challenge. Her hands moved up to his shoulders and this time he let her push the shirt off of them, soon joining his jacket. Before leaning back in for another kiss, his hands mirrored her movements by grabbing the edge of her tank top, pulling it up over her head.

She felt a slight chill in the air from the sudden exposure of her skin, but she realized it nothing to do with the temperature. She watched Kol toss the fabric away before leaning back down towards her lips. This kiss wasn't as hurried or desperate, but it was still demanding of more, which she gave as her hand greedily took in the feel of his skin. They ran over his shoulders, chest and down to his abdomen.

Maggie shivered, feeling his hands exploring her flesh in return. She barely processed her being lifted up again before her back was leaned back against the soft comforters of the bed. Kol moved with her, leaning over her body. She gasped in a shallow breath when his lips moved away from hers and down to her neck once more. He kissed more firmly, taking the time with each movement, as if he all the time to cherish each touch and reaction.

There was something virginal in the way she responded to him, having not felt the experience with another man as a vampire before. He reveled in the soft noise that came from her lips when he sucked firmly on her neck and squeezed her bra clad breast. Slowly he worked his affections down her neck and to her collarbone while one hand expertly worked the button on her jeans and unzipping her fly.

Maggie had to clutch at the comforter with both hands when she watched Kol pull the jeans past her hips. Every nerve of her body was aching to sit up and make him hurry up, but the lazy smirk on his lips told he was going to draw this out and enjoy every moment of it.

She lost herself bit by bit with each touch. Starting with the ones on her legs as he rolled the jeans off her calves and tossed them aside. Then there were the ones along her thighs, up to her hips and over her stomach. It quivered under his calloused hands before they slid to her lower back. They ran along her spine, the sensation causing her to gasp and arch her back in response. He took the opportunity to loosen the clasp of her bra.

Maggie was faintly aware the noises were her moans when the remaining clothes disappeared between them. She let herself be consumed by Kol, reveling in the feeling of his skin moving against hers. Feeling his hot breath mix with hers between the kisses and his teeth biting down into her flesh tauntingly, without actually breaking it. His fingers caused her hips to buck and quiver, begging for more attention than just a few digits. Her back arched and she shuddered for him. She let herself become familiar with his body, wanting to feel the way his muscles flexed through his back as he thrust.

She clutched to him as she felt him moving inside of her, around her, and all over her. It was his smell she breathed with every inhale, the feel of his skin against her, and his name on her lips as she moaned.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Maggie teased lightly while Kol wandered into the kitchen of her apartment. She had to admit, the view of him walking through her apartment in just a pair of jeans was the next best thing to what she had just experienced. There was something immensely satisfying about seeing him like that, particularly with his extremely disheveled hair, knowing she had been the one to do that.

It had been her hands running through his hair, during the course of it and even afterwards. After they had rode out the last climax, he spent a good amount of the time coming down from the high with her sprawled out across his chest. Occasionally, they traded a few kisses while Maggie dwelled in the enjoyment of the much needed release.

Despite all that had just happened, her fingertips still ran lightly against his skin, but in a more content manner than anything else.

"I don't know about you, but I could see a blood bag or two," Kol grinned, heading for the refrigerator. It wasn't like Maggie had given him a tour of the apartment, but it didn't really surprise her to see him just helping himself. He paused to look over at her and his eyebrows rose, the grin turning almost Cheshire like at the outfit she had blurred into when he climbed out of the bed.

And by outfit, he really meant just the bra, panties, and his shirt she was wearing. She had the shirt tied in a loose knot at the front around her waist. If that was how she was going to wear, he would have to let her steal his clothes more often.

Maggie leaned idly against the corner between the kitchen and bedroom recess. "Mm, I could definitely go for a drink," Maggie commented lightly, thinking back to how her face had vamped out a couple of times. A few times, she thought she was going to bite him, but it was actually more of an instinctive pleasurable reaction. Kol hadn't slowed down in the slightest when it happened or even waited for it to subside.

She was briefly considering what type of drink while Kol turned back to the refrigerator and opened the door. She would probably be better off with liquor at the moment, because she didn't want a blood bag. It would just make her sick and the only other thing she had was – oh shit.

"Maggie," Kol suddenly called her name in a low tone. She could see the way the muscles of his shoulders rippled with tension while he bent over in the refrigerator.

Maggie swallowed thickly seeing him pull out the tray of blood vials. "What is this?" He questioned forcefully while his eyes darted over them.

"Um, stolen blood from the hospital," Maggie answered lamely, her mind blanking out on what to do. Try to come up with an excuse? Talk about being caught red handed and all because she was careless. It wasn't like her mind was a little preoccupied or anything.

"I can see that," Kol frowned, noting the names of Damon Salvatore and his brother on some of the vials before looking up at her suspiciously. "But what is it doing in _your _refrigerator?"

Maggie took a deep breath before deciding to hell with it. If there was anyone she could trust to come clean with about this, it would probably be Kol. "I've been trying to test out this theory about why human blood makes me sick… maybe it's not what I'm meant to be drinking," Maggie folded her arms anxiously in front of her.

Kol's eyes set firmly in a thoughtful gaze as he considered her explanation and glanced back down at the blood tray briefly. "You've been craving _vampire_ blood?" He wanted to clarify.

Maggie nodded briefly, knowing the itch and burn she felt to drink those vials was beyond the cravings she had for human blood, even from the vein. "Is that really unusual?" Maggie had to ask, partly remembering the Salvatores' reaction to her transition. Maybe it was something rare, like Rippers, she figured.

She could practically see the gears turning in Kol's mind and she wasn't sure if it was in a good way. Eventually, he turned back to the refrigerator to place the blood tray back on the shelf she left it. "I've only ever known one vampire to drink the blood of other vampires and it was a willing choice he made," He replied vaguely, remembering his father and doubting highly this was same sort of situation.

Maggie frowned, if an Original only knew of one other vampire to drink vampire blood then there was something seriously wrong with her.

"How many times have you drunk vampire blood?" Kol asked, turning back towards her but not leaving the refrigerator. There was no way for him to tell how many vials should have been in the tray.

"Three times," Maggie admitted to the times since her transition. "By accident with you… about five vials from that tray and once with Damon when I transitioned."

Kol nodded absently while she spoke. Five vials of vampire blood, maybe that had something to do with why she was able to get a jump on him last night. It wasn't that she was suddenly remarkably stronger, but there was definitely a subtle difference there. Like a five vial of rejuvenating blood difference, maybe.

At the mention of Damon, Kol's eyes snapped up harshly. "He let you drink off of him not knowing what bloodsharing meant?!" His eyes glanced towards the door, half a mind to blur out of the apartment and do a lot more than snapping the Salvatore's neck for taking advantage of her like that.

"No!" Maggie said quickly, "It was an accident. I was waiting for Stefan to get a blood bag to complete the transition and I bit Damon by mistake." She saw the momentary anger boiling on Kol's expression ease back into confused curiosity after that. His eyes moved back to her and he didn't immediately say anything, she could tell he was trying to wrap his head around this.

She approached the island of the kitchen and leaned her elbows against them as she figured she might well explain what happened prior to her death. "There was also another incident when I was human, I drank a lot of Damon's blood by mistake," Maggie brought up hesitantly. She was pretty sure that still only her and Damon knew about that fully.

Kol bit back his initial instinct to tease her about being accident prone, but he just inclined his head. "Go on," He wanted the full explanation.

So Maggie went into it. Admittedly, it felt a little odd to be talking about blood and nearly killing Damon post sex with Kol. But she was just going to roll with it. A part of her was tired of trying to deal with this issue on her own. Kol didn't react much while she spoke, he was absorbing it all in a calculated method that seemed characteristic of him and his family. She told him about her reaction to Damon's blood and how badly wounded he seemed from it. She didn't get into everything that Damon told her that he did while she was trapped by the sun since she hadn't witnessed it.

"I remember the night you turned, my hand went numb," Kol murmured when she got to the part about Damon seeming to be paralyzed. Kol flexed his fingers, looking down at the hand in question and he smirked a little, "It's really hard to rip someone's heart out when you can't feel your hand." It was like bobbing for apples with a limp noddle.

Maggie didn't dwell on the fact that may as well have saved someone else's life, and carried on with it. When she was done, Kol was silent for a long time while he leaned back against the refrigerator door with his arms over his chest.

He tried to remove his personal bias in this situation and think about it scientifically. The alpha male in him didn't like the idea of her drinking vials of Damon's blood. Granted, he just had her in a way that Damon wouldn't, but he still didn't like how intimate drinking vampire blood was, even if it was removed through that method.

He was curious about this whole thing though and he hadn't fully witnessed it before. "I want to try something," He declared, looking back up to Maggie. "Close your eyes and hold your breath until I tell you so," He requested in a firm, but gentle tone.

Maggie didn't immediately comply with the request. She just scrunched her expression up in confusion and cocked her head at him. Kol moved to the cabinets and started opening the doors, clearly looking for something, but what she didn't know.

"Why?" She questioned.

Kol paused to look over his shoulder and gave a knowing smirk. "Just trust me, darling. Go on, close your eyes and hold it until I tell you. That part is important, okay?"

Kol didn't turn back around until Maggie shook her head and closed her eyes. He heard her take a deep inhale of breath, but she didn't release it. Good, he didn't want her launching at him when he was back was turned. He looked back to the cabinets and rummaged through several before he came up with what would suit his needs.

Maggie remained frozen by the kitchen island. Her hands gripped the edge of the island as she stood upright and didn't move from the spot. It felt really uncomfortable to not breathe, so she tried to focus on the noises that Kol was making instead. She heard a drawer open and close. There was a slight hiss between his teeth and then mostly silence.

"This could take a little bit, but keep holding your breath, sweetheart," Kol cautioned her while he gripped one wrist tightly. He squeezed it, trying to coax more out and quicker. He watched his blood drip down into a sports bottle. Maggie just nodded, even though she couldn't see if Kol was looking at her or not.

It was a few minutes before he was done. Finally, Maggie heard the water of the sink running for a few moments and something like plastic snapping into place. There was a slight clatter of metal, which she didn't know was a knife being dropped into the sink and the remaining blood on it being washed away.

"Alright, darling. Let's see what a little taste really does," Kol declared.

Maggie opened her eyes to see him leaning back against the counter with a challenging grin on his face. Her eyes immediately went to the sports bottle in his hands. It was semi-transparent with a dark maroon liquid inside and it didn't take a genius to guess what it was. The bottle was one of those oversized ridiculous protein shaker ones with the lid snapped over the cover.

Maybe it was all the talk of blood or some of the smell still lingered in the air, but Maggie could feel the fangs pushing at her gums immediately. "Kol," She said in a low warning tone, not trusting herself to move from where she was, "_That_ is a lot more than just a taste." She would have to guess it was closer to a pint.

"I just want to see the full reaction," Kol shrugged confidently. So the blood might cause her to snap a bit, but he could handle it. He was an Original after all. Without waiting for another protest, he tossed the bottle in the air towards her. He wanted to keep a distance between them still to see how she would react.

Any complaints or coherent thoughts disappeared when she saw the bottle flying towards her. Maggie barely processed snatching it out of the air and ripping the lid off before raising it to her lips. By ripping, the plastic was really cracked and discarded effortlessly. Her hands clutched around the bottle, which was still warm and attesting to how fresh it was when the first drops touched her tongue. It coated and soothed the burning in her throat like nothing before.

Maggie's eyes rolled shut while a moan hummed out from her throat as she greedily downed each gulp. The metallic taste was only faint in comparison to the hues she picked up that she was beginning to recognize to be distinctly Kol's. The Original in question watched as the blood disappeared quickly from the bottle, unable to help the excited glint in his eye.

Granted, it wasn't exactly like bloodsharing, but there was still something to knowing it was his blood she was drinking and responding to in that way.

He had to snap out of that novelty quickly when the bottle fall to the ground and Maggie opened her eyes again. They were pitch black with very pronounced veins around them. Red still stained her lips and fangs, but she managed to keep herself from making a mess of it. The vampire took one look at him and Kol knew that she wasn't really seeing him. The beast was pushing for more.

Maggie launched herself up and over the kitchen island directly at Kol. The Original saw the charge and blurred out of the way. But he was surprised to feel the brushing of her fingers against the fabric of his jeans before she was sent crashing into the cabinets, where he had been standing a moment before.

The vampire shook her head briefly, sizing up her crumpled mess on the floor before standing up and seeing Kol standing in the living room area of the apartment. His shoulders were hunched and his feet spread, angled, expecting the next charge. She let out a frustrated hiss, completely uncharacteristic of her before she launched herself in his direction again.

Kol caught her by the shoulders as his back was pressed up against the brick wall of the building. The room gave a groan at the impact while he tried to keep Maggie at bay. Her eyes were completely gone of any emerald or anything that made her sane. Her teeth snapped together while she snarled hungrily, trying to get a bite out of Kol, almost like a rapid animal.

He gave a grunt as he pushed her off of him, sending her stumbling backwards and crashing into one of the bookshelves. The wood shuddered under the pressure and several of the books fell off the shelf. She didn't let it stop her though and Kol squared up his shoulders again to her.

She charged again, and this time Kol managed to get her by the shoulders and throw her down on the ground, taking him with her. There was several long moments of blurred limps, animalistic snarls coming from her, and grunts from Kol trying to get the upper hand on her. He had seen newborn vampires this far gone, but never Maggie.

Kol was on his back on the ground, in the middle of the room when he finally got an arm up and under Maggie's chin. His legs were underneath her back, pinning her arms down to the ground while his other arm tried to keep her shoulders steady.

"Maggie!" He practically shouted while he tried to keep her pinned down the best he could given the situation. "Breathe, don't let it control you. Just breathe and listen to my voice, darling," He tried to coax some sanity back into her.

Her legs thrashed and kicked against the floor. There wasn't much he could do about that, he was more worried about keeping her teeth away from him. Her hips bucked and twisted from the way her arms were pinned and her head was almost in his lap while he forced it still. "Come on, darling, come back to me. You're stronger than this," Kol murmured towards her once her legs stopped kicking as much.

Slowly, she began to settle down. Her hips stopped bucking and her feet stopped flailing in the air. Maggie wasn't the only one panting heavily, but Kol was more from the adrenaline of the moment. The red started to ease away from her vision and she realized she was on her back, staring up at the ceiling of the apartment.

"There you go, love," Kol commended when he felt the tension starting to ease Maggie's shoulder. The live wire was starting to back off and he could feel her pushing the monster away.

Maggie froze momentarily at the pet name. She knew it was a pet name, but it was the first time she had heard the word pass his lips. The fangs receded back into her gums and her emeralds blinked furiously as she tried to get a bearing on everything that just happened.

"I'm okay," Maggie muttered and began to repeat it over and over. The first time, she thought she was telling herself, but she grew more confident with each time. Kol loosened up the arm under her chin and around her shoulders. Carefully, he pulled himself out from underneath her, scrambling backwards on the floor to let her have some space. He propped himself up on his elbows behind him and let out a low exhale.

Well fuck, he thought, that was a lot more than he was expecting. Any other time he would have made a comment about wrestling mostly naked, but that wiped any arrogance away with how she nearly overpowered him in the process. Which made no sense in his mind how a baby vamp could almost do that. There was a brief moment there he thought he was going to lose it, not that he would ever admit to it, but thankfully he had better fighting skills than her and she was just being reckless.

"How do you feel?" Kol watched her carefully while she lay on her back. At first she just stared up at the ceiling and he could see her eyes darting around.

Everything was sharper now, like if she had just gotten a new prescription of contacts that she didn't even realize she needed. Maggie heard Kol's voice and that stirred her to slowly force herself up onto one elbow. "I feel…" She muttered and was distracted by her hand brushing against the fabric of the area rug underneath her. The carpet follicles tingled each nerve of her palm, tactically rediscovering the feel of them.

How did she feel? Alive, amazing. Her body was humming with a jolt of energy, greater than anything she ever recalled from feeding on humans. She turned her body onto her side to look over to Kol and stopped at the sight of him. The jeans hung low on his hips and the muscles of his chest were still tense from the scuffle.

Maggie bit on her lower lip as she rolled onto all fours. His dark eyes watched her curiously as she reached out towards him. Her fingers brushed against his stomach, she felt his skin quiver slightly from the contact. Before she could stop herself, she was running her hand up over each ab and up to his pectoral. A confident smirk worked its way up on his lips when he picked up the hungry look in her eyes. It had nothing to do with blood this time.

Kol remained leaning back on his elbows while her hand slid up to his collarbone. She shifted to hover over him with her legs straddling his waist, the other hand joining her first in exploring the sensitive feel of his skin, heightened by the fresh blood in her veins. His shirt still hung loosely on her frame, he enjoyed the way it looked on her and also itched to take it off of her.

"Let me show you," Maggie answered his question finally in a teasing voice and devious smile before leaning down to capture his lips.

* * *

_Author's Note: So was it worth the wait? ;D_

_Alright all my Kolies out there, you better leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter! I want to hear your thoughts on Maggie pushing Kol to let his humanity (well what's left of it) back in, the apartment scene (sorry it's not a full on lemon, those just aren't my style and I'd rather not get bogged down in them and continue on with the story), and the bloodsharing. _

_And how about Stefan helping out his little Ripper sister? Plus we got Hershel finally starting to come around and Maggie being allowed to see her family, I know some people were really looking forward to that._

_My overanalyzers out there, what do you make of Maggie's dream? Kudos to anyone who can draw a connection there. _

_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review, there wasn't much response last chapter, which was kinda sad. I've been wondering where some of my regular reviewers have gone lately. I want to give a super big thanks to the three that reviewed last chapter._

_Review responses –_

_Eby Mikaelson (wileby is that you?): I'm not sure I understand the Slender man reference, but I'm glad you liked that chapter!_

_M: Yep, I wouldn't count on Jeremy getting offed at this point. Like Kol said, it would be like harming a pathetic puppy. :P I thought about it going either way with Elijah, but I think he would look at the situation sensibly and realize her request wasn't asking for much of him. Plus, I could see the potential for them forming a mutual understanding of each other (not necessarily friends, but respectful of each other in time). And… Mama-Carol, not much of her in this chapter, but she's still awesome. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on this chapter, thanks for reviewing!_

_IrishBeauty: Bring on the fangirling! _

_And yes, I thought that scene with Elijah and Maggie would be a nice touch for Kol to have a moment of feeling jealous, even though he's been telling himself he doesn't feel anything. And to answer your question, I would likely had Hershel die of a heart attack in a public place (say when Elena might have been the only vampire present with her brother or something). Not everyone has to die epically, but given everything Hershel's been through it could happen and we don't really know for sure how vampire blood reacts with aliments like that. So in her grief and rage I could see Maggie blaming Elena for her inaction in that situation (also stemming from the need to have something to blame). But I didn't want to go down that path ultimately, because I think Maggie would snap and shut it off if she lost either Beth or Hershel at this point._


	49. Chapter 49

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: _

_Stateless – Bloodstream_

_Scene: Maggie's blood high_

_David Guetta ft. Sia – Titanium_

_Scene: Damon's birthday party_

_Imagine Dragons – Every Night_

_Scene: Mikaelson Mansion _

_Chapter Forty-nine_

Maggie bit on her lower lip as she rolled onto all fours. His dark eyes watched her curiously as she reached out towards him. Her fingers brushed against his stomach, she felt his skin quiver slightly from the contact. Before she could stop herself, she was running her hand up over each ab and up to his pectoral. A confident smirk worked its way up on his lips when he picked up the hungry look in her eyes. It had nothing to do with blood this time.

Kol remained leaning back on his elbows while her hand slid up to his collarbone. She shifted to hover over him with her legs straddling his waist, the other hand joining her first in exploring the sensitive feel of his skin, heightened by the fresh blood in her veins. His shirt still hung loosely on her frame, he enjoyed the way it looked on her and also itched to take it off of her.

"Let me show you," Maggie answered his question finally in a teasing voice and devious smile before leaning down to capture his lips.

* * *

Kol leaned back against the couch of Maggie's apartment. A content sigh passed through his lips while he adjusted the belt back properly on his jeans before lounging back. He absently ran a hand through his hair. A repeated beep sounded off beyond his shoulder and he looked over to see Maggie in the kitchen. A lazy grin worked its way up on his lips as he watched her reach up to the microwave above the stove and pull out the blood bag.

She turned around and wandered back over to the living area towards him. His eyes flickered over her appearance. She still opted for his shirt, but this time she actually bothered to use all the buttons, save for the top two. She held the bag out for him and he took it gratefully while his eyes followed her movements around the back of the couch to join him.

Instead of sitting down directly next to Kol, she sat down half turned on the couch with her back against the armrest and lifted her legs to sprawl them lightly on Kol's lap. Kol smirked at the gesture and let one hand rest lightly on her knee while the other popped off the cap to the bag.

"You look a little worn out," Maggie teased lightly with an almost Cheshire-like grin. Kol looked like more of an exhausted young man than a deadly vampire at the moment. He looked like he could crawl into bed and nap the rest of the day away, but Maggie still felt the hum of energy in her veins.

"I can't imagine why," Kol smirked at her before starting to down the blood bag. His eyes remained on her while the luke warm liquid began to run down his throat, coating the burning sensation soothingly. It had probably been about two days since his last drink, having a longer stamina on a vein diet than most vampires because of his age. But there was also the second round of certain activities with Maggie to consider and donating blood too.

The vixen in question looked radiant in his eyes. He noticed the immediate difference of the vampire blood in her. There wasn't any underline tension behind her eyes, the clear worry of becoming physically ill from the blood. The glow on her cheeks came from that and probably also the way she looked him and the things they did.

Maggie's eyes wandered to the blood bag as she shamelessly watched Kol drink. Briefly, she considered whether she wanted it or not. She was a newborn vampire after all. But between the sexual and bloodlust satisfaction of earlier and knowing what bagged human blood did to her, Maggie didn't even feel her fingers twitch towards it.

Instead she watched the way Kol drank, if she looked close enough she could see the faint outlines of veins moving around his eyes. Other than that, his control was something she could only hope to achieve some day. She marveled at the fact he was able to stop mid-drink and talk. "You're keeping that shirt," Kol decided between sips.

Maggie raised an eyebrow playfully at that. She couldn't deny that she already thought about that. "Yeah? That might cause a stir for you to wander around town without it," She replied, while she enjoyed the view, she doubted the rest of Mystic Falls would appreciate it.

Kol just shrugged confidently. "I've gone with less," He said cheekily. Of course those struts tended to involve a copious amount of alcohol and a scandalized population to compel later.

Maggie snorted and just shook her head. Kol went back to the blood bag. Idly, Maggie leaned her head to the side, against the back of the couch. She closed her eyes lightly when she felt his hand running up and down her leg, from her calf to her knee and a bit up her thigh, but not in a demanding way.

When Kol finished, he dropped the empty bag lightly on the coffee table in front of them. "Come by the mansion later and let me know how the feeding settles," Kol requested in a more serious tone, remembering how Maggie had been fine after the hunting trip but still came down sick later. At the same time, he wanted to mull over why it was that she was suddenly so much stronger and faster. She had nearly caught him and overpowered him, even a well fed newborn shouldn't be able to do that.

Maggie opened her eyes and picked her head up before nodding slowly. "Sure," She agreed, partly glad to having been saved from the awkward question of when she would see him again.

The hand on her knee stopped moving and Maggie had to suppress a slight pout at the missing sensation. "I should go make an appearance to my siblings," Kol announced slightly while looking down at the legs on his lap. He then added, "They tend to think I'm up to no good if I'm gone long."

Maggie chuckled with a small grin, but didn't say anything. She had mixed feelings about the prospect of him leaving. That meant leaving the little bubble of them they had been in for the past 24 hours and deal with the reality and consequences of it, but she knew it was inevitable.

As if sensing the slight shift in mood, Kol's eyes moved up from Maggie's legs to her face. "I hope you're aware of what you've started," Kol murmured meaningfully, knowing that she wasn't solely at fault, but they honestly wouldn't be where they were today without her pushing it. Feeling Maggie tense beneath his hands caused Kol to clarify, "Between you and me."

Maggie bit the inside of her cheek as she realized they were about to have _that_ talk. She didn't really know when to expect it, but she knew it would have to be had at some point. She wasn't opposed to meaningless sex, but she wouldn't have lie with him without their prior admissions. But that left the ever present question of, now what?

"I think I have an idea," Maggie replied hesitantly, but reached up with one of her hands to place over his at her knee. His hand turned up to clasp around hers instinctively at the touch.

"I don't think you do," Kol disagreed in a low tone, cautious but not actually threatening. He needed to make it clear that he didn't take this lightly. "When I want something, I take it and I don't let anything stop me," He explained his nature, which applied to many aspects of life and partly his reputation.

Maggie swallowed at the look in his eyes as he said this. She knew it should have scared her, but it didn't. A part of her liked the way his eyes blazed at that.

"If it is my bed you choose to make, I will not share it with anyone," Kol stated bluntly, his eyes darting over her face for reaction and the implication clear in his voice. She was free to make her decision, as far as he was concerned. But if he was the choice he would not tolerate continued intimate relations with Damon, regardless of how open the Salvatores' standards were, which he was aware they could rather be at times.

"And you didn't think to mention that sooner?" Maggie countered, the accusation only came out halfhearted. Like maybe before she slept with him and drank his blood, she thought, but it was also because of that she didn't feel as defensive as she thought she would have about it.

Kol's signature pulled up at his lips and his eyes flickered with a wicked glint to them. He leaned closer towards her. "I never claimed to play fairly," He replied smugly. His free hand moved to slip between her and the back of the couch against the seat cushion to support himself while he leaned over her.

"However, I will make it clear my intentions to claim you for my own," Kol's voice dropped to a whisper as his eyes flickered between hers and her lips. Maggie's eyes widened at the term _claim_ briefly, the way he said it made her wonder exactly that entailed. It sounded possessive, but also promised something else she felt like she might not be entirely adverse to.

Her left hand went up to the back of his neck naturally, feeling his breath on her face. He hesitated to add on one more promise, "But not before you're free of your affections for others, only then." It was all or nothing from him, he wouldn't accept divided attentions.

Maggie inhaled slowly while his words rolled over her. No playful smirk remained on his expression at this point and she knew just how serious he was. At the same time, she wouldn't have gone through what she did last night for just any passing feeling.

So Maggie gave her answer and acknowledgement to him by leaning up, closing her eyes and kissing him firmly.

* * *

Kol left shortly after that, leaving Maggie to a mind swimming with thoughts and too much energy in her body for the small apartment. First, she took the time to shower, trying to clear her head a bit and also freshen up. She wanted to go out for the rest of the day and she figured it would probably best to do that without Kol's scent all over her.

Her motions were on autopilot as she got dressed afterwards. She couldn't shake the ghost lingering of touches from Kol, a smile tugging at her lips at the memory. At the same time, she wondered what to properly make of the courtship of sorts she agreed to with Kol. At least, courtship was the best term she could think of. She knew he didn't refer to marriage with the term claim, but there wasn't exactly a rulebook for dating Original vampires. Do they even call it dating?

That thought alone caused her to shake her head as she left her apartment. There were still a couple hours of daylight left. Maggie's eyes took a moment to adjust as she stopped, at first just taking in the sight and smells. Everything seemed sharper and more potent. Maybe this was what Kol had been referring to when he said that she was weak and malnourished for a vampire earlier.

She zipped up the light track sweater she wore and checked the laces of her sneakers before deciding to take off for a run. She started out on the streets, the more she propelled herself forward, the quicker her pace picked up. It took her a bit to adjust. Soon the sidewalk ways gave way to streets, and then she veered off into the woods of Mystic Falls.

It became more of a challenge to dodge the trees and roots of the forest. She found herself laughing a bit a few times when she nearly wiped out over a fallen log. The wind whipped at her hair, pulling it around her face and drying it quickly from the shower.

She didn't know how much time had passed, but her thoughts were broken when she picked up a fresh scent. She stopped in her paces, crouching down at the ground to study it in the manner that Kol had taught her. A smirk pulled at her lips when she recognized it was vampire and several of them.

Even though she had fed, the animalistic nature of her was brought out at the prospect of chasing them down.

It didn't take long for her to get close to them, following the trail. Unfortunately, as she got close, she sensed that they took off. She must have spooked them. It wasn't like she was expert and she was just following her gut instincts.

Spooking them only incited the monster within her even more. She didn't think anything about the way she circled around on their route. Her nature told her to go for the leading one when she got close enough. The alpha of the three, which would be better take down.

Her position became known when she headed off the leader, seeing him a blur amongst the trees. Maggie wasted no time and lunged directly for him. The two fell into a scuffle of blurred limps and Maggie momentarily hissed when she felt a hand at her throat. She yanked it off roughly before flipping him around, getting him on his back.

She managed to get him pinned down by his wrists next to his head, straddling his torso. Maggie had her nose pressed into his neck immediately, inhaling deeply. He struggled beneath her grasp, but she didn't relent. One deep inhale told her it was the leader of the three that she was targeting. It was also very familiar, causing the vampire to smirk.

"Ooh, look what I found," Maggie purred out tauntingly. Then she pulled her face away from him. She wasn't intending on actually hunting or biting him, but the chase was still fun.

Her voice immediately caused him to stop and he opened his eyes, emerald meeting emerald. Maggie flashed him a wicked, although predatory smile as she watched the realization and pure shock dawn on his normally broody expression.

"Maggie?" Stefan gasped out, his eyes darting over her. Maggie's smile melted into a more genuine one at the recognition and amusement of the situation. She felt his fingers flexing from his curled fists, but there was still the slight hesitation, like if he was deciding whether or not to push her off him. She didn't know that he was frustrated that he _couldn't_ push her off him.

"What – how, the?" Stefan couldn't come up with any coherent words. His mind was reeling. The last time he saw her she had a temporary dead Kol in the basement at the boardinghouse. Now she was out here playing cat and mouse, he wondered what happened between now and then.

"Stefan?!" Another voice called out.

Maggie looked up to see the other two vampires joining them. Any genuine warmth disappeared and her smile faltered into a scowl at the two females. The one calling out was none other than Elena Gilbert. The other one by her side took her a moment to remember the blonde, Caroline Forbes.

The two stopped short when they spotted the pair on the ground. Elena's expression hardened considerably at the rather provocative pose of the two. "What's going on?" She questioned immediately, the concern laced thickly in her tone with confusion.

"Oh relax, _El_ena," Maggie sneered with an eye roll, but didn't bother immediately moving from Stefan. Her eyes flickered back down to Stefan, who was adding another tree ring to his forehead. "While you're my other favorite Salvatore, I prefer bad boy types," She teased.

Stefan quirked an eyebrow at that, for several reasons. Caroline shifted her weight to mostly one heel and folded her arms over her chest. She didn't know much about Maggie, but didn't like what she saw. "Really? Could have fooled me," She muttered under her breath, even though every vampire could hear her.

Elena shot her a look like she was struggling not to openly agree with her. Maggie's head snapped back up at the slant and her eyes narrowed on the blonde.

"Great, now that you've established that," Stefan stated dryly, regaining Maggie's attention. He paused a moment before nodding downwards with an expectant gaze, "Will you get off of me?"

"Killjoy," Maggie muttered with a tiny smirk before she relented her grip on his wrists. She pushed herself up to her feet before offering a hand out to Stefan, who sat up a little bit slower than her. In spite of himself, Stefan shook his head and took her hand. He brushed some of the dirt and leaves off of him while the other two females stared at them with rather judgmental stares.

Stefan ignored it and focused on Maggie. "What were you doing?" He asked while the Leavey doppelganger stepped away from him. She casually raised a hand up against the tree closest to her.

"Hunting," She answered nonchalantly. Hunting what she would leave their creative little minds to fill in the blanks. Her hand brushed against the bark of the tree and she momentarily forgot about the suspicious looks and the tension in the air. She fixated on the feel of the ridges of the wood against her fingertips and the moisture of the moss covering it. "What were _you_ doing?" She threw the question back at the three.

"Hunting."

"Nothing."

"Running."

Maggie's attention from the tree was broken. She looked up at the three different answers, her eyes darting between the sources of them. A smug grin formed on her lips. "Right, because _that _wasn't suspicious," She said sarcastically.

A sigh of frustration escaped from Elena's lips, causing Maggie to focus on her. The Petrova doppelganger didn't like the situation, but figured talking would get Maggie to go away sooner. "We're just trying to decide what to do for Damon-damage control tonight," Elena admitted sourly.

Maggie's eyes bore into Elena, mentally trying to decipher what exactly she meant by damage control. It felt like there should mean more to her, but her mind was blanking out exactly on what.

"For Damon's birthday," Stefan was the one to correct diplomatically. He didn't share the same radiant resentment that the females had, but he was still watching Maggie closely. Something else was turning in his mind. He casually tucked his hands behind his back, like he often did, and the others didn't see the way he rubbed at his sore wrists.

"Ah, of course," Maggie replied in a knowing tone. It clicked in her mind then. She very vaguely recalled little Gilbert mentioning something about not wanting to be anywhere near the boardinghouse to get his neck snapped again that night.

"I'm assuming you'll be crashing that party too," Caroline was the one to speak up in what Maggie could only describe as a classic high school cheerleader-bitch expression and tone.

"Care!" Elena hissed warningly, her eyes widening at the comment.

Maggie's attention snapped to the blonde. There was a dark flash of her eyes. Strike three, Barbie, she thought, the shower comment in the town square had been the first one. Maggie threw on a fake polite smile.

"I'm sorry, I don' think we've officially met," Maggie said with a pleasantness that only a few people who knew her would know was fake. She stepped forward towards the blonde with an extended hand, completely ignoring Stefan and Elena. "I'm Maggie."

Caroline's scowl faded into apprehension. She didn't move at first, not sure what to make of the seemingly bipolar nature of the vampire's moods in front of her. She didn't believe for a moment that the gesture was genuine. But Maggie refused to drop her hand and there was that awkward moment of silence in the air.

Begrudgingly, Caroline unfolded her arms. "Caroline Forbes," She introduced herself tersely and placed her hand in Maggie's to shake. No sooner had Caroline's hand touched Maggie's, the pleasantness dropped from the older vampire's face.

Caroline let out a gasp of a pain, immediately clutching at her wrist with her other hand and several cracking noises echoed in the air. "Caroline!" Elena called out in alarm.

"Oops," Maggie muttered in an emotionless and remorseless tone.

She released the now crushed hand quickly and took a few steps back. She only made it the first step back before Stefan was at Caroline's side with Elena on the other. The blonde cringed and winced at the fingers, crumpled and pointing in the wrong direction.

A taunting smile appeared on Maggie's face while watching the way the fingers began to snap back into place immediately.

"Are you okay?" Elena gasped out.

The baby blues snapped up to Maggie with renewed resentment and now anger. "You manipulative psychotic -!" Her words were cut off into a grunt from Stefan stepping in between and stopping Caroline from launching herself at Maggie.

"Caroline, don't!" Elena's voice rose in a panic, like if she was afraid of Caroline saying more than she should at the moment. She stood between the two as if she was torn between helping hold Caroline back and just putting distance between herself and Maggie.

"Let me at her!" Caroline tried to shove the arm around her waist and the one at her shoulder from Stefan.

Maggie didn't flinch from the sudden aggression. She just kept a few yards of distance between them, watching the three unravel with a dark sense of glee. It was so easy and entertaining to rile them up.

Seeing the way Maggie's taunting stare was doing nothing to calm Caroline down. "Maggie!" Stefan's voice commanded in a bellowing tone to her ears. "Take a walk," He ordered firmly.

Maggie blinked momentarily at the Salvatore. It wasn't like him to openly boss her around. But he couldn't sort out what was going on with her instigating people like she was. The doppelganger gave a bored shrug of her shoulders, as if being asked to leave didn't really bother her.

She thought about leaving them with a taunting goodbye about seeing them later tonight and maybe bringing a friend. But she decided it would be better to just surprise them. So Maggie casted one more smirk at the two females before blurring out of sight quickly.

An unease silence first settled over the three after Maggie was gone. It was as if everyone was waiting to make sure she was really gone and not doubling back or just out of hearing range. Caroline let out a few huffs of frustration before settling down. She pulled back some of her blonde curls, tucking them back into their perfectionist required places.

Stefan released his restraint on the vampire and let himself show some real concern. "Are you okay?" He repeated Elena's unanswered question, glancing down to her hand.

Caroline nodded shortly, flexing her fingers. The hand healed up no problem, but it still was extremely unpleasant to have broken bones like that. "That bitch," Caroline snapped out harshly, glaring in the direction Maggie took off.

Elena shot Caroline another warning look before turning her attention to Stefan. The whole encounter seemed extremely odd to her, more so than other exchanges with Maggie. "Stefan… was she," Elena's brow furrowed incredulous, "on a blood _high_?"

"Yeah," Stefan agreed, thinking that was the only thing could explain the callous and volatile behavior. He tore his eyes away from the trees and back to his companions, adding on the part that concerned him the most, "And you don't get those from _just _blood bags."

Caroline's eyes widened in alarm, her anger being momentarily diverted. "We should find my mom," She suggested. If there was something going on, Sheriff Forbes would know.

* * *

Rebekah was about three huffs away from giving a six inch heeled stomp of her foot to get Elijah to really understand her concern. First of all, it was boring around this massive mansion, more so than normal lately. Niklaus was gone and so were most of his hybrids, which just left her and her two brothers. Vampires or not, it left the massive residence really quiet.

What concerned her even more was the fact that Kol was in Mystic Falls and it was still quiet in the house. Kol and orderly behavior never mixed. Elijah had a book in hand while sitting on the couch of the living room off from the main section of the house, close to the front door.

Elijah wasn't as moved by Rebekah's protest. As far as he was concerned, the police weren't knocking at the door and neither Salvatore was ranting about the Elena's life being in jeopardy making it a normal day in Mystic Falls.

Both vampires heard the engine pulling up to the front of the house. Considering there was only one, it was safe to say it was not a squad of poorly trained officers. Elijah looked up from the page of his book and raised his eyebrows calmly, as if to say "_See_?" to Rebekah.

Rebekah glared back at him with a slight pout. The front door opened and then they both heard the low tune. Rebekah's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing sharply, as if to throw the same taunting "_See_?!" glare back at Elijah.

Kol's whistling was always ominous, no matter how cheery the tone he picked.

Rebekah knew whistling was never a good thing. The youngest Mikaelson brother in question appeared in the entryway of the living room. The smug smirk on his features did nothing to alleviate her annoyance.

"Oh Kol, please tell me you at least buried the bodies this time," Rebekah drawled, taking in her brother's appearance. He wore the same jeans that she had last seen him in and the black pea coat jacket with his hands tucked into his pockets. The arrogance radiated off of him more than usual, meaning he was probably well fed.

Kol stopped almost mid-step at his sister's address. Bodies? He blinked and it took him a moment too long to realize that she had assumed his jovial mood came from a massacre. It usually did, but not this time.

Rebekah took his hesitation as a mental lapse. "Great, do I seriously have to clean up everything around here?"

Elijah's expression darkened slightly and his jaw set thickly. Unlike his siblings, he was still not so casual in the acceptance of murdering innocents. He didn't immediately say anything though. He _had_ been enjoying this classic before Rebekah interrupted him.

Rebekah stalked up towards Kol as she spoke. Kol rolled his eyes at his sister's antics. He doubted any of his siblings took her too seriously when she was like this. She opened her mouth to continue but then her eyes caught on Kol's collar. She could see the line of his jacket, but there was a very distinct lack of collar or fabric underneath.

"Where's your shirt?" Rebekah asked suspiciously, wondering if he made that much of a bloody mess that it was ruined. Kol just stared at her with a knowing smirk. She leaned a little closer, trying to get a better look to confirm her suspicions and that's when she caught a whiff.

It smelled like something salty, sweat and – "Seriously?!" Rebekah took a step back with a shriek, her nose wrinkling up instantly.

Elijah's grip on the book twitched from a slight jump, his knuckles whitening on the page. There he goes losing his spot again.

Kol just gave the broadest smug expression. He stepped around his sister and moved to flop down lazily on one of the overstuffed loveseats while Rebekah carried on. "And _I'm_ the strumpet?! Who is she, Kol?" Rebekah scoffed.

Elijah reached up with a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"No one to concern yourself with, sister," Kol denied giving her an answer, unable to resist taunting his sister.

"It's a mortal, isn't it? Really, and you lectured me about them," Rebekah harped, knowing it was unlikely Kol would be that smug about a human, but she could irritate him too.

Kol's face scrunched up momentarily at the accusation, but he wasn't going to give into her that easily. "Compared to stooping to the level of that Salvatore dog?" Kol sneered, remembering the morning after the ball his mother threw.

Kol rose to his feet again, as if a revelation just hit him. "You know, Bekah, I believe in most cultures they consider that bestiality and that's frowned upon," Kol finished in a mock reprimanding tone.

Kol's eyes lit up at the way he could practically see Rebekah fuming at him. He blurred out of the room to dodge her retaliation. Rebekah blurred shortly after him spouting out a profanity.

Somewhere far off in the house, Elijah could hear slamming doors and a loud bang. He took a moment to stop and wonder why he agreed to stay in Mystic Falls with his younger siblings again. But finally, he had a moment of peace and could return to his reading.

Elijah was turning the page when he thought back to the distinct tune that Kol had been whistling when he came in the front door. He frowned, mouthing incredulously when he realized what it was, "Aerosmith?"

* * *

Maggie could hear music coming from the house that was most definitely not Aerosmith when she pulled up to the driveway. Admittedly, there were a lot more vehicles than she was expecting in the driveway too and she had to park at the end of it. She frowned slightly when she studied the windows of the boardinghouse, it was mostly on the first floor that lights were on.

Maggie stepped out of the SUV as she heard the passenger door open and close as well. She could see people passing in windows. There was a lot more than she was expecting. Her boots clicked against the driveway as she started walking up it. She had them traded out for a pair of black fashion boots that went up over her knee with a few inches of heel. Her skinny jeans matched the boots and she wore a shimmering red halter top.

She had her companion was to blame for the outfit change, which then led to her hair being straightening and a light smokey eye to top it off. "This is damage control?" Rebekah questioned dubiously as the two vampires approached the front door.

Maggie half shrugged, "Think of it more as a controlled explosion," She figured. At least if anyone's neck got snapped tonight it would be in the comfort of their own home and easier to clean up.

Rebekah's eyebrows rose with a nod, seeing the logic had some merit to. The Original was the first to open the door and the two stepped inside. Maggie was immediately taken back by the amount of people in the house. It was mostly packed, the music carried over the noises of the chatter and laughter. She spotted many red solo cups being passed around and such. She noticed how young everyone seemed to be as well.

Maggie's face wrinkled up in confusion and a bit of annoyance. It was ridiculous to be partying like this during these days. "Who are these people?" Maggie asked Rebekah as they began to weave their way through the crowd. She didn't recognize a single one.

"Knowing Caroline, she probably invited her and Elena's entire graduating class," Rebekah's eyes darted over the faces briefly while folding her arms over her chest. She stopped to look at Maggie and added on dryly, "And they call _me_ the attention whore."

Maggie snorted at the attitude but left it alone. It did make sense, the humans looked to be at least a few years younger than her. All of the sudden she felt like the college graduate who returned home to all the pesky high school children who still believe prom is the most important event of their lives. Pushing that aside, they were in the kitchen when Stefan caught up with the pair. Rebekah momentarily left her side to snag a bottle of alcohol from someone else and a few shot glasses.

"Maggie!" Stefan called out her name, causing the doppelganger to look up before flashing him a smirk. The rigidness in his shoulders and the worry in his eyes told her that he wasn't entirely thrilled with the whole party.

"Hello Stefan," Maggie acknowledged and casually leaned an elbow back against the island of the kitchen, ignoring the few other people in the room.

"We need to talk," He said pointedly in tone that was not amused by her cavalier attitude.

"Oh, I think this is hardly the time and place for it," Maggie drawled out lightly but there was a warning glint to her eyes. The middle of Damon's birthday party, not that she knew where he was at the moment, was not the time to be hashing out what was going on with her. "Where's Damon?" Maggie deflected.

Stefan pressed his lips tightly at her denial before his eyes wandered away from her while he begrudgingly answered her question. "He's not here yet, Elena's going to bring him over from her house." The edge in Stefan's voice caused Maggie to narrow her eyes fractionally on him in suspicion. Just because anything Stefan would try to talk Damon into doing or going without saying what it was would be deemed shady by Damon didn't mean he liked Elena doing it instead.

"Found some!" Rebekah interrupted them, approaching the two with a handle in one hand and two shot glasses in another. If she was surprised to see Stefan, she didn't bat an eye at it. "I'm not sure what this is, honestly, but it's not like it can kill us," She shrugged nonchalantly and placed the items down on the counter between Stefan and Maggie.

Maggie could practically see Stefan doing a mental face palm when he saw Rebekah. "You brought Rebekah?" Stefan turned to Maggie, not even acknowledging the Original. Rebekah just smiled at his irritation though.

"Sure, why not," Maggie stated casually and picked up the bottle to pour the two shots. It wasn't enough for the three of them now, but she would just take it straight. After earlier, she wasn't going to walk into the boardinghouse by herself with at least two resentful female vampires and potentially more there.

She leaned towards Stefan to lower her voice in a conspiratorial tone, "I bet my blonde skinny friend can take your blonde skinny friend." Stefan stared back at her with the aggravation in his eyes at her immature line. Maggie didn't let it affect her and picked up one of the shots to offer out to Rebekah.

"Oh, there's no contest in that," Rebekah agreed confidently and took the shot glass in hand from Maggie. Supernatural smack down or not, she would bet she could take down Caroline too.

Maggie smirked at Rebekah and offered the other shot glass out to Stefan. The Salvatore hesitated at the gesture at first. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of taking shots with them, but keeping Rebekah and Maggie occupied would make confrontations between Caroline, Matt, or Tyler here less likely he figured.

"Cheers," Maggie held the bottle out to the two with a grin. Rebekah clinked her shot glass against it briefly before Stefan followed after her. She took a deep gulp from the bottle while the other two down the shots. It burned down her throat in what she could only guess was some really terrible and cheap vodka.

The other two shot glasses clinked against the counter before Maggie dropped the bottle down next to it. Rebekah cleared her throat a moment and Stefan's nose twitched briefly from the bad taste.

"So what's gotten into you lately?" Rebekah broke the tension between them while watching Maggie proceed to pour another shot into her glass. "You're… different," Her face scrunched slightly while she tried to find the right word. She had to drag her to the Lockwood party and tonight it was her idea to come to this party. Rebekah wondered what happened to the nervous mess at the cottage that turned into this girl pushing shots on them.

"Yeah," Stefan picked up immediately, partly intrigued that someone else other than him noticed the difference. "_Different_," He repeated the word in a frank and imploring tone.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Maggie clipped out shortly, finishing off the second shot and raising the bottle towards her lips. Rebekah reached out for the second shot naturally. Stefan still stood there stiffly, but figured he had to stick it out now it was getting interesting.

Once Maggie took a second swig and Rebekah knocked back her glass, she cleared her throat again to look at Maggie. Stefan was raising his second shot to his lips while she spoke. "Really?" She called out her out in a sarcastic tone, "So you wouldn't know anything about Kol coming home shirtless and reeking of sex then?"

Stefan choked on his shot, the back of his hand rose up to his face and Maggie couldn't tell it was more to cover his mouth or his nose.

Maggie's gaze dropped down to the bottle in her hand and she clenched her jaw. Her fingers tightened their grip around the glass while Stefan coughed a few times to get ahold of himself. She took a deep breath before looking back up at Rebekah. "Your tact is astounding, Rebekah," She deadpanned, "Truly."

Rebekah just smirked at her knowingly. "I thought so," Rebekah commented, not on the slant from Maggie, but the fact she didn't deny her claim. Lack of denial was just about an admission in her eyes and she had a feeling it was coming after seeing the two of them at the Lockwood party.

"Oh, there are some things I wish I was compelled to forget hearing," Stefan muttered, his eyes rolling up towards the ceiling as he did. He's been in his fair share of awkward positions thanks to his involvement with Klaus and Damon, but this was definitely one he didn't want or know how to handle.

Maggie bit the inside of her cheek slightly and looked to Stefan at that. "I think it'd be best to file that one under 'Let me tell Damon'," She advised, trying to keep her voice light but failing.

"By all means," Stefan threw his hands in the air in surrender. "I think I would_ literally_ rather be water-boarded than tell him," He said dryly, better her neck than his. His eyes told her that she now had a helluva lot of explaining to be doing.

Seeing she had to deal with this before it got more out of control, Maggie set the bottle down on the counter firmly. "Alright, how about the talk," Maggie directed at Stefan firmly, reaching forward to grab him by the arm. "If you'll excuse us," She shot a glare towards Rebekah before pulling Stefan from the kitchen.

* * *

Stefan shut his bedroom door behind him, drowning out the rest of the music and allowing for some silence. He looked up to see Maggie wandering around his room, taking in the small details of his packrat mentality. She had already been through his room several times when she was cooped up in the house just after her transition. Her eyes were darting around, looking for anything new and interesting.

Her fingers ran over the cover his journal, left out on his desk. She was tempted to flip it open to the most recent pages, but Stefan stepping up behind her told her that it probably wouldn't be well received. "So are you going to reprimand me now?" Maggie tried to keep her tone even, but there was a slight bitter touch to it.

"No," Stefan cleared his throat awkwardly, "I'm not your father, who you have sex with is your business." Given Damon's track record, he gave up trying to worry about things like that a long time ago.

Maggie paused in her movements, momentarily having to remind herself that this was the more reasonable brother. Swiftly, she turned around on her heel and leaned back against the desk. "So what's the problem then?" She tried to dodge around the main issue he likely had.

Stefan just gave her a look that read he wasn't going to buy the innocent act and he really didn't have the patience for it this time.

"At the Lockwood party, you told me you were getting help and I'm finding that harder and harder to believe, Maggie," Stefan reminded her of their dance. Maggie folded her arms over her chest, the lightheartedness and playfulness disappearing from her expression. "Especially when I hear you went on a hunting trip the next day, one that you had to leave Mystic Falls for?" Stefan wasn't normally one to make accusations with her, but it was clear this time.

"What of it? I went hunting with Kol. I'm fine, Stefan," Maggie tried not to snap too much at him. It was just one day. Since when did she have to ask for permission to leave Mystic Falls? She made it pretty clear that she was not going to be Damon's prisoner even as a human.

"Did you kill anyone?" Stefan questioned bluntly.

"People? No," Maggie shook her head in disgust quickly at the question. She would never consider those creatures in the woods people for what they've done. "But a half of dozen campers, sure. I knew what I was doing," Maggie shrugged noncommittally.

Stefan shook his head and rubbed a hand against his forehead. "See, this is what I mean, Maggie! How can I believe you when you go and just say things like that?" He couldn't believe how callous she was about human life and she didn't even have her emotions shut off. In the back of his mind, he hoped for the sake of everyone around them they would never see that day.

Maggie glared at him, but didn't say anything. She didn't have any justification for not feeling the way he did about it.

"And when got I back last night, it sounded like someone was getting tortured down there," Stefan kept going, recalling how much restraint it took him to give the time alone Maggie had requested when he heard that. "And then that stunt you pulled out the woods with Caroline," Stefan ticked off another point as his breath ran out, clearly at a loss.

He finished with a sigh, "This isn't you, Maggie." He wasn't the type to shout, he didn't need to. The disappointment was thick in his face and the genuine concern on his expression could melt most people.

But Maggie wasn't most people and something about that last line caused something to snap in her mind.

She leaned up off the desk to go nose-to-nose with the Salvatore. His arms dropped from his chest and his shoulders tensed at the action, but he didn't back down. "See, that's the thing, Stefan," Maggie hissed out lowly, his eyes a poisonous shade of green. "I've hardly been here a few months and everyone gets in their fucking head that they have the slightest idea who I really am."

Stefan's head jerked back slightly at her words, but she didn't back off from his personal space and kept going. "The truth is, you and everyone else have no idea what I look like when I'm not so angry it nearly consumes me every hour of the day," That anger stemmed from more than just Damon kidnapping her, but compounded the hurt and loss of the past year as well. Being a vampire just amplified everything. "They haven't seen me when I'm not fighting the urge to just _snap_ and lash out, _especially_ since my transition."

Maggie took a deep breath between her words, her eye staring unflinchingly into Stefan's. "They don't see the way I have to constantly wind myself up and tell myself that I'm strong enough to do this, hoping that if I keep saying it that maybe one day it'll be true," Maggie stopped for a moment, biting down on her lower lip to blink away the threat of tears from her admission before continuing.

"So before you go judging my involvement with Kol, there is one thing you should know," Maggie's harshness slipped into more of an unyielding determination. "_Today_ was the first time in this wretched new existence of mine that I woke up and the blood didn't control my every action. For the first time I really started to believe that I could be around my family again. He makes me believe that tomorrow might be a little better than today_, that_ is what Kol does for me. He gives me something I haven't had in a long time…"

"Hope," Stefan actually managed to finish her last sentence, stirring from his stunned silence.

Maggie rocked back on her heels and took a step back from Stefan. She was a bit surprised to find he picked up so easily on what she was trying to express. She just nodded firmly to confirm his guess. Hope wasn't something she allowed herself to have since the day that Rick told them that Dr. Jenner had informed him everyone carried the walker virus.

A brief silence fell upon the room while Maggie's words properly sunk in with Stefan. He hadn't been expecting such an honest admission from her.

"I'm not going to say I understand what you feel," Stefan declared when he finally formed his thoughts. He couldn't say that either, because he knew those deaths would mean more to him, but he held onto the idea that maybe someday they would to her.

"But I've been down this path before," He continued sincerely, knowing the slippery slope it can be to losing it and Lexi had been the one to give him hope. "And you don't have to do this alone, Maggie." He boldly decided to reach out and grasp her upper arm to emphasize his point.

Maggie remained still under the reassuring squeeze. Her eyes moved down to his hand and she took a controlled deep breath before looking back up at him. "You want to help me?" She clarified, earning a quick nod from Stefan. She leaned forward slightly, "Then start by trusting me."

She reached up to the back of his neck and looked him directly in the eyes, repeating her words to emphasize their meaning to her, "Trust me, Stefan." Her tone came out softer, having trouble being remaining irritated with him when he really did seem to want to look out for her.

Stefan stared back at her almost blankly before he finally nodded his head. "Okay," He gave in quietly.

Maggie let out a small sigh and dropped her hand from him. Before she could say anything else, the door to his bedroom was yanked openly roughly. Both vampires turned their heads to the intruder to see Rebekah leaning impatiently against the doorframe. It was then Maggie remembered there was a rather crowded party going on downstairs and she wondered how much she heard.

"Are you two done yet?" Rebekah asked in a bored tone. "They're clearing out the furniture in the living room and I want someone to dance with that isn't some grabby washed up jock." Her eyes were mostly on Maggie, not wanting Stefan to hog anymore of her new friend's attention at the moment.

"I'll be down in a minute," Maggie conceded with a smile growing on her face. Rebekah didn't think much of how close the two stood with the serious expressions they wore.

The Original disappeared quickly from the doorway, leaving the two in silence once more. Not wanting to keep Rebekah waiting too long and wanting to push away the gravity of their conversation, Maggie began to move towards the doorway herself.

Maggie paused by the doorframe, stopping herself with a hand on it to look back at Stefan. One thought came to her and she added on finally, "He flipped the switch last night."

She left him with that and went back downstairs.

* * *

Rebekah was right. When Maggie came downstairs, some of the brawly jocks she had been referring to moved out most of the furniture from the living room. The only thing left in its place was the piano, because quite frankly no one was going to move that or mess with it. The couches were pushed back against the wall and Maggie shook her head at the bodies moving in the middle of the room.

Rebekah showed back up with a fresh bottle of liquor and Maggie pulled her out onto the makeshift dance floor. Between passing it back and forth, and trying to convince her modern music wasn't as awful as it seemed, Maggie was finally able to get her to loosen up for a bit.

Maggie eventually found herself laughing and enjoying herself again. She switched between dancing with Rebekah and by herself. Most of the other people kept their distance from the two vampires. Whether it was from fear or awe, she didn't care. A few men she had to send away with a harsh glare or a couple of choice words. Once in a while she spotted the sight of Caroline, Matt and she even thought she saw that hybrid Tyler out of the corner of her eye. But they kept their distance and she suspected that had more to do with the Original at her side.

It was easier to not think about everything when she just focused on the music and the movements of her own body. The same one that felt better than it had in a long time. It had been hours since she drank Kol's blood and she didn't feel a fleeting moment of nausea. The alcohol only helped to drown out the remaining reminder of the beating hearts in the house.

She felt a pair of hands place themselves on her hips. Instantly, the irritation flared up again. Maggie stopped her steps and spun around, spouting out warningly, "Hey! Hands off, a-" Her words stopped short when her eyes were met by blue ones. "Damon?"

"Last time I checked," The Salvatore answered her with a confident smirk, enjoying the way surprised reaction that morphed into a smile on Maggie's face. He took the opportunity to pull the liquor bottle from her hand while his other arm wrapped around her waist to pull Maggie closer.

Maggie caught her hands on his shoulders while he took a swig from the bottle. "And here I was beginning to think you were going to skip your own party," Maggie teased him lightly, her eyes passing over him. In typical Damon style, he wore a black button up shirt and his hair fell a little bit messily over his eyes.

"It was tempting," Damon grinned, "But just so happens all the slutty ex-cheerleaders are here tonight, so I thought I would drop by for a drink." He appreciated the way that Maggie wasn't put off by his double meaning, unlike another doppelganger that would reprimand him for it.

"Well I was thinking of setting some of these jocks up to ride walker shotgun in Stefan's Porsche, want to help?" Maggie countered, thinking how tempted she had been to snap a neck or two.

Damon couldn't tell how serious she was being, but snickered anyways. He reached behind him to shove the bottle away onto some teenager to have both hands free. "Devious, I like it," He murmured and reached his now free hand up to her face. Admittedly, that wasn't the type of hunger he was interested in when he spotted Maggie dancing in the living room.

"Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?" Damon said with a slight pout, his hand cupping Maggie's cheek gently.

Maggie gave a snort and gave him a look that said there was a fat chance in that ever happening. What kept her from saying anything though was the way that his thumb stroked her skin lightly and she inhaled sharply. She didn't think much of how close she was standing to him and the arm on her waist, until his eyes dropped down to her lips.

He smirked at her look and started to lean down towards her. Before she could really think anything of it, Maggie turned her head away at the last moment. Her stomach knotted uncomfortably and in the back of her mind she knew why. But as she turned, she spotted Elena Gilbert walking into the living room. The doppelganger clearly caught a sight of them as she felt Damon's lips on her cheek.

Damn, for a brief moment she had wished she let Damon kiss her just to annoy the Gilbert. But with their eye contact, if she did anything more it would be obvious it was just for show. Though seeing the way Elena practically sucked a lemon at the sight of them was priceless too.

Damon frowned as he pulled away from Maggie. He didn't get it. There she goes being hot and cold again. He had thought they were making some progress the last time he saw her on the porch at Carol's cottage.

"Come here," Damon requested, using the arm hooked around her waist to pull her away from the center of the room by one of the far walls where one of the couches was pushed up against. Maggie bit her lip at the sudden change in his demeanor, knowing she was the cause of it.

"It's funny last night, I've been drinking some of the shine from the Lewis brothers. The problem with that homemade stuff, if you don't quite know what you're doing it can start to mess with your head and cause you to see weird things," Damon told his story of his usual drunkenness like there was another meaning to it.

Maggie stared back at him with slow apprehension. She didn't get the point of all this. "Okay… and why are you telling me this?" She asked frankly. Briefly out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Elena trying to weave between people, heading straight in their direction.

"Because a hallucination is the only logical explanation that I could come up with," Damon's tone had a sarcastic bite to it, "For why I saw _Kol Mikaelson_ sneaking out of the room you were sleeping in _my _house."

Maggie felt like someone sucked the air right out of her lungs at that statement. Well damn, she had asked Stefan to keep him away for a few hours. Apparently that doesn't apply to the entire night.

Damon glared down at her while her mouth opened and closed, trying to come up with a response. At first, he really had thought he was seeing things when he spotted the Original slipping out of the guest room in the hallway. He didn't know if it made it better or worse the arrogant prick had flashed him a cheeky smirk and continued down the hallway without saying a word. By the time Damon overcame his shock, he was already gone.

"Did you just say _Kol_'s been here, too?" Elena cut into the conversation before Maggie managed to say anything. She stood between the two of them, her eyes darted back and forth, but mostly cautiously staying on Maggie.

"Eavesdropping is rude," Maggie snapped back at her quickly, refusing to take her eyes off of Damon. The interruption was at least giving her a few moments more to think of something to say in response to him, but she wasn't letting that show.

Elena folded her arms over her chest pointedly. "Yeah, so is bringing uninvited Originals into this house," She retorted, getting tired of the Leavey doppelganger's attitude. Damon opened his mouth to protest something, but he stopped and his eyebrows rose at that. She did have a point there.

This caused Maggie to turn her head sharply towards Elena. "And I don't see how my actions are of any concern to _you_," She hissed out lowly, taking a step forward to glare down at her.

Damon began to get a little irritated his discussion had been cut short and was about to intervene when Elena piped up, "It became my business when you started threatening the ones I care about." She raised her chin defiantly to Maggie's intimidating stance.

Damon was thoroughly confused at this point. Wait, he thought, when did Maggie threaten anyone? He quirked an eyebrow, his eyes darted furiously between the two.

Maggie clenched her teeth together. She didn't know if Elena was referring more to Caroline or Jeremy with that comment, but she didn't have the patience for her right now. She gave an aggravated roll of her eyes before looking Elena directly. "Oh, would you just _sit down and shut up_, Elena," She hissed out forcefully, "I'll deal with you later."

Damon's eyes widened briefly at her bluntness. Elena opened her mouth and let out a scoff, but she didn't say anything. Then she moved to the couch they were standing by and took a very purposeful seat, crossing her legs and glaring up at Maggie, like she was intending to hold her to that.

Maggie shook her head at her antics. Insolent child, she thought bitterly, but at least she was finally quiet. She turned her head back to Damon, who recovered quickly from the confusion of the interruption and raised his eyebrows at her expectantly.

"Okay, yes Kol was here last night. I had a dispute to settle with him and it's really hard to explain, Damon," Maggie said with a sigh, not wanting to get too much into the specifics, especially with so many ears around them.

Elena frowned as she sat on the couch. Wait, did she really just do that? She uncrossed her legs, setting them down with her hands on either side of her with the intentions of standing up. But she didn't. She wanted to say something about that fact, but nothing would form in her voice box.

"Really? Well how about you humor me and try?" Damon retorted, he was having enough trouble trying to swallow her hanging around Kol. He didn't need it flaunted in his face like that. He felt Elena reaching forward and tugging on the sleeve of his shirt. "Not now, Elena," He muttered and swatted her hand away from him absently.

"Damon, I really don't think this is the best time to get into it," Maggie's voice softened to try to plead with him. It was hard to come across sincere with the way Elena was waving her hands at the two of them and she did her best to ignore it.

"Then when, Maggie?" Damon's tone remained short and his irritation grew when Elena tugged on his sleeve again. "What?!" He whipped his head towards her. The brown eyes were glaring up at him and her mouth was pressed into a thin line of aggravation.

Finally getting some of his attention, Elena made a very purposeful point towards her mouth and then gesture with both hands up and down in front of her. Damon just blinked at her and shook his head incredulously at her, "Just spit out already, Elena."

Again Elena pointed back towards her mouth, practically burning holes into Damon with her eyes at this point. Maggie gave a short sigh, "What's gotten into her?"

"Now's not a good time for charades," Damon said impatiently and was about to turn back towards Maggie when Elena stopped her foot rather loudly and defiantly. Her stubbornness made him start to think she was being very serious.

Elena pointed once more towards her mouth. "Okay, mouth… talking," Damon made guesses, trying to understand the bizarre gesturing. At talking, Elena shook her head. "Can't talk?" Damon raised an eyebrow and Elena nodded eagerly in affirmation.

She then used both hands to gesture up and down in front of herself. It clicked in Damon's mind that she was referring to sitting and he thought he got it. But at the same time, he couldn't understand it. "Sit down and shut up," Damon muttered, his eyes widening as he repeated Maggie's words. Elena nodded again, looking like she could almost jump out of her seat and snapped her fingers a bit that Damon was on the right track.

Maggie's annoyance slipped into bafflement at the odd exchange. Damon shook his head ever so slightly, as if the concept in his mind made no sense. He looked back in forth between the doppelgangers and pointed to the relative one as he questioned, "Did you just _compel_ her?"

"What? No," Maggie frowned immediately at the impossible suggestion. Elena glared at her, but kept nodding her head. Still not a single word passed from her lips. "Did I?" She couldn't help but mumble then.

Damon's mouth hung open in an 'O' for a long moment, almost waiting to see if this was some sort of prank. Though, the pissy look on Elena's expression told him she didn't find this the least bit amusing. "_How_ is that even possible?" He turned to Maggie in disbelief.

Maggie took a step back, her brows furrowing deeply as the two vampires looked to her for an answer.

"I haven't the slightest clue," She lied in a low and slow response.

* * *

"What do you mean she's compelled?" Caroline questioned dubiously, mostly looking at Damon. The crowd gathered around Elena grew with the addition of the Forbes vampire. The doppelganger in question remained sitting on the couch, with her arms crossed and in seething silence, mostly reserved for Maggie.

Her antics drew the attention of Caroline. Maggie could only guess that Rebekah was off somewhere harassing Stefan or Matt. Damon didn't come up with a viable theory to how Maggie compelled Elena and Maggie wasn't about to offer up anything as far as she was concerned. "Well, you see Caroline, that's what happens when you don't eat your veggies like I told you to," Damon's eyes flickered with a smirk, referring to drinking vervain.

Caroline shook her head at his sarcasm, shifting her attention to Maggie, who was taking a sip from her earlier liquor bottle. "Well, you're going to remove it, right? You have to, you can't just leave her there," She gestured impatiently towards the couch.

Maggie regarded Caroline with a cool blank mask. _Have to_? What did these Mystic Fools think animosities would momentarily disappear at the sudden appearance of the latest conundrum? Maybe that's how it worked before she arrived, but she wasn't going to drink the Kool-Aid of that one.

"I don't think I will, actually," Maggie disagreed, earning an alarmed look from both Caroline and Damon. At least Damon was more subtle about it, Maggie picked up tightening at the corner of his eyes at her statement. She could almost hear Elena grinding her teeth together.

"Seriously?" Caroline scoffed at the immaturity of just leaving Elena there and they couldn't do anything about it, even if they got Rebekah to help. One compulsion couldn't override another. She would step closer to Maggie to get in her face, but Damon was already standing between the two females.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Oh relax, it was an accidental compulsion at best. I want to see how long it takes for her to break it," Maggie explained in a half truth.

Damon inclined his head slightly with a thoughtful frown. She had a point he had to admit. "Here that," He smirked towards Elena, "Less leering, more speaking and you'll be up in no time."

"Exactly," Maggie grinned smugly, appreciative at least someone could see the humor of the situation. She bent over a bit and leaned closer to Elena, but still remained out of arms' reach, to taunt her, "Think of it as time-out for all the _mean _and _nasty_ things you've said about me." Maggie paused in mock thought and then amended her statement, "Or at least a chance to think of some new ones."

Elena glared at her and her lip curled up in anger, but said nothing. Maggie grinned tauntingly at her, thinking she looked about as maniacal as a kitten. Standing upright again, Maggie caught Damon trying to fight a smirk off his face at her dig.

She flashed him a wink and handed the liquor bottle off to him before slipping from the room swiftly.

Damon heard a low, albeit girly, growl come from Caroline and move to follow after the doppelganger. But he stepped in the way, blocking her path with his free hand on her shoulder. "Whoa, there Action-Barbie, put the claws away," Damon warned her while trying to keep his tone light.

"Really, Damon? You're taking _her_ side in this?" Caroline spat at him, wanting to shove past him, but the older vampire wasn't having any of it.

"No, I'm on the side that doesn't involve you getting your ass handed to you by Maggie's Original sidekick," Damon retorted, leaving out his suspicions about just how dangerous Maggie could be right now if she was somehow able to compel vampires.

Maggie managed to catch up with Rebekah and Stefan in the crowded main hallway. She could feel the alcohol starting to burn out of her system. If the alcohol was starting to go, then the blood she drank earlier was likely to go soon completely too. She didn't want to stick around for that. Especially since the pounding of the hearts around her was starting to become more prominent.

"Rebekah!" Maggie called out to the Original, causing her to turn around. Stefan looked like he was a little relieved to get an interruption from the blonde's company. "I need to leave, but can you let me know later when Elena gets out of detention?"

"Sure," The blonde agreed at first and then furrowed her brows in confusion. "Wait, what exactly do you mean?" She had to raise her voice a bit because Maggie was already turning away, heading for the front door.

Maggie just waved a hand behind her, "Just look in the living room and you'll see!"

* * *

Maggie pulled the SUV up to the front of the Mikaelson mansion. This time she didn't bother knocking at the front door. Rebekah was still at the party, which only left the possibility of Kol and Elijah being home. She wasn't particularly afraid of running into Elijah, but she didn't see the point in troubling him by knocking.

Maggie opened the front door, which of course wasn't locked, and wandered into the foyer of the massive home. She could see a few lights on the first floor were on, but the upstairs was mostly dark. Her attention was stolen by the wandering noises of explosions and bullets, but there was something artificial about them. Following the noises, Maggie walked through the entryway of some sort of entertainment room.

She stopped at the sight of the large TV featured in the middle of the room and the video game rendering a bright glow upon the room. The corner of her lips tugged upwards at recognizing Kol lounging on the couch with his feet on the coffee table in front of it. She stepped behind the couch and shook her head, "Many households still don't have power… but you have Call of Duty." Not like anyone would try to argue with the Original about the power usage, but she would love to see them try.

Kol didn't startle at her presence, having heard the front door open. He just smirked without taking his eyes off the screen or even turning his head. "That's social hierarchy at its finest, darling. Even the most utopian and equalitarian ideals have been consistently flawed in practice throughout history," He then paused with an amused half shrug, "Engels would be rolling his grave."

Maggie could hear the clicking of the controller in his hands while she moved around the couch. She frowned thoughtfully at his words, she was able to follow them but the last part threw her. "You mean Marx?" She corrected when it clicked in her mind as she approached him.

"Nope, Engels," Kol reaffirmed confidently without pausing in the first person shooter.

Maggie blinked, but tried to force that curiosity away. That was a history lesson for another day. Instead she boldly wrapped one arm around his shoulders and in the same motion sat down in his lap. Kol sat up straighter at the gesture immediately, his eyebrows rising. He compensated for it quickly by looping an arm behind her, barely managing to avoid a fatal wound in the game from the interruption.

"So it seems like half of Mystic Falls showed up at that party I dragged Rebekah to, at least the ones with a curfew," Maggie commented casually, as if there was nothing unusual about her choice in seating location.

"Uh huh," Kol just mumbled out and Maggie had to admit the clicking of the controller was more annoying now as a vampire, it was so much louder.

"The company was a little lacking, I guess that's not too surprising," Maggie continued on, Kol still didn't tear his eyes off the TV. She wondered if he had even noticed the difference from her usual clothing. "But you would never guess who I compelled."

Maggie grinned, but it slowly fell from her face as the silence continued from Kol. Thousand year old vampire or teenage boy, apparently they get absorbed by video games all the same.

"Kol, are you even listening?" Maggie said with a soft sigh while keeping her hands looped around his shoulders.

"Of course I am," He answered easily enough, still not looking off the screen. "However, I know that the Founding Families are on vervain and the rest of the population I quite frankly don't care about. So as you said, yes, I would likely never guess who you compelled," His tone was matter of fact without being insulting.

It was Maggie's turn to smirk smugly this time. "Not _every_ Founding family member," She corrected in an almost gleeful tone.

She noticed his gaze faltered this time, expressing the subtle interest in his eyes. They flickered briefly between the screen and her, as if trying to decide which was more important. A glance at her urged her to continue.

"I compelled Elena Gilbert," Maggie declared.

Kol's brows furrowed and hit the pause on the game immediately. The noises and explosions ceased. He slowly set the controller down on the seat cushion next to him. The now free hand behind her back moved to rest on her hip while his right hand went to the top of her thigh. He looked up to her, due to the angle of her seat she was the taller one for a change, with a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

"Now,_ that_ is fascinating," He agreed in low tone. His eyes darted over her appearance, which his thoughts were too occupied to fully appreciate at the moment.

"I have a theory about it, too," Maggie's words drew Kol's eyes back up to hers with a quirk of his eyebrow. "I think I'm only as strong as the vampire blood that I drink," She stated it simply and seeing as how tired she was beginning to feel all of the sudden, or rather her senses beginning to dull, she would guess his blood was passing out of her system.

Kol cocked his head slightly at that, taking a moment to think about it. That was a possibility, she was remarkably stronger after drinking his blood. He wouldn't consider her his equal in strength, but definitely something to recognize. And if she really compelled another vampire, only an Original could do that, like the blood she drank earlier in the day.

"It seems logical," Kol agreed after a few moments. He looked down from her face and at the way she openly sat his lap. The hand on her thigh moved up and down slowly while he further considered her actions and words.

"So is this your shameless attempt at asking me for more blood?" Kol teased her with a smirk and a dark glint in his eyes. His tone was light, but she could see the seriousness hidden behind it.

"Is it that obvious?" Maggie's nose wrinkled up slightly in a sheepish manner as she countered his question.

Maggie felt the rumble through his chest of a chuckle. She felt the hand on her thigh tightening fractionally. The hand on her hip moved up and down her side while he mulled over the possibility. Maggie bit the inside of her lip and tried not to think about what they were doing the last time she was this close to him.

"Okay," Kol declared once an offer came to mind. "I'll let you drink my blood and help you control the urges under two conditions."

Maggie didn't bother hiding her interest and nodded for him to continue. The hand on her thigh removed itself to rise up and cup her cheek gently. Naturally, she leaned into the touch but kept her eyes focused on his.

"First, no one is to know that you're drinking my blood," Kol stipulated in a serious tone.

Maggie nodded almost immediately. She knew how serious the bloodsharing would be, but she knew he would do it in a manner more concerned with control than the intimacy of it. She doubted most would understand that and she didn't want to deal with trying to get them to. "Of course," She agreed, "And the other term?"

Kol's lips pulled up into a deliberately slow grin while his thumb moved to trace her lower lip lightly. "Only my blood, darling, no drinking the blood of any other vampires," Perhaps not the fairest request, but he couldn't help himself.

Maggie's eyes flickered briefly between his hand and his eyes. "Not even Damon's blood?" She clarified, mostly thinking of the fact she already had drank his on a couple of occasions and knew the taste.

"_Especially_ not Damon's blood," Kol's words came out as a low growl from his throat.

Maggie couldn't help but grin a bit at his reaction, seeing the way his brow line hardened at the question. To ease him of it, she leaned forward to brush her lips against his, murmuring the simple word she often favored, "Deal."

* * *

_Author's Note: Kolie!_

_That just seems to be the most appropriate word to start these notes. So let me hear your thoughts on all the Original action! Kol returning to the mansion after seeing Maggie was a nod to the one of Rebekah in the show (as well as Kol playing the video game… and Maggie crushing Caroline's hand, instead of Kol and Matt… okay there was a lot of show references this chapter!), I hoped you liked it! Next chapter will have more Elijah and awesomeness._

_How about Maggie literally putting Elena in time out? Anyone think there is someone else she may have accidentally compelled? _

_I apologize for how long this author's note will be, there was a lot of questions last chapter and I want to address them all. _

_THANK YOU EVERYONE for the awesome responses and love last chapter! Please keep it up, it really motivated me to get this chapter out sooner than I was expecting!_

_Review responses –_

_Sam: Unfortunately the Governor and Woodbury will not be in this story, it's mostly TVD dominated, but I have been rolling around the possibility of a sequel in which they would be._

_KlausLover: Thank you so much! There will be more Klaus soon, he won't stay gone for too long!_

_Z: I wish I could but The Walking Dead never explained where the infection came from, so I couldn't if I tried!_

_Lisa123: I hope this chapter answers your question, but also gives you something to ponder about their relationship._

_M: Stubborn is as stubborn does! I'm glad you loved it so much and it was still heartfelt without either of them dropping the L word. I just quite frankly can't see either character jumping into it. (Yes, Maggie dropped the word quickly on the show with Glenn, but she was more idealistic and hopeful in season 2 of TWD than the Maggie we see in season 3 and I feel like she's learned from that experience) I hope all the reactions seemed realistic in this chapter, especially with Stefan and Rebekah. Rebekah was kinda pushing from Kolie from the beginning. _

_Ron: I initially did but you can only put a story in one category or another, so I went this one since it was mostly TVD focused. _

_Kellie: Thank you so much, that means a lot it was a tough scene to write. And no I didn't mean that line literally, it was just saying metaphorically that Kol had her heart in his hand and he could have not just literally ripped it out, but emotionally when she was pushing him._

_IrishBeauty: Haha the fangirling is amazing, I love it. :D And yep, you called it on the vampire blood. I think Jeth should be the official ship name for Jeremy and Beth, sounds good to me! You're awesome, girl, keep it up!_

_Eby Mikaelson: Soooo…. I take it you liked last chapter, yeah? ;D_

_Sky410: I think that's a very interesting point you bring up about her transition, which may or may not be addressed next chapter. ;) But yes, there will be more Daryl and Rebekah scenes. And if you mean the other WD clan as the Grimes' and Greene's, not currently but that will change. (If you mean Woodbury, then no)_

_You guys are awesome! Please review!_


	50. Chapter 50

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_OneRepublic – Something I Need_

_Scene: Mikaelson Mansion_

_Matthew West – Family Tree_

_Scene: Jeremy and Maggie talking_

_Chapter Fifty_

Maggie's eyes flickered briefly between his hand and his eyes. "Not even Damon's blood?" She clarified, mostly thinking of the fact she already had drank his on a couple of occasions and knew the taste.

"_Especially_ not Damon's blood," Kol's words came out as a low growl from his throat.

Maggie couldn't help but grin a bit at his reaction, seeing the way his brow line hardened at the question. To ease him of it, she leaned forward to brush her lips against his, murmuring the simple word she often favored, "Deal."

* * *

She felt his lips loosen up to return the gentle kiss briefly before he pulled away. A smirk worked its way up on Kol's face while the hand on her cheek moved to tuck a few stray hairs behind her ear. Maybe it wasn't the most moralistic way to go about it, but he was going to make her his.

Leaning back, Maggie's eyes wandered over Kol's face while she thought about what she just agreed to. It wasn't exactly the most independent decision she ever made, but her other options didn't look a whole lot better. Every human blood bag was playing Russian roulette with the potential to kill her from what she could guess.

One concern came to mind about the conditions however. "When I stole the blood from the hospital, I got Elijah to agree to cover for me if I told him how it progresses," Maggie bit her lip slightly. "What should I tell him?"

Kol's expression pulled together thoughtfully in silence. At first Maggie was concerned that he would get upset with her making such an agreement. She felt a soft sigh pass through his chest. "You can tell him," He conceded reluctantly after he mulled it over and explained honestly, "Elijah would be able to tell if you lied to him and I don't think he would do anything about it."

Maggie nodded and relaxed back against him. Kol kept her pulled against him and rested his other hand in his lap, or rather hers with the way she was sitting. She noticed while he tried to keep the lighthearted and witty attitude about him, there was still something off in his eyes. There was the small hint of something raw to them. Maybe it was there or she was searching hard for something that wasn't.

But she felt sure it was, she knew that look. "How's the pain?" She asked in a quiet whisper. She didn't bother asking if he was okay or how he was doing, skipping any of those shallow typical questions. The brokenness she witnessed in the basement cell and his memories still haunted her.

"I'm coping," Kol answered simply with a half shrug at first. He averted his eyes from her direct gaze, hoping to get away with the vague response.

Maggie's eyes narrowed slightly on him and she didn't comment. It wasn't exactly an accusing stare, but an expectant one. She waited and felt a deeper sigh move through his shoulders then. He leaned his head back against the cushion of the couch and absently reached his hand up to rub against his chest, over his heart. Like he was trying to wipe away an ache that wasn't there.

"It comes and goes. Some times are worse than others," His tone dropped into one stripped of any cheek or deception. He gave a short nod towards the television. "I've been trying to distract myself with something other than my usual vices – blood and alcohol," A ghost of a smirk appeared at that and his eyes wandered back to Maggie.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow. He didn't really sound like the turning a new leaf type of person.

"Seeing as there's a distinct shortage in both currently," Kol then added on quickly in a nonchalant tone, more concerned with the availability of them than the morality. It wasn't that he wouldn't go out and kill a person or two, humanity just couldn't afford a blood bath right now if he wanted to have anything to feed on later.

Maggie snorted, that sounded like the Kol she was falling for. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she considered what he must be feeling. She wondered what it felt like to have everything ripped open that he had so carefully kept shut tight before. And in one of the few instances, she wanted to help but also knew there wasn't really that much she could do.

She was here though. She touched his cheek carefully, tracing the angles of his jawline lightly and soaking in the moment between them.

The grin on his lips brightened at her next question. "Do you have another controller then?" She smirked and glanced towards the game. She had never really been a tub of ice cream and watching chick flicks like the Notebook type of girl anyway.

* * *

"Would you quit being such a camper, Margaret!" Kol snapped out, his face scrunched up in annoyance and he ignored the sound of the front door opening in the house.

"Nah-uh, I have to get an edge in somehow," Maggie snickered while her fingers flickered away furiously on the second controller. It was probably the first time she heard him use her full name not out of real anger. Virtual competitiveness didn't count.

She could practically feel him shooting her a sour look next to her. To play the game, she moved off of his lap, sitting next to Kol, and she kicked off her boots, putting her feet up on the coffee table too. At first she had been really surprised how up on the game he was, but apparently that was something he picked up from Jeremy in Denver.

"Oh no, Maggie, not you too," Rebekah's voice carried over the sound of the gunshots. The blonde's shoulders sagged and she shook her head when she spotted the two vampires on the couch. Dress Maggie up and she still ended up being a tomboy in some way or another. "Don't encourage it," She huffed at the video game.

"Sorry, Bekah!" Maggie replied thoughtlessly while glancing over her shoulder at the Original.

"Headshot!" Kol called out, causing Maggie's head to whip back to the screen. "What! No, that's not fair, I wasn't looking," She whined, scrunching her nose up into a pout.

Rebekah instinctively opened her mouth to protest the use of that nickname again, but she stopped. She folded her arms and leaned against the entryway to the room, watching the way Kol leaned in to whisper something in Maggie's ear with a smirk. The doppelganger shook her head in response, fighting the urge to roll her eyes and smile at the same time.

The blonde decided to let it go and pursed her lips thoughtfully looking at her brother. As if suddenly remembering something, Maggie paused the game. "Oh hey, did Elena's compulsion break?" Maggie half turned in her seat to look at Rebekah more clearly. Maggie had a feeling it did with how tired she felt. She figured if an Original's compulsion broke when they got daggered, hers probably only lasted as long as that blood was in her veins.

Rebekah's expression pulled up into a knowing grin. "Oh yes, and she threw quite the little temper tantrum," She answered in a tone lacking any remorse or sympathy. "You might want to watch your back for a while, we all know she won't stake you to your face," Rebekah warned with a sneer that wasn't directed at Maggie.

Maggie half shrugged, having not really been expecting anything else. Kol however, turned his head sharply in his seat. He didn't particularly like the sound of that threat, even if he didn't know how serious it was or not. "You're staying here tonight," Kol stated firmly, like if it wasn't even open to discussion.

Maggie's head jerked back slightly and she raised a confrontational eyebrow at that. "Oh am I now?" Her tone was light and teasing, but her expression showed she wasn't terribly amused by his aggressiveness.

Kol sighed at her reaction and she could see him reining back his initial attitude with a deep breath. "You're staying here tonight… please?" He amended his statement with a slight pout in his eyes, but the last word sounded like it almost physically pained him to say it.

"That's better," Maggie smirked and her posture eased back into the cushion of the couch again. She hadn't really intended on leaving anyway. It was very late at night, or early in the morning depending how you looked at it, and she would've used that an excuse to stay beside the obvious reason.

"Right…" Rebekah interrupted them, her eyes darting between the two suspiciously. "How exactly did you compel Elena?" She questioned while making a mental note to dissect Kol's behavior lately.

Maggie shook her head noncommittally. "Don't know," She lied smoothly, having given a chance to think of it while playing the game with Kol. "It must be just some weird doppelganger vampire thing," She feigned innocence while tossing a hand lightly in the air.

"Huh," Rebekah clicked her tongue and couldn't see the way Kol was smirking because his head was turned. "Right, well I'm going to bed now. I'll leave you some clothes to borrow in the guest room, Maggie," She stood up from leaning against the wood briskly.

Maggie nodded and spoke sincerely, "Thank you, Rebekah. Good night." She hadn't even realized she said the nickname earlier, having been so used to hearing it from Kol. The male Original just waved a hand briefly behind him towards his sister, his attention already stolen back by the game.

When Kol was the last one left awake in the house, he had slouched further down in the large cushions of the couch. With a yawn covered by the back of his hand, he shut down the game for the last time that evening. Maggie had her legs tugged up on the couch, turned on her side and using his stomach as a pillow. Rubbing some of the glare from the lights of the game away from his eyes, he stopped and looked at the young woman for a long moment.

He set the controller down out of the way and let that hand run up lightly on her arm. He felt her stir a bit, almost nuzzling her cheek and trying to find a more comfortable angle. He smirked the way she chose to stubbornly curl up like that instead of going up to the guestroom.

She was certainly something else and he hung onto every moment of it.

* * *

Maggie didn't really know what to expect waking up in the Mikaelson mansion. She vaguely recalled being carried upstairs and set down in some blankets. She didn't really bother stirring too much when she felt a familiar whispering in her ear, "Sleep, love." She wasn't going to argue with that. The morning came faster than she expected it to. Maybe she should have expected Kol to wake her up by throwing open the curtains like he did the other time.

What she definitely did not expect was being abruptly woken by the succession of four explosions. Maggie's eyes snapped open and she sat up immediately in alarm. What confused her was how clearly she heard the noises, it was almost like the pop of gunshots, but it was off. She didn't feel any other vibrations and it didn't sound like it was close to her, but it was definitely somewhere within the house.

She looked around her, spotting the extra clothes that Rebekah had left for her on the dresser. She was currently wearing a pair of sweatpants and one of Kol's shirts. On the nightstand next to her there was a stainless steel coffee mug. Even though the lid was on it, she caught the faintest aroma coming from it. Without giving it any thought, she snatched it up and let out a content sigh when she tasted the first drops of the crimson liquid.

Her hands tightened around it steel and she drained every last drop she could from the mug. It took a few moments for the veins to settle back down around her eyes. Briefly, she wondered why she didn't take off this time, but figured not having the temptation of the blood source near her was to blame. Feeling alert and still concerned about the explosions, Maggie climbed out of bed and padded down the hallway to the stairs.

She saw the smoke gathering along the ceiling before she saw the mess in the kitchen. The room itself was very open and large, having a modern and updated feel to it. The island was custom built to accommodate six bar stools, instead of the usual two or three. At the very far end was Elijah sitting with a mug of coffee or blood or maybe both. He had several sheets of paper in front of him and a book. He looked like he was in the middle of some important business.

What caught her attention was Kol standing in front of the overhead microwave. Well, what she should say was left of the microwave. The door of the appliance lay on the floor across the room and smoke poured out of the box. Kol's face was twisted up in annoyance and confusion while he was waving a dish towel in front of it.

"What the hell is going on?" Maggie skipped any pleasantries, trying to make sense of the scene before her.

Kol looked up, not having heard her arrival. While she was standing there in her borrowed pajamas and bedhead, he was already dressed and showered for the day. He shook his head in bewilderment and momentarily looked confused in a childish way. "I just wanted to make some eggs," Kol frowned. It was so much easier when Klaus had his servants or at least a couple of hybrids around. He didn't get the urge to eat human food often, but this did not go according to plan.

Maggie scratched the back of her head and tried to smooth down some of her hair as she moved into the kitchen. She noticed the tray of eggs that Kol had pulled out onto the counter. Sure enough, there were four of them missing. She looked up to the microwave and then it dawned on her. "Oh, Kol," She almost couldn't believe she was saying this because it seemed so obvious to any other person. "Please tell me you didn't put them in the microwave."

That certainly explained the foul smell and the splattered mess inside of it.

"Are these things not for fast cooking?" Kol tensed his shoulders in a defensive tone. How was he supposed to know these eggs would turn into homemade grenades instead?

She took the dish towel from him quickly to more effectively get rid of the smoke around the appliance. "Elijah, why did you let him do this?" Maggie called out, not entirely sure she wanted to be the one to clean this up.

The eldest Original's pen paused on his paper and looked up at Maggie's back with a raised eyebrow. "_Let_?" He repeated her word carefully. "The manner which you use that word suggests there's a way to stop Kol once he sets his mind to something." Personally, the older brother was fine with getting a lesson through Kol's thick skull by blowing himself up. It would heal eventually.

Maggie shook her head and before she could come up with a response her thoughts were cut short by a loud screeching noise. It was jarring and repeated itself systematically. Elijah didn't stir at the sound, but Maggie winced from the piercing. Kol visibly flinched and his hands shot up to cover his ears.

"Oi!" He shouted over the noise, even though it wasn't really necessarily. "What is _that_?"

"Smoke detectors," Maggie forced herself to relax her shoulders once she got used to the sound. The blank look on Kol's told her that term had no meaning to him. Right, a hundred years in a coffin, she had to remind herself. "We need to air out the smoke," She pointed out, noticing the slight haze in the room now that she was aware of it.

Kol nodded and went to the closest windows to open them while Maggie moved to find the switch for the overhead vent on the stove. As she did, she questioned aloud more to herself, "Why are these things even still working?" It seemed so weird to have functioning smoke detectors in a post-apocalyptic world, power or not.

"Many lithium batteries can last seven to ten years," Elijah answered monotonously without looking up from his papers.

Maggie shot the know-it-all an incredulous look before Kol came back in the kitchen. The screeching noise literally made her skin crawl. "How about you work on getting those to stop and I'll get a demolition-free breakfast," Maggie suggested. Kol perked up at that and didn't argue with her. He wasn't going to object to having someone else cook for him and getting out of the kitchen so to speak, even if it was for the greater safety of the rest of the inhabitants.

Maggie immediately went about turning on the stove top and pulling out a frying pan. She went to the fridge, surprised to find a mix of some food and blood in it. Well, mostly blood, but there were some foods she didn't know were still available. Original vampire perk, she figured.

The smoke was mostly gone from the kitchen when the alarms stopped going off. The smell still lingered in the air and for once she was cursing her heightened senses, but at least it was fading. She had just finished cracking the eggs into the pan when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She felt Kol stepping up behind her and tuck his chin against her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Maggie trying to fight the grin off at his behavior while she scrambled the eggs.

"Just observing and learning," Kol muttered in a mock innocent tone. "For future reference, of course."

Maggie rolled her eyes and chuckled, trying to focus more on cooking the eggs in front of her than relaxing into his hold. She felt his nose brush against the side of her neck first before his lips moved up to her ear to whisper, "Plus, I never got to properly say good morning, darling." Maggie bit her lower lip at that, especially when she felt those lips kissing down the side of her neck next.

She couldn't help tilting her head to the side, but was a bit worried about the open affection especially with Elijah nearby. "Kol," She warned in a low tone. It then occurred to her maybe he was doing this because Elijah was there, or maybe this was just a side of him she wasn't familiar with yet.

Whatever his reason may be, Kol pulled away with a smirk and let her finish cooking without further distraction. When the eggs were done, she served up one plate to Kol, who took a seat at the island, but not directly next to Elijah. "Aren't you going to have any?" Kol questioned curiously when she set the one plate down in front of him, noticing the lack of any others.

Maggie wrinkled her nose slightly and shook her head. There was nothing wrong with her cooking, she just didn't see the appeal to the human food still. "I haven't really missed human food," She refused.

Kol frowned slightly, not quite taking a bite of the food yet. "Have you even tried it?" He asked and the look on Maggie's voice told him the answer was still the same. So he promptly held the fork out to her and a smirk appeared on his face, "Come on, at least try it."

Maggie snorted at his stubborn coaxing. He refused to drop the fork, holding it out to her expectantly.

She let out a sigh, "Fine, alright!" She leaned over from the other side of the island and took the fork from him. Her eyes avoided his triumphant expression while she took a taste from the plate. She eyed the eggs a moment before slipping it into her mouth and legitimately giving the taste a chance.

It was exactly how she remembered eggs to taste. The flavor was stronger and the texture was more notable now. What she found odd was she couldn't decide if the taste was good or not. It was bland, but not exactly. It was just there and felt weird going down her throat, since she was used to more liquid than anything else by now.

"You're comparing it to the experience of drinking blood," Elijah's voice was the one to interrupt the silence. Maggie looked up to see the Original returning her gaze. His tone wasn't accusing but there was a mild level of interest there. "It will never compare to the bloodlust, but in time you can learn to see past that initial comparison and learn to appreciate the flavors of human food again."

Maggie nodded absently, feeling a little uncomfortable under Elijah's gaze. Then again, that probably more to do with the fact she was yet again underdressed in front of the Original brothers. She looked to Kol, who just gave a simple shrug to agree with the point Elijah made. Maggie quietly passed the fork back to Kol.

"I think I'll stick to blood anyway," Maggie commented and saw the knowing smirk on Kol's face while he diverted his attention to the plate.

The shuffling of papers from Elijah's end of the island caused her to look up. The Original apparently was done with what he was doing as he rose to a stand. "Since Kol is eating then, perhaps you would like to take a walk with me?" Elijah offered to Maggie, there was another layer of meaning behind his eyes to the question.

She knew he wanted to talk without being overheard. "Sure, just let me get changed first," She agreed, knowing she had to keep up her part of the agreement. Before she left the kitchen, she gave Kol a glance to see his fork stopped and his jaw clenched as he stared darkly down at the plate. He didn't say anything or look up however.

* * *

Maggie changed into a pair of jeans from Rebekah, but ultimately went to Kol's closet to raid one of his t-shirts before throwing her, well his, jacket and her usual pair of boots over the rest of the outfit. It was just more comfortable for her. She rejoined Elijah by the French doors to the patio, having inferred he was referring to a walk through the gardens once more.

She tucked her hands into her pockets and walked side by side with him. Even though it was a little different than last time, she was still a bit nervous to be around the Original. This time her concern came from the look on Kol's face in the kitchen and remembering the way he glared at Elijah last time. Maybe she was a little more in tune with it after everything going on with Kol lately, but she couldn't shake there was some meaning from it.

This time they diverged off into a different part of the gardens. Maggie's eyes passed over the flowers. Elijah seemed to be at ease beside her, but most of his expressions were largely impassive. She could never venture to guess what was going through his mind.

"I've been meaning to ask," Maggie broke the pleasant silence. "Who's the one with the green thumb?" She grinned and nodded towards the flowers.

"Ah, that would be a hobby of Rebekah's," Elijah acknowledged, glancing around to the colorful array that was in full bloom this time of year.

Maggie's eyebrows rose. "Really?" She questioned immediately, trying to mentally picture but struggling. "I can't see her getting dirty and pulling weeds," Maggie grinned, just imagining the blonde scoffing over getting the dirt under her nails.

Elijah pressed his lips together, the corner pulling up a bit. "Well," He then amended his statement. "I should say she designed the arrangement of the gardens and manages its upkeep." The rest of the brunt work was left to Niklaus' hybrids and the servants. He didn't typically let anyone else boss around his creations, but everyone knew he had a soft spot for his little sister.

Maggie grinned. _That_ she could see happening.

"So Klaus has his art, Rebekah her design and fashion…" Maggie's voice trailed off, thinking of the hobbies of the Originals. It was interesting to see them from a perspective other than ancient predators. It almost made them seem human. She reaffirmed almost though because she wasn't willing to give that title to Klaus.

Maggie looked to Elijah expectantly, wondering what his choice was. "I've always had an affinity for scholarly research and business," He explained simply. Maggie nodded and had to keep herself from snorting. Of course, she should've guessed, he wouldn't want to disrupt the uptight stiff stereotype too much.

"So you study history… about events and times you've likely personally witnessed," Maggie mused the prospect aloud with a smirk.

Elijah inclined his head, sensing the slight teasing in her tone. "I'll admit I must get creative sometimes when it comes to citing sources," He conceded with a small grin. Many times he was just citing documents he himself had written a considerable length of time ago.

Maggie nodded and took it for what it was worth. Some silence passed between them before she tore her eyes from the path ahead to look at Elijah properly. "And what about Kol?" She asked, she heard about the other three Originals but he didn't make any mention of him.

Elijah's eyebrows rose with a frankness, not needing to say the obvious answer to that.

Maggie shook her head slightly, the look causing her to specify what she meant. "I mean, when he's not… like not vampire related," She corrected herself, knowing that Kol with his emotions off would go straight to killing and drinking.

"With his humanity," Elijah quipped, picking up what Maggie actually meant. The grin that had been on his face fell off as he pulled into somber thought.

Maggie watched him curiously while matching his steps as the two walked. At first all she could hear was the crunch of her boots against the dirt before Elijah gathered his response. "I've only seen it on a few occasions and they were very long ago," He explained in what actually sounded like a sad tone. "I'm afraid I may have lost sight of what it actually looks like."

Maggie didn't know about the forever and always pact between the three siblings that distinctly left one out. She didn't know he had been excluded from the three long before he thought about any interference with doppelgangers and werewolf rituals. Her gaze dropped in disappointment as she thought about it. She knew he had turned his emotions back on and his own brother didn't even realize it.

"There is one thing I can recall," Elijah broke her revelry. "No matter what city he was in, he would never be far from the docks," Elijah explained, remembering how Klaus had used that on several occasions to find his brother. "He took a likening to shipbuilding for a while."

Maggie took in each word curiously. She could picture him taking out his aggressions and frustrations on wood, a sturdy substance that could be abused. At the same time, it took a certain unique level of craftsmanship to build a ship. She could see Kol being near the docks for that reason and never far from the ocean, ready to take off and set sail when the urge struck him.

"How long ago was that?" Maggie questioned, also being able to see Kol dealing with the drunken reputation of sailors and probably best most of them or encouraging it.

"Well," Elijah answered in a dry tone and nodded aimlessly, "Ships have engines now."

Maggie looked up to meet Elijah's gaze. There was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes that caused Maggie to let out a short laugh. Who knew that Elijah did actually have a sense of humor?

* * *

They were a considerable ways through the garden when Elijah stopped in his steps. The light chatter came to an end a minute or two before he did. Maggie mirrored his movements with a little apprehension, she knew it he didn't call her out her just for her company.

"So, seeing as the Council hasn't come after me, I take it Dr. Fell got your blood donations?" Maggie broke the silence first. It was a relief to not have anyone trying to stake her lately. Well, Elena maybe, but she could deal with the little brat. An entire Council would be much more bothersome.

"Yes, it has been taken care," Elijah explained shortly. His tone didn't leave any part of that open for discussion and Maggie wondered if there was something else going on between him and the doctor, but she left it alone. "And is your theory proving to be correct?" Elijah turned the question around, imploring with the way he said the word theory.

Maggie took a deep breath and nodded. Elijah had been expecting that, having noticed the difference in doppelganger's health this morning. It was a small change in the complexion of her skin and the way she carried herself.

"Apparently I've been drinking the wrong type of blood and vampire blood is really what I need," Maggie put it bluntly, throwing it out there.

They fell into a staring contest of sorts while Elijah absorbed that information and confirmation of his suspicions. While his eyes were very similar to Kol's, they bore into hers that made her feel like a studied specimen.

"What exactly drew you to that theory in the first place?" Elijah questioned carefully. The curiosity to try vampire blood, the blood of one's own species doesn't typically strike without cause.

"Well nothing else was settling, even after the hunt with Kol and not using compulsion. I went to Dr. Fell to test my blood, she said it came back without any traces of it being human," She didn't need to explain the rest of that part as Elijah nodded along in understanding. He was already familiar with some of the doctor's research.

"I figured there was a chance too, since I had transitioned off of Damon's blood, maybe that affected it too," Maggie shrugged. She almost went on to mention the incidents when she was human, being sensitive around vampire blood. She remembered the unusual feeling she got at the Founder's celebration around Damon's blood. But she stopped herself, remembering this was Elijah and not Kol, she didn't necessarily feel comfortable divulging everything to the man that was the reason why she was a doppelganger.

"Hmm." Elijah pondered her explanation, "While I haven't heard of other vampires finishing the transition off of a vampire blood, I could see how it being your first taste during such a critical stage may influence your preference." It made sense in his mind. Vampires that transitioned on human blood almost always drank human blood. Even the ones that tried to divert to animal blood experienced great struggles.

"If that is true, have you thought about how you're going to sustain yourself?" Elijah posed the question without any suggestion of offering. It was simple and frank.

"Yeah," Maggie sighed, this was the part she really wasn't looking forward to. "I told Kol, he's offered to help me and teach me to control the urges."

Elijah's eyes remained narrow on her. She could see if his hands were twitching or not since they were buried in his pockets of his pants. The angle caused his shoulders to seem more relaxed while Maggie's was tense in her jacket pockets. She wasn't sure what reaction to expect, she barely had any knowledge about bloodsharing.

"That's a very serious agreement for him to make," Elijah voiced his thoughts aloud. He could only recall a few instances that any of his siblings allowed for a regular vampire to drink their blood. Klaus was perhaps the most frequent, but his blood served a different purpose when it came to his hybrids and werewolves. "Are you aware of the intimacy of drinking another vampire's blood? Even if it's not directly from the vein, drinking frequently and consistently could influence you in other ways and create a less than ideal dependency on Kol. Mutual bloodsharing is the most intimate, but even one-sided bloodsharing can have its effects," Elijah cautioned her.

Elijah's words caused her to stiffen. She couldn't lie and say that they didn't concern her. She had thought about it, but it was different having someone just so bluntly point it out like that. He was right, it wasn't an ideal of living. It would give Kol a certain level of power over her. She couldn't help but think that he was wrong in one regard about the dependency between them. He needed her to push him to let his emotions back in. There were also small moments she swore she got through to him when the others claimed it wasn't possible. She had her power over Kol in other ways, like the way at the Lockwood party she got Kol to back down from a fight with Tyler with a simple touch and a few words.

"I know," Maggie spoke finally in a quiet tone. "I trust him." She paused and tried to make light of the situation with a sheepish shrug, "Besides, it seems like a better option than starving and desiccating."

Elijah forced a polite grin, but it didn't meet his eyes at that comment. "I understand," He stated, "I just advise proceeding cautiously and do not make any rash decisions regarding it." He looked at her oddly and Maggie didn't realize it was a bit sadly. He had tried to warn her against getting ensnared by his brother. But even now his blood flowed through her veins like a poison in his eyes.

History had its peculiar way of repeating. It wasn't in the same ways, but the similarities were striking. First there was Tatia, Klaus had sought to steal her attentions away from him. Then there was Rosemarie, while he had no romantic intentions towards, Klaus interfered once more. Elijah had a moment of weakness and interfered with Klaus' intentions for Katerina. Now with Maggie, even Kol was picking up a torch, vying for her affections while he had another brother seeking to kill her. No doubt finishing what he started, Elijah thought to himself.

Elijah hadn't realized he was lost in his thoughts until Maggie stirred him from it. "Elijah," She said her name carefully, trying not to startle the ancient vampire too much. Her brow was furrowed deeply with a concern that had been on her mind for a while. "I spoke to the Bennett witch," She still didn't have the respect to use her first name, "She said she found the original ritual you used for Rose. She said you were trying to create a cure for werewolves. Is this true?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow, having not been expecting that. He was moderately impressed that she had done her research. He was also concerned that she was able to find the original ritual at all. He had thought him and Klaus had effectively destroyed it between the two of them. "Yes, it had been for a naïve hope that Klaus would cease trying to break the sun and moon curse if that part of his nature was removed," He gave the partial truth. He left out the hope that maybe the equalization of power and what they were would bring him closer to his family. Maybe Klaus wouldn't have felt so alienated if he was really like them, but that ran deeper.

Maggie bit her lip and wondered how differently things would have been if that ritual had been successful then. It was hard to wrap her mind around since she would literally not be here or the person she was without. "And the witches were able willing to help you do that?" She questioned, trying to see what the benefit for them would be.

Elijah didn't immediately answer her. For a long moment, he stared at the doppelganger before him and wondered just how much truth to reveal. Eventually he came to the conclusion it was the past, the buried past that could not be changed at this point.

"Yes, the servants of nature's duty above all else is to protect the balance of nature and human life," He explained in an impersonal tone. "So naturally an opportunity to eradicate a species that turns uncontrollably violent every full moon was of interest to them. However, as a vampire, another destructive species in their eyes, I had to be careful with the witches," He sighed slightly. If anything after their experience with their mother and turning them into vampires, it had taught him that.

"What do you mean?" Maggie questioned immediately, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully as he began his story.

"During the preparations for the ritual, one of them came to trying to convince me of the need for my blood for the ritual," Elijah said in a pointed tone, glad he had been able to see past the deception at the time. The witch had been extremely tricky and manipulative, he remembered.

Maggie didn't react to this statement, she didn't really know much about witches, which prompted him to continue on to explain. "The interests of the witches would be to protect humans and servants of nature from vampires. As I'm sure you've heard by now, Esther was the Original witch that created the ritual that turned us into vampires."

Maggie nodded to show that she followed him so far.

"In order to undo a spell or ritual that a witch has casted, you need to be familiar with the spell or grimoire, of course. But you also need to channel the power of the witch that casted said spell. Sometimes this can be done through an object of that witch," Elijah continued, the only object he could think of would have been Esther's necklace, but Rebekah had been safeguarding that at the time. "Or it can done through channeling the descendant or essence of the witch."

"I see," Maggie murmured, understanding the point he was making, but not sure how it connected to werewolves.

"Given the nature the ritual I was arranging with the witches, she sought as an opportunity to change the intended target by trying to convince me that my blood was necessarily. Naturally, I saw through this attempt and declined," There was the faintest hint of arrogance in his tone at that, but otherwise he didn't let it distract from what he was saying.

Maggie's eyes widened at this, "She would've made it into a cure for vampirism instead? But how?" It sounded like they needed the Original witch to do that, right?

"A cure, a poison. It depends on how you look it, but it would have resulted in the removal of vampires," Elijah reminded her of what Bonnie had said about the blood and the image of the dying hybrid in the Grill came back to her mind. The Original shrugged as he spoke, trying not to dwell on what he thought was long lost.

"But it would have required blood of an Original," He made the statement slowly and pronouncedly. Maggie swallowed thickly at that and felt her eyes grow wide, especially as he continued to explain it even further.

"An Original like myself, are direct descendants of the Original witch. While Finn was the only one to show any abilities prior to our transition, there's no way of knowing how many of my family would have had power that could have been channeled. There's also to consider the fact we are the direct result of the ritual the witches would've tried to undo," Elijah paused to clear his throat and shake his head slightly from the gravity of it. "All factors considered, such blood would have been very potent and very powerful."

Maggie's face was pale as she listened. She could feel her fingers shaking in her pockets, trying not to let it show. Mentally, her mind was going back and forth between screaming and blanking out. On the exterior, she didn't say a word though. Each pound of her heart in her chest seemed slower and more forceful than ever before.

"But there was vampire blood…" She mumbled and let her voice trail weakly.

Elijah nodded, but he didn't seem perturbed by her response. It wasn't exactly a light subject that he was dropping on her. "Yes, Mary Porter I believe it was," He recalled that particular groupie with a preference for Klaus. "Aside from the fact she was an ordinary vampire, I have my doubts whether Niklaus' blood would have worked either. It was a very delicate ritual and I'm not sure how his hybrid status, however dormant it was, would have affected it anyway," He dismissed the notion easily enough.

Maggie just stared at Elijah with a massive lump in her throat. The same curse ran on repeat through her mind while she tried to process this. Only one coherent thought came to mind. But it _was_ Kol's blood in the ritual. And Kol spent three centuries hunting down her bloodline because she's the _Cure_.

Elijah remained patiently quiet while she tore her eyes away from him. Her gaze darted aimlessly while she tried to think it through, but she just felt numb. The Original didn't push her to talk. He couldn't imagine how it felt to hear an individual's prophecy, even if it didn't come true. Little did he know she was freaking out because of the fact it could be true.

A thousand questions bubbled up in her mind in between the mental '_Oh shit_'s. Should she say something? Who does she tell what she knows? Elijah? Kol? Does Kol really know? She remembered burning the oak tree and what he said to her, it was unclear. What now? Did it actually work? What should she do now?

Maggie made a noise that was somewhere between a disbelieving snort and short bark of a laugh.

Elijah's eyebrow rose in a way that she couldn't get away without explanation for that.

"I guess I dodged a bullet there," She lied quickly, with a shake of her head. Her expression was still a mixture of warring emotions. If there was one thing she could conclude, she didn't want many people knowing about this that could potentially try to use or manipulate her for it.

"How do you figure?" Elijah questioned, cocking his head slightly and beginning to ease up now that she was speaking again.

"Let's be honest," Maggie stated humorlessly. "I'm not really the fixing-people, messiah type." Like he said before, she was the one that lacked warmth and compassion for humanity. Her being a cure for vampirism would be karma's way of sticking her tongue out at the witches.

* * *

Maggie didn't pay much attention to the rest of the walk back towards the house. Elijah asked at one point if she was okay and she just darted behind the excuse of feeling rather parched. Well, that was the polite way of saying she needed a drink and he didn't press it further than that. Whether she meant blood or alcohol, he wasn't entirely sure.

The French doors came into sight as they came up the last stretch of the path. Maggie wasn't terribly surprised to see Kol standing by them. He had his jacket on now and she could feel his gaze on the pair. At least this time it wasn't as openly hostile, but she could still sense the edge to it. Admittedly, she wasn't mentally completely there to deal with it.

Sensing the end of Kol's patience, Elijah stopped short of the patio. Maggie was about to leave him with just a nod, but she paused to place a hand on Elijah's forearm. "Thank you, Elijah," She said meaningfully when their eyes met. Despite how shocking it was to hear, she knew that he didn't have to say anything.

"It was my pleasure, Ms. Greene," Elijah answered her politely, keeping half an eye on his brother out of the corner of his eye.

Kol clenched his jaw tightly while watching the two, itching to know what exactly was going on but doing his best to refrain from being overbearing.

Maggie almost corrected him on the name. It made her sound so old referring to her like that, but she just let it go. She had other things to deal with. She dropped her hand from Elijah and walked over towards Kol. In some ways it felt like some weird trade off now that she got a sense of what was going on.

This time Kol didn't stick around to glare at Elijah. His brows furrowed at the look on Maggie's face. "Hey," Maggie greeted him in a quiet tone, still distracted by her recent revelation. Not wanting to waste any time, Maggie just looped her arm through Kol's and nudged him back inside. She didn't bother looking back to see the way Elijah watched the two carefully.

Back inside the house, she explained simply that she had to get going. She had to work at the Grill that day, but more importantly she just needed a little time alone where she didn't have censor her thoughts and reaction. Kol didn't say much. He remained in the foyer while she went upstairs to gather the last of her belongings and followed her out to her SUV. She opened the rear passenger door to drop her clothes from the previous day in.

Shutting the door, Maggie turned around to see Kol standing directly behind her. His expression was blank but she could feel the way his eyes bore into every movement she made. Before she could take another step, her back was pressed up against the side of the SUV with Kol's hands on her waist. Maggie gasped slightly as her head hit against the glass of the window.

"What did he do?" Kol's voice out nearly as a growl, leaning into Maggie, almost forehead to forehead.

Maggie's hands bunched up the fabric of his jacket at his shoulders. "He didn't do anything, Kol," Maggie frowned at his reaction. She blinked and shook her head hesitantly, "We just talked."

Kol studied her face closely and Maggie almost expected him to push the matter further. Finally, he just removed his hand from her waist and Maggie heard a click next to her. He pulled open the driver's door for her without a word.

Maggie side-shuffled out from underneath Kol towards the door, feeling his eyes on her the entire time. She slipped into the driver's seat and looked back at him. "I'll see you later, right?" She asked quietly. Maybe she should've stayed to sort out his behavior, but she had too many other things on her mind at the moment.

Kol just nodded curtly and shut the door for her. Maggie tried to muster up a reassuring smile, but it fell short. By the time she turned the key to start the engine, he was already gone.

* * *

He felt like he should trust her and that confused him. He remembered every word of their conversation. It was rare for him to see her unleash her emotions like that and admit something so personal. In some ways, he felt honored that he was able to get her to share that. He remembered the look on her face when she begged him to trust her. He really felt that he could in that moment.

But in hindsight now he was confused. The rest of the evening he really felt like he could trust her. But now he was wondering if he trusted her just because it was said to. It was like being told you should feel inclined to do something that you may have before felt like doing, but now you aren't sure if it's what you want or what someone told you. And to make it worse, the more you think about it the more muddled and confusing it gets.

Stefan shook his head to get rid of the complicated thoughts as he trotted down the staircase of the boardinghouse. He walked into the main hallway, heading towards the front door. He was intending to get there before a voice stopped him from the living room.

"Whoa, hold up there," Damon's voice called from the living room. Stefan stopped roughly in his steps and turned to see three vampires gathered around. Standing next to Damon was Elena and Caroline. They each held a shot glass in their hand of a clear liquid, the looks on their faces said that neither was entirely thrilled about it.

Damon had one in his hand and he picked up a fourth to gesture towards Salvatore. "Time to take your fiber," He smirked at the vervain in his hand. Now was one of those times he appreciated he had been drinking vervain for a while so he wasn't going to squirm nearly as much as the other three here.

"Yeah, about that," Stefan sighed without an actual remorse. He remained standing in the hallway instead of walking into the room to join them. "I don't see the point. "

"Are you kidding me?" Caroline snapped out quickly in disbelief. Elena let out a sigh next to her, but didn't say anything. The blonde ignored the obvious tension between the two brothers.

Even Damon's eyes narrowed on his brother in surprise. "Seriously? Did you miss the part where Elena spent the night in solitary confinement?" Putting their normal disputes aside, Damon figured he had to acknowledge the threat of being compelled by Maggie.

"Oh, I know and I saw," Stefan replied in a bored tone, he recalled at one point in the evening seeing a sour looking Elena trying to lean away from a couple making out the couch. Of course the compulsion wouldn't let her say anything or get up and leave. In hindsight, he had to admit it was a bit funny. "But I doubt she would compel me," He explained.

"That's a joke, right?" Damon deadpanned, but his brother wasn't amused.

"No, the joke is you three thinking drinking that vervain would really stop Maggie if she wanted to compel you," Stefan stepped up. Caroline glanced down apprehensively at the glass in her hands at this and exchanged a look with Elena. "I'm sure her new BFF would be more than happy to show her how to bleed someone out of vervain if she really wanted to compel them," Stefan pointed out, looking more at Damon.

It was telegraphed in expression what experience he was referring to. Damon's lip curled up a bit in disgust and discomfort at that particular memory of being tied up by Rebekah at the Mikaelson mansion.

"But unlike you three, _I_ haven't done anything to piss Maggie off," Stefan grinned smugly at this brother. Once again proving things work out better if you don't actively try to piss off everyone you know like Damon does. "So enjoy your false sense of security, I'm going out," Stefan finished dismissively and turned to head for the door.

Damon glared after his brother a moment. He called out before he heard the shutting of the front door after him, "Even just on blood bags, you're a real dick, Stef!"

He almost missed the brooding. Almost.

* * *

She stared aimlessly at the shelves in front of her. She never really noticed before how badly they needed to be wiped down until she was looking at from this angle. Maggie brought the liquor bottle up to her lips and took another deep swig. For once, she wasn't drinking to curb the bloodlust. It was still there, but not dominating. No, what was dominating her thoughts was her conversation with Elijah.

Blood of an Original was used in the ritual to make a cure. She was the Cure.

Now what was she supposed to do with that? How did that even work? It wasn't like she had the Midas touch of vampires. Maggie shook her head and let the burn roll down her throat.

More importantly, who could she tell that would help her with this?

Obviously she wasn't going to jump up and down and raise her hand in front of Elijah about it. The Original already made it clear that he looked after her family with the intentions of coming for her one day. He wasn't even aware of what exactly happened in the ritual, she didn't want to know what he would do with her if he knew.

Could she tell Damon? She was hesitant about that. She still remembered the first night that Klaus showed up at the boardinghouse. He had pointedly asked Stefan how the search for the cure was going. They wanted to cure Elena. She figured Stefan had his own reasons for wanting to cure Elena, but it would all lead back to her blood being used for hybrids again.

Maggie let out a bitter snort. If she told either Salvatore about her revelation, her doppelganger status would somehow be all about Elena. Sweet, innocent Elena as Rebekah liked to put it. Call it spiteful, but she just didn't want to do that.

What concerned her was how this would affect the way people saw her. Something as monumental as a Cure would skew the way they perceive her. Instead of her being Maggie, it would be the Cure. Something to be manipulated, used, and bargained with. She made it clear to Damon that night Klaus was there, she was not some possession or bartering chip.

But she needed to at least say something to someone. All of these secrets in this town were beginning to make her head implode. She thought about telling Carol. She had always been a mother figure to her. But Maggie also knew she had a hard time with the transition and sometimes she swore she could see the regret in Carol's eyes. If there was anyone in the group that didn't want to become one, it was her. So how understanding would she really be? Would she just look at Maggie as a way out too?

Then there was Kol. Her gut instincts told her if there was anyone could trust it was him. But she figured her feelings and how intimate they have been lately had more to do with that instinct. Yes, she got him to open up his emotions and admit they had the beginning of intense feelings. However, this was an entirely different matter. He spent three centuries hunting down her family on just a hunch that she could be something destructive used against vampires.

Kol embraced everything there was about being a vampire. How would he react to a Cure? She couldn't imagine well. He would see it as a threat to his existence and Maggie couldn't really blame him. It would come down to a test of what was more important to him, her or destroying the Cure. She honestly wasn't ready to see how that test would result.

"In danger of sounding like a supervisor… that's not really what I meant by cleaning out the shelves," A voice interrupted her from her thoughts.

Maggie looked up to see Jeremy leaning over the counter and grinning down at her. She could see a hint of worry in his eyes as he did though. Maggie let out a sigh. Oh, yeah that's right, she was on the floor behind the bar counter at the Grill at the moment.

"My bad, boss," Maggie smirked at him, but didn't make any move to get up from the floor.

Jeremy's grin fell off his face and moved around the counter to join her. "You know, I have to admit you're even starting to concern me with how much you're drinking lately, Maggie," Jeremy pointed out. More times than not lately she had some sort of liquor bottle in hand. Granted, she was a vampire, but Damon still used that excuse to drink excessively and you would think he would have it under control after almost two centuries.

"I'm a vampire and my alcoholism is what concerns you?" Maggie pointed out bluntly with raised eyebrows.

Jeremy slide down to a seat, to join her eye level, sitting on the opposite side from her. "No, but it seems like something is bothering you," The teen said gently and reached forward to take the bottle out of Maggie's hand. She momentarily thought about tightening her grip on it, but since it was little Gilbert she let it slide.

"You have no fucking idea," Maggie muttered under her breath. Something bothering her was putting it lightly. She dejectedly watched Jeremy find the cap to the bottle and tighten it. But he didn't make any move to get up and Maggie realized she was going to have to say something because he wasn't going to leave it alone.

"You ever feel like your purpose in life was some sick secret kept from you and have no say in the matter?" Maggie sighed, leaning her head back and letting her eyes roll up towards the ceiling.

Jeremy frowned at the vague question, but gave it serious thought anyway. His eyes remained on the woman in front of him. He could sympathize with the out of control feeling she had. He had been going through that for the past few years.

"You mean like finding out my parents were part of a secret Council that hunts vampires and my sister was dating one?" Jeremy countered. That had certainly not helped his grieving process and her involvement with the Salvatores has just brought more death with it.

"Touché," Maggie responded in an almost bemused tone. That must have been one hell of an ordeal for a sixteen year old to cope with.

"How did you deal with it?" Maggie asked him seriously, looking back down to meet his gaze.

Jeremy looked down at the bottle he took away from her. There was a lot of that involved, he recalled how much it annoyed Elena and especially Jenna. He just shrugged his shoulders and answered in a rare cheeky tone, "Weed, mostly."

Maggie snorted first before a laugh bubbled up from her throat. A grin formed on Jeremy's face at the way he managed to get Maggie to smile after all.

* * *

_Author's Note: And there it is! _

_In case you haven't heard the other dreaded C word enough on the show haha (I promise I plotted this out before I knew the direction the second half of season 4 was going). Anyway, this chapter was shorter than the others, I'm trying to get them back down a more manageable length again. Thoughts on Kolie? How do you think Kol would react if Maggie told him? _

_As always, please REVIEW! I love the responses, they're a huge motivator. Thank you all so much!_

_Review responses – _

_Hellia: Thank you so much and I totally agree! I absolutely hated everything about the last episode and how she acted like a complete spoiled child. (Poor Elijah)_

_Kim: Thank you! I'll do my best._

_SuperGirl: Haha yeah that would be quite the awkward family dinner. It will be interesting to see the dynamic and who shows up to the picnic hinted at in a previous chapter that will be coming up._

_M: Yep, I've always seen Caroline has a bandwagon judgmental person. Anyway, I would say with the theme of bloodsharing coming up in the last ten chapters here, there's a possibility of Kol drinking from Maggie. ;) Thank you so much for the awesome words and I look forward to your next review!_

_Z: As you can see at this point, it doesn't look like Stefan (Anyone else sensing a divide between Stefan, Maggie and Rebekah… and Damon, Elena and Caroline?) as told the others about his thoughts and next chapter we'll see where he's going "out" to. _

_IrishBeauty: Awww, I hope Stefan can redeem himself a bit more! I hope the Elijah 'awesomeness' lived up to your expectations in this chapter! (I feel like there should be a ship name for the slight Maggie/Elijah that's going on here) Thank you so much! _


	51. Chapter 51

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_James Blunt – Same Mistake_

_Scene: Stefan and Maggie_

_The Last Goodnight – Pictures of You_

_Scene: Atlanta Group Picnic_

_Chapter Fifty-one_

"How did you deal with it?" Maggie asked him seriously, looking back down to meet his gaze.

Jeremy looked down at the bottle he took away from her. There was a lot of that involved, he recalled how much it annoyed Elena and especially Jenna. He just shrugged his shoulders and answered in a rare cheeky tone, "Weed, mostly."

Maggie snorted first before a laugh bubbled up from her throat. A grin formed on Jeremy's face at the way he managed to get Maggie to smile after all.

* * *

Secrets.

Ever since she got to Mystic Falls they have been growing and consuming her life. Maggie's head spun just trying to think of all the dynamics and the relationships. The way she had to keep track of who knew what and how dangerous it would be if they found out that. She had to take into account personal agendas, past history, who they knew then and what they know now.

The only she could conclude from her most recent secret is that it was all just he said, she said. It wasn't that she was going to say that Elijah was lying to her. But up to this point, she didn't have a reason to believe she was a Cure. She could be a Cure, but she just hasn't seen it. Until someone rises again with a pulse and a beating human heart, Maggie ultimately decided she had yet another secret to keep.

If there was one person she wanted to trust with it, Kol was it. But this thing between them was still new and she had to see how deep it ran first.

That was the thought she had in mind when Maggie was leaving the Grill through the back service door. She was walking towards her SUV, parked next to the dumpsters, when she stopped at the figure leaning back against the driver's door. She fingered the car keys in her hand a few moments before throwing on a smirk to mask her thoughts.

"I thought stalking young women in creepy empty parking lots was more of your brother's style," Maggie called out as she approached the male vampire. Her eyes flickered over his appearance, rather casual in jeans but she noticed the logo of the Mystic Falls Timberwolves.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Stefan answered her in a dry tone. "And what is my style supposed to be?" He leaned off the vehicle but didn't move out of the way of the driver's door as Maggie came to stand in front of him.

Maggie gave a half shrug and answered cheekily, "Peeping Tom at the high school cheerleaders' practice."

She grinned at the unimpressed looked that Stefan gave her. She would never let him live that high school stereotype down.

"Can we talk?" He chose to change the subject instead, requesting gently.

Maggie took a deep breath. She could only imagine it being about one of many things. But if she wanted Stefan to trust her, she had to humor him, she figured. She nodded towards the vehicle, "Sure, hop in."

Stefan climbed into the passenger seat while Maggie got behind the wheel. He didn't wait long after shutting the door behind him before getting right to what he wanted to say. "When I left the boardinghouse this morning, Damon and Elena were passing around the vervain," Stefan commented while he leaned back in the seat.

Maggie's hand hovered by the ignition while she thought about that before she turned the key. "Did you take any?" She asked quietly, thinking she knew the answer already. Every vampire and human would be on vervain at this rate.

"No, because for some reason I felt like I could trust you to not need it," Stefan's tone wasn't as reassuring as Maggie thought it would be. He confirmed it by adding on when they made eye contact, "Just like Elena couldn't move from that spot or speak."

Maggie's stomach sank when she realized what he was saying. She didn't immediately move the vehicle as she thought back to the conversation she had with Stefan in his bedroom. "You think I compelled you," She concluded finally.

His lack of response spoke volumes. He honestly didn't know what to think at this point.

Maggie sighed and put the SUV into reverse, backing out of her parking spot and taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "I was just as surprised as everyone else when I compelled her. I still don't fully understand how that happened. I can't say for sure if I compelled you by mistake either, but I can only promise that is not what I intended to do," Maggie decided to answer him candidly, forcing her tone to remain even.

Maggie kept her eyes on the pavement, even though she could feel Stefan's thoughtful gaze on her. They didn't say anything to each other while she pulled off of the street that the Grill was on, she intended to head back to Carol's for a bit.

Stefan didn't see any smirk on Maggie's face or that blank mask she tried to wear so often at the boardinghouse. He didn't comment on her admission. He couldn't say it was okay, because it really wasn't. But she wanted him to trust her and he was trying.

"And exactly how were you able to catch me in the woods?" Stefan decided to move onto the next mystery.

Maggie took longer to answer. "I just tracked you down," She answered casually, trying to evade a direct answer.

"Maggie," Stefan wasn't buying it, "You nearly broke my wrists." She caught up with him when Elena and Caroline were trailing behind, too.

"I don't know, Stefan," Maggie snapped out impatiently, "I don't _know_! I don't know why any of this is happening or why I have to be so different. I don't know what is going on. I don't have answers, but I need to find them for myself before I go telling anyone."

Stefan's brows furrowed and he remained still at her sudden tirade. He had a feeling it had more to do with than just what he asked her about. Maggie knew what was happening with her reaction to the vampire blood, but that didn't answer the overarching questions of why. More importantly, she just couldn't go telling anyone that asked about it.

She was half minded to compel Stefan to forget anything unusual about that day in the woods as she pulled away from the downtown area. It would make things a lot easier. She could just tell him to forget it and if anyone asked, she just took him by surprise that day.

"Okay," Stefan conceded softly, interrupting Maggie's thought. With how tough Maggie always tried to make herself seem, it was easy to forget there was someone just as lost and confused underneath that. "We can help you figure this out together," Stefan offered.

"_We_?" Maggie question dubiously in a quick tone.

Stefan nodded, "All of us, Damon, Elena. Even Jeremy and Matt worry about you." He started to feel like he was getting somewhere since he had Maggie speaking calmly and apparently giving him an audience.

Maggie gave a humorless snort. "I don't think so," She denied. Like she would work with that other doppelganger, and everything would relate back to her if they found out what she knew.

Stefan sighed, feeling the hope dwindle. As much as he had his ire with his brother and Elena at the moment, he knew when things got heavy they generally could count on each other. The two vampires fell into silence while Stefan mulled over how complicated things were lately. It wasn't necessarily Maggie's fault, things were fractured before her arrival to Mystic Falls.

"I was actually relieved when I first saw you," Stefan declared, remembering making the deal with Klaus that night at the boardinghouse.

This caused Maggie to split her attention between the road and him curiously. She recalled how standoffish the younger Salvatore had been when they first met. Relieved is not an emotion she would have pegged with it.

"I thought, here it is, the perfect distraction for Damon," Stefan gave a bitter chuckle while shaking his head, his gaze remaining aimlessly out the glass of the vehicle. "I thought with you around, there's _no way_ I would have to worry about Damon around Elena. He and Rose had been really close, so there would be something there… maybe more."

Maggie kept her mouth clamped shut. She didn't particularly feel comforted by Stefan's words. Something about being setup with someone who previously had been with someone genetically identical to you didn't sound romantic to her.

"But now," Stefan's voice rose a little in emphasis. He turned his gaze directly to Maggie, "I realize there's no chance of that happening when you're so obviously in love with Kol."

Maggie's foot nearly slipped on the pedal. She slowed the vehicle down to a stop in the middle of the road. "Obviously?" She repeated the word, nearly choking it out.

Stefan gave her a knowing look. He didn't falter under her wide-eyed and bewildered expression. "Come on, Maggie, do you really need me to point it out?" Stefan questioned rhetorically. "Everything you do goes back to him and I don't just mean as a mentor."

He saw the way that Maggie looked at Kol that night coming up from the boardinghouse basement. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him. And someone doesn't just switch their emotions back on because of moral obligations. His brother and Elena brought him back. That took devotion.

Maggie shook her head. He had no real idea just how much her and Kol's lives were entwined. "I haven't even told him," Maggie admitted in just a whisper. She hadn't really told herself either, but deep down she knew it was there.

"You're going to have to soon," Stefan pointed out. She could tell in his tone that he wasn't referring to just Kol. She would have to tell Damon too and it wouldn't end well.

"I know," Maggie agreed quietly, staring mostly at her hands on the steering wheel. Unlike Carol, Stefan wasn't exactly the most supportive when it came to this. He wasn't beating around the bush.

"And what about you and Elena?" Maggie asked, clearing her throat and wanting to get away from talking about herself. "Damon told me things were difficult when she turned. Are you two okay now?" She hoped it was for the sake of the threat she made against Elena. She'd rather go after the doppelganger than have to worry about what to do with Jeremy.

Stefan's shoulders deflated with that question. He shook his head and hesitated a long while before answering. "No," He said bluntly. "Things haven't been okay between us for a while now." Truth was, things had never really been the same since his summer with Klaus. It was hard to go back to the way things were once they happened.

Maggie's brows furrowed in pure confusion. Things weren't going well? What happened to the epic love that Rebekah boasted about and what she read in Stefan's journal?

"I think I'll walk from here," Stefan declared shortly, clearly having been hit in a sore spot. He didn't bother waiting for a goodbye before opening the door and slipping out of the vehicle.

* * *

That night, Maggie opted to head back to her apartment. Carol offered to let her stay, but she declined for two reasons. She would need more blood, but more importantly she wanted to see Kol again. Of course, those two things went hand in hand now.

With that mind, Maggie wasn't terribly surprised to see the lights of her apartment on. She made a mental note that she would have to get Kol to teach her how to pick locks later. Sneaky bastard.

"Kol?" Maggie called out as she walked into the apartment. She dropped her keys on the small dinette table and looked around for him. A moment later, she heard the bathroom door open and he stepped out. He had a towel in hand, running through his hair and drying it off quickly.

She could smell the fresh soap in the hair and the humidity from the room. She shook her head mentally. Glad you made yourself at home and used my shower, she thought sarcastically. She refrained from commenting on it because of his somber demeanor.

He nodded in acknowledgment to her and dropped the towel on the back of the chair. "There's a bottle on the counter for you," Kol gestured towards the kitchen and Maggie saw the sports bottle on the counter. She didn't have to guess what was inside of it. "It'd probably be best if I'm not in the room for the first few feedings," Kol stated.

Maggie didn't like the matter-of-fact way he spoke and the lack of much emotional response from him, but she nodded along. She knew she had to feed. "I'll call you when I'm done," Maggie conceded and walked towards the bottle on the counter. She hadn't even picked it up before she heard the door of her apartment close. The studio layout didn't leave a whole lot of separation between them.

This time Maggie was aware of popping open the cap and raising the bottle to her lips. The rush came just as strong as the first time. But this time, she didn't see all red. She savored each gulp of the blood and the hues of flavor. She swore some of them she didn't pick up on the first time. She had to take a few minutes to calm herself down afterwards though. Even without the temptation in the room with her, Maggie felt the way the veins rippled underneath her eyes.

Once it was safe, she called out Kol's name. She didn't really need to raise her voice for him to hear. The door to the apartment opened again and he stepped back into the room. Maggie was rinsing the bottle in the sink when she spotted him. His expression still remained blank, pulled into a thoughtful mask.

"How do you feel?" The question was more calculated than filled with concern.

"Good," Maggie answered simply, feeling the tension from Kol. She had a slight idea where it came from but she wasn't sure. She shut off the water and turned around to find him standing right behind her. She bit her lip slightly as her gaze traveled up him to meet his. She couldn't deny the urge within her to reach up and kiss him, but she didn't know if that was more of the blood in her veins or genuine attraction speaking at the moment.

Because of that, she didn't say anything. "Alright, it'd be good feed three times a day. I'll come back in the morning and leave extra for during the day," Kol declared and stepped back from Maggie. She frowned at the reclamation of her personal space, but also his business-like manner.

She watched him back towards the dinette table where his jacket was draped on one of the other chairs. His hand reached for it with the intention of throwing it over his t-shirt and heading for the door.

"Kol," Maggie called his name softly, not quite sure how to broach what was bothering him. But she didn't want to see him leave so abruptly either. "Will you stay tonight?" She asked hopefully, following his footsteps slowly.

His hand halted on the back of the chair and the other joined it as Kol leaned over it slightly. He pressed his lips tightly together staring down at his hands before glancing up at the door. Maggie could see the mental debate and she didn't think she had it in her tonight to snap his neck to keep him from leaving if he chose to.

"It took a considerable amount of restraint to not go after Elijah for whatever he did that spooked you so badly this morning," Kol's tone leaked with the frustration that he felt, no longer trying to hide it from her. He had to fight the urge to question what happened because he knew how carefully he had to pick his words around Elijah.

"Spooked?" Maggie questioned, trying to decipher if this was more protectiveness or suspicion coming from him.

"Yes, spooked, startled, however you want to call it," Kol snapped out tersely, standing back upright to look directly at Maggie. "I've seen that look in your eyes before, Margaret. Usually I'm the one that puts it there." There was a hint of cheek in his tone as he thought about the times he cornered her as a human. It wasn't as humorous when his older brother did it though.

"We talked…" Maggie sighed, figuring that wasn't going to be enough of an explanation, but she didn't want to give away everything just yet. "He told me some stories about your family and the ritual, about how Rose was turned… You were right, he is hard to lie to." She stated with a shrug, letting her hands drop to her sides. She added on when she saw the alarmed expression, "He still thinks Mary Porter turned her."

While Kol was studying Maggie's expression, she was holding her breath. She watched to see just how much he reacted at the mention of the ritual. She wondered if he knew the full extent of it and tried to pick up anything she could from his facial expression. Admittedly, it wasn't much before he asked her in a quiet tone, "And he doesn't suspect anything?"

"I don't think so," Maggie answered him. The Original certainly hadn't pressed her any further about it at least.

Kol nodded absently and stepped closer to Maggie. It didn't completely appease him, but she could see some of the tension alleviating in his eyes. She also counted it as a small victory that he was stepping to her and not towards the door. Maggie began to relax when she felt a hand reach up to touch her cheek. He was studying her in that way again, like if he was expecting her to disappear suddenly.

"Kol... Are you that worried about me being alone with Elijah?" She questioned, keeping her tone soft, but she had to know where this behavior was coming from.

"I trust you. That's not what I'm concerned about, darling," Kol murmured and Maggie leaned her cheek into his hand at the way he rolled the pet name over his tongue. "It's my brothers that don't have the best track record for leaving his brother's girl alone."

Maggie moved her hands up to his shoulders while she listened to his words. Feeling him leaning into her, she looped her hands around the back of his neck. It made sense when he put it like that and she hadn't considered looking at it that way. She didn't know all of their history, but from what she gathered seeing her walking alone in the gardens with Elijah must have drove him stir crazy.

"So I'm your girl now, huh?" Maggie challenged with a quirk of an eyebrow, trying to fight the smirk off of her face. They had briefly discussed where things were going between them in vampire terms, even if she still had to figure out exactly what claiming meant. But that was the first time she heard him use such a normal, human term.

"Of course," Kol answered quickly, but then paused at the look on Maggie's face. She didn't recall him ever asking. "Or at least you will be. It's only a matter of time," He gave a confident smirk and a half shrug while slipping his free arm around her waist.

Maggie bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling at that charming face that could make her melt, much like the way he was easing into her arms. She leaned up to his ear to whisper teasingly into it, "Don't tell anyone, but I like the sound of that."

She pulled back to see a broad smile on his face. It was smug, not that she would expect anything else from Kol, but there was a lightness to that she didn't see often. She didn't get much of a chance to analyze it before he leaned down to kiss her. Maggie had to relax the grin off her face before returning the kiss to him. She let out a soft content sigh against his lips.

Maybe it was selfish, but for one moment she was just going to enjoy how good he made her feel. She could figure out the Cure another day. She could worry about how it would impact them later, when she figures out if she even is an actual Cure.

"Yes," Kol paused in the kiss, his lips brushing against hers as he murmured the simple word.

"Hmm?" Maggie didn't even bother opening her eyes or pulling away from him. Her fingers ran through the hair on the back of his neck while she leaned into him, feeling his hands on her lower back.

"I'll stay tonight," Kol answered her earlier question, leaning back enough to look at her. Maggie met his gaze, catching her breath. She felt that word bubble up in her throat, playing at the tip of her tongue with the way he looked at her.

Maggie silenced the urge to say by leaning up to kiss him again.

* * *

Maggie groaned while staring up at the orientate ceiling. She had gotten quite familiar with the designs and the craftsmanship that went into the ballroom of the Mikaelson mansion, seeing as the last few days she ended up on her back more times than she could count. It felt like her bones were quivering with the reminiscent feeling of them breaking and the pain that shot through her like an electric shot.

"I think that's enough for today," Kol announced in a cheery tone, brushing his hands off lightly. Like there was any dust on him. Compared to Maggie, he hardly seemed out of breath. There wasn't even any sweat marks on his shirt. While Maggie had on athletic clothing and remained unmoving on the floor of the ballroom with her hands clutching her stomach.

"Oh, good," She grumbled sarcastically. "I think I'm just gonna lie here and die for a bit longer." She barely lifted her hand to wave at him. She tried to shift her hip a bit, she swore it didn't pop back into place correctly.

How did this all start? Well, about five days ago while curled up in bed with him at the apartment, she got the bright idea that since they were going to be spending so much time together for her feedings, Kol should teach her how to fight too. He mentioned it would be a good energy release to keep the urges under control and it was something she really should learn.

It sounded like a good idea at the time and she had to give Kol credit, he did honestly try to warn her. He told her it would be tough and it wouldn't be easy. He wouldn't be gentle. He would come across as cruel and unforgiving, it would be the best way for her to learn. But it was really hard to concentrate at the time when his hands were wandering along her hips and she could feel his lips on her neck.

The first lesson she quickly learned was all about pain. Learning how to fight from Kol wasn't like going to a karate lesson. He simply started by egging her to take her best shot. This of course ended with a broken arm and her being thrown onto her back. He didn't relent, quickly showing her that most times it wasn't the first strike that kills a vampire, but the second or third. It's the pain that causes them to slow down and hesitate. She had to push past it, let her body heal and snap back, because it would.

Which it all sounded well and solid in words, but in reality it meant her being thrown like a ragdoll. All of the lessons consisted of that, Kol egging her to try to get a hit on him. Outside of these lessons, if she ever heard the phrase "Come at me," again, she would rip the vocal chords out of the poor idiot. Every now and then he would make a correction. Maggie got frustrated, she got angry and annoyed. It was discouraging and infuriating to go hours at it without seeming to make any progress.

Every time she lost her focus that was another busted knee cap. A few swears too many and she had more cracked ribs. The first few times she handled the broken bones rather well, she just tried to think of it like popping your shoulder out of place. Give it a good jam and you're back in action. However, that mentality only lasted so long and the only time Kol stopped was on the third day.

She felt the twisting and the snapping of the bone. She couldn't hide the gasp of pain, which after three days was getting more bearable and expectant than the first. But it was the sight of seeing her radius protruding from the skin that sent Maggie over the edge. She started to hyperventilate. It wasn't the first time she saw exposed bone, god knows she had seen and killed enough walkers herself. But there was just something about seeing _her_ bone sliced through the skin like that. Something that should be inside the body, not outside, that sent her into a full blown panic attack.

Kol cut the lesson short right there and helped her set the bone back in place. Even though it healed right away, he took a few minutes to try to calm her down, rubbing her back and whispering reassurances in her ear. That was the one thing she had to give Kol credit for. A few weeks ago, she would've thought he would enjoy this type of thing. You know, getting to beat someone up and calling it teaching.

However, maybe it was flipping the switch or maybe it was her, possibly both, but he didn't show a flicker of amusement at her pain. Most of the time his expression was pulled into a blank mask. When Maggie seemed to struggle the most, he reminded her this was what she wanted. Call her stubborn, but since she started it, she wanted to see it through. As soon as he called the lesson over, he was there to make sure she recovered okay. The first few times she was jumpy from his touch, for good reason after being pummeled by it. But he stayed each time until she calmed down.

What could be said in words, Kol usually did in simple touches and gestures. He let his concern show afterwards and he didn't say it, but she knew he didn't like hurting her.

They fell into a routine throughout the week. Most mornings were the fighting lesson, which he would always be quick to produce a bottle of blood afterwards. Maggie's control improved with each day, but she figured that was partly due to the fact she was utterly exhausted when she did drink. Her time was also divided with working at the Grill. She saw Matt and Jeremy regularly that way. Occasionally she went up to Carol's to check in with her and see how Daryl was doing too. Once she went to the Greene house to see Beth, just to sit on the porch and talk. She kept it just one visit, she had only just recently gotten the invitation to the home and she didn't want to push it by showing up daily.

On the fourth day, one particular instance stuck out in her mind. She greeted Carol at the door and the older vampire gave her usual welcoming hug. As she was pulling away though, her expression scrunched up thoughtfully. "What is it?" Maggie asked her curiously stepping back at Carol's reaction.

"You smell… different," Carol couldn't figure out what exactly was off about Maggie.

"Uh, gee, thanks," Maggie muttered sarcastically, remaining awkwardly outside the door while Carol tried to sort it out.

It wasn't like a new soap or shampoo. Carol didn't think it came from her clothing. "No, I'm not saying you stink… just something, oh you know what never mind, come in," The older vampire huffed out at a loss to what was off.

The evenings she spent with Kol in one way or another. Sometimes she went over to the mansion, but mostly they ended up back at her apartment. Away from Kol's siblings, Maggie began to notice. After a few days, she wasn't entirely surprised to see the television and game system from the entertainment room at the mansion show up in her apartment. She heard from both sides of how annoyed Rebekah was getting with it and Kol figured he would be sticking around her apartment anyways. Between the Grill, Carol's, her apartment and the mansion for fighting lessons, Maggie hardly noticed how quickly the week passed.

Ironically, she didn't see much of Damon. She saw him a few times in passing downtown, but he didn't say much other than a snarky comment or two. Which of course she dished right back at him. It wasn't that Maggie was avoiding him, but the truth was she couldn't come up with another thing to call it. She knew she had to talk to him, but it wasn't a conversation she wanted to have. What she didn't know was that Damon had tried to come to her to have that conversation.

One of the mornings, Maggie was in the shower while Kol rummaged through the dresser drawers. That was another thing that showed up while she was off at work one day. Some of his clothes showed up in the closet and he took over two drawers. He was deciding between what shirt to wear when Kol heard a knock at the main door. He paused, his eyes flickering briefly in the direction of the door and back to the bathroom. He could still hear the water running and doubted that Maggie heard the door.

Curiously, he flashed over to the door and peered through the peephole. He quirked an eyebrow at who he spotted waiting on the other side of the door. Most other people he would've gone back to at least throw a t-shirt on, but a smirk formed on his face and he didn't bother.

Kol threw the latch on the door and opened it widely. He kept a hand on the frame though, cutting off the visitor from being able to walk in right away.

"Well, look at this, I didn't know this apartment complex allowed dogs," Kol greeted tauntingly.

Damon froze as soon as the door opened. He knew this apartment well, it used to be Alaric's after all, but he couldn't describe the amount of surprise at seeing this particular Original answer the door. His eyes passed briefly up and down at his appearance too. Shirtless, no shoes or shocks, and a pair of jeans. Dressed down, the lack of footwear indicating for a while now.

"Kol," Damon instinctively growled out the name. He noticed the way his arms blocked the path to keep Damon from stepping inside the apartment. "What are you doing here?" He whipped out sharply, forcing the initial shock at bay.

"Oh now I may have been daggered for a while, but I do believe that is the question I get to ask," Kol evaded an answer and nodded his head towards the door before adding, "Seeing as _you_ are the one that knocked."

Oh how Damon wished he could wipe that smirk off his face. He clenched his teeth together, feeling his fingers twitch with the urge to snap the Original's neck. However, like the past couple of times, he knew that wasn't likely a fight he was going to win and he wanted to be conscious to talk to Maggie. "Where's Maggie?" He growled out simply, thinking back to how he showed up at Carol's looking for her and the vampire said she'd probably be here.

"Oh, she's in the shower," Kol grinned.

At first Damon didn't believe him, but at the pause in Kol's words, his vampire hearing picked up the faint noise of the running water coming from within the apartment.

"But I'll let her know you stopped by," Kol dismissed in a condescending tone before shutting the door in Damon's face. Kol failed to mention_ when _he would tell her.

The blue-eyed vampire raised a hand in frustration, at first intending to stop him from shutting it completely. But he halted and let his fingers curl into a fist as a hiss escaped from between his teeth.

Despite what it looked like, none of that happened over the week, much to Maggie's frustration. Kol wasn't shy with his touches and kisses, but they remained exactly that. Between the blood sharing and her natural desire for him, which often times she had trouble differentiating the two, Maggie wasn't discreet in what she wanted. But Kol made it clear he was serious about what he said earlier, he wouldn't share his bed and apparently that included not having her again until she settled everything with Damon. She couldn't really fault him for that, but she still tested his resolve, especially the few nights that he slept over at the apartment. Sharing the same bed made restraint exceedingly difficult, especially thinking about the first time they laid in that bed.

The only visitor Maggie knew about came one night and Maggie was the one to answer the door that time. She was still dressed in the clothing she wore at the Grill earlier, even though she finished hours ago because she stopped by at the supply center to pick up more gasoline for the SUV among other things. A friendly smile picked up on her face.

"Hey Jeremy," Maggie greeted the teen and stepped aside for him to enter. He had his hands shoved awkwardly into his pockets. He was always so shy and awkward, Maggie never really understood why because he really wasn't that bad looking at all or anything.

"Hey- whoa," Jeremy's tone turned quickly as he stepped into the apartment and his eyes wandered towards the living room. He heard the gun shots and explosions, but froze at the figure sitting on the couch playing the game.

Maggie sighed, she had a feeling this would happen. But it wasn't like she could pick up a cell phone and give Jeremy a heads up. "Its okay, Jer, he's plugged in," Maggie tried to reassure him. From their angle, Maggie could see the profile of Kol's face and the way his expression was focused solely on the game, biting the inside of his lip slightly. Even though Kol heard them, he didn't bother reacting.

Jeremy didn't move though, he remained stiffly where he stood. The last time he was alone with Maggie and Kol, he ended up, well, dead.

"Come on," Maggie placed a hand under Jeremy's arm to nudge him forward at his reluctance. He kept half an eye on the back of the Original's head, but let Maggie lead him over to the blank space of wall they had discussed before. This time there was a canvas leaning against it with some dust on it and a bag of various supplies, mostly paints and brushes.

"I found these, will they work?" Maggie asked Jeremy as she picked up the bag, opening it to let him peer inside. It took several abandoned houses to put them all together.

Jeremy only paid her half attention. "Uh, yeah sure that should work," He mumbled absently. Half of him was still expecting the vampire to launch himself off the couch at him. Jeremy saw him beat the pulp out of Damon in Denver and he himself hadn't fared well at the Grill.

Maggie handed the bag off to Jeremy and he slung it over his shoulder casually. "So," Jeremy cleared his throat, "Are you two living together now, or something?" He knew there was something going on with the way Maggie talked about Kol before, but not this.

"What? No," Maggie denied quickly, her eyes widening.

This time Kol gave a snort from where he was sitting. "I sleep here more nights than not lately. I have my own stash of blood bags in the fridge. I moved my television here and some of my clothes," Kol listed out cheekily and added on without taking his eyes off the screen, "But _no_, let's not confuse that for living together."

Jeremy's eyebrows rose and looked to Maggie expectantly. The doppelganger let out a sigh and closed her eyes, cringing. Why did he have to put it that way?

She shook her head and muttered, "I swear he stayed one night and just hasn't left since."

Kol smirked at the way that didn't even begin to cover the truth.

Going back to the present, Maggie shook her head and she could hear the sound of Kol's sneakers echoing off the wooden floor as he slipped from the ballroom.

Maggie closed her eyes and draped a forearm across her face. This was one of the few times she could feel her skin crawl with goose bumps and quiver. It wasn't a chill from the temperature, but the pure amount of shock to her system from all the abuse of the last couple of hours.

"Sit up, darling," Kol's voice interrupted her, she barely heard him returning into the room. Begrudgingly, she removed the arm covering her face and tried to do as he asked. He quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and helped her, shifting his body so she could lean back against his chest as he kneeled on the ground beside her.

She didn't perk up until she saw the sports bottle in front of her. She wrapped one hand around the plastic and pulled it to her lips. Kol kept a hold on her while he watched her features shift as she began to down the bottle. At first she hadn't been able to drink around him, but he noticed her getting better about the control, especially under circumstances her body was distracted by something else or in genuine need of the blood.

Maggie gave a relieved sigh as she felt the warm liquid coating her throat. She could almost feel some of the weakness in her bones disappearing. There was a slight pop in her hip. Ah, that was much better, she absently thought to herself. The color returned to her face and the chills ceased by the time she reached the bottom of the bottle.

Her fingers tightened and the plastic began to bow under her grip. The animal within her wanted more of that blood, but Kol moved his arms to keep hers pinned at her sides. "Breathe, love," Kol murmured in her ear before she was able to calm down.

Maggie let out one last shudder before tossing the sports bottle aside. Kol grinned down at her when his gaze was met by emerald. He leaned down to press a short kiss into her hairline before offering a hand to help her up to her feet.

Even after she was steady on her feet, he didn't pull his hands away from her. The back of his hand brushed against her cheek, he noted the healthier complexion to her skin. This time she didn't flinch away from his touch. The first few lessons had him seriously worried. It was bizarre for her keeping up with the sudden shift from serious fighting mode to the sudden tenderness.

She briefly wondered if she was the only one affected by drinking his blood. "My family is having a picnic for tomorrow," Maggie announced once Kol pulled away and they started to walk out of the ball room.

Kol's face scrunched up oddly at that. He could think of one notable reason for throwing a picnic specifically tomorrow. "They do realize there's no standing federal government, right?" He asked, wondering what the point of Fourth of July was now.

Maggie snorted while they walked into the foyer and she headed for the staircase. "I know, but it's not about celebrating independence." She paused slightly on the first couple of steps to look back at Kol thoughtfully, "It's having something _to_ celebrate, I think."

They weren't at the prison long enough to have that and they lost a lot while they were there. It had been so long since the farmhouse too.

Kol nodded, he could understand that. "And why exactly do you want me to go?" He asked curiously. It was one thing when it was just them, but meeting her whole family was another.

He noticed the way she stumbled a bit before coming up with an answer. "Well… it'd be good to make sure I don't take a bite out of anyone," She replied lamely, knowing her appeal for human blood dropped significantly since drinking Kol's.

He smirked and opted to keep the subject lighter. "Is that so?" He mused and couldn't help but taunting how sensitive she got about the moving in subject earlier. "It seems more like going home to meet your family so your father can sharpen his weapons in front of me instead."

Kol got the reaction he wanted when Maggie stop mid-step and whirled on him. "No, it's not like that," She denied quickly and Kol could almost see her blushing. "Besides, I already invited Rebekah," Maggie added on sheepishly.

Kol's smirk fell and he sighed. Now he had to go, didn't he?

* * *

A few months ago, she wouldn't have guessed she would be a vampire riding with two Originals pulling up in front of her family's new home. But somehow, the next afternoon that was exactly what she was doing. Kol was behind the wheel of her SUV with Rebekah sitting in the back seat. The three of them rolled down the street.

Maggie frowned slightly at the number of vehicles in front of the house. There was the trashed Camry, the new Greene vehicle, the Gilbert vehicle, and two other police cruisers. Well there goes the neighborhood, she thought.

"Looks like the Sheriff is here, too," Kol smirked as he pulled the vehicle over on the side of the road. Maggie almost had to ask which one before she realized he was referring to Sheriff Forbes.

Rebekah leaned forward between the two seats. "What is she doing here?" She questioned sharply, trying to decide whether or not that would mean Caroline would be here too. She rather doubted given how polar opposite the two were.

Kol looked to Maggie expectantly to answer that. Maggie cleared her throat uncomfortably, "I think, she's kinda… seeing Rick."

Rebekah frowned slightly, trying to follow it. "I'm sorry, but wasn't she the one with the gay husband or something?"

Kol snickered and Maggie shook her head. She didn't even bother answering the blonde as she got out of the vehicle. Maggie went to the side door to pull out the brown paper bag she brought. "I like Sheriff Forbes… Bitch of a daughter though," Maggie commented and then shrugged her shoulders, "But hey you can't win them all, right?"

Rebekah folded her arms and inclined her head noncommittally at that. Maggie came around the side of the vehicle and noticed the way the two Originals were curiously eyeing up the house. She could already hear the voices coming from the back of the house and there was a little smoke rising in the air.

"Come on," Maggie prompted and let the two follow after her as she led them around the side of the house. She didn't even bother with the front door. It sounded like everyone was outside already anyway and the house would be stuffy without constant air conditioning on the July day.

Walking around the side of the house, Maggie spotted two picnic tables that had been pulled out for the large group. There was a fire pit, being mostly tended to by Rick than anyone else, not that any of the vampires were concerned about food. Maggie noticed the crops they planted in the other section of the yard had grown considerably since she last saw it.

Maggie did a quick headcount as everyone started to notice their arrival. There was Sheriff Forbes, still in uniform, of course, standing next to Rick Grimes. Carl was poking at some of the wood on the fire. Beth was tending to Judith, who they had setup on a rocking seat on one of the picnic tables. Hershel sat on the bench of the other table with his crutches in hand with Jeremy Gilbert sitting next to him, talking lightly.

There was that obvious awkward moment where mostly silence fell upon the group. The ones to tense up the most were Sheriff Forbes and Jeremy Gilbert, for the obvious reasons. But Maggie was surprised to see they didn't receive direct hostility from everyone. It was then she remembered that her family had been largely removed from the affairs of Mystic Falls and didn't really have a reason to hate the Mikaelsons.

"Hey everyone," Maggie greeted and walked towards the first table, putting the brown bag. Rebekah and Kol followed behind her, their eyes darting around the interesting mix of company. "I brought the drinks," Maggie offered to break the silence and pulled out the first bottle from the bag. "Courtesy of the Council," She smirked.

Rick and Sheriff Forbes exchanged a look at that, but neither of them said anything. It was enough to get the introductions going. Instead of going through the awkward individual ones, Maggie opted to point out each respective person, announcing names and saving the Originals for last.

Any tension didn't last long as the vampires picked up the sound of a rumbling engine coming down the road. Maggie frowned slightly, it sounded familiar and she couldn't place it until the new figure came around the side of the house to join the party. Everyone lit up at the sight of Daryl, who still had his crossbow slung over his back.

Maggie hung back with Rebekah and Kol as she watched Beth and Carl jump up to greet the redneck, followed shortly behind by the others. Maggie had a smile on her face watching the reunion, catching some of the words traded between each person that clapped Daryl on the back. It was bittersweet since Maggie knew that Carol wanted to come as well, but without a daylight ring that wasn't a realistic option.

Rebekah was the first one to branch away from Maggie, leaving Kol by her side. Rick Grimes was the first to really approach the two after the initial greetings were over. Kol threw on one of his smug smirks and for a brief moment Maggie was concerned for Rick's safety.

"Officer Grimes, is it?" Kol acknowledged him and Rick naturally gave a short nod. Maggie noticed the way that Sheriff Forbes hovered by, with the same curiosity and concern that Maggie had. The Original held his hand out to Rick. "I don't believe we were properly introduced last time we met," He smirked, "Kol Mikaelson."

Rick glanced down to his hand in the air, the hesitation clear. For a brief moment, Maggie was already envisioning a repeat of the Grill with Damon. But to her surprise, Rick reached up and shook his hand. "Rick," He supplied his first name and his eyes narrowed curiously on the vampire, "What exactly brings you here today?"

Kol dropped his hands, shoving them casually into his jean pockets. At that question, he shot Maggie a sly look, who still appeared to be on eggshells. He simply shrugged his shoulders in a confident and casual manner. "Oh, I just figured it would be proper for me to meet the family that Maggie here has twisted my arm into protecting indefinitely," Kol explained with a grin, noticing the way Maggie relaxed fractionally when he didn't go with a different answer.

She still wanted to smack in the back of the head for that response and she shot him a warning glare. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the way Sheriff Forbes' brows furrowed, clearly trying to piece together what exactly Kol was referring to. But the Sheriff kept out of the conversation.

"Right…" Rick muttered the word out slowly, glancing between Kol and Maggie. He was still reluctant about the situation, but it was he willing to give it a chance after Maggie had vouched for the vampire. Truth was he didn't personally know the Originals, he only had what he learned from the Council to go on. "Thanks for coming," It took him a bit to come up with a response and the '_I guess'_ at the end was obvious in his tone.

Maggie wasn't terribly surprised that Sheriff Forbes didn't say much to any of the vampires. She traded a polite nod and a smile with the woman, but that was about it. Given her history in Mystic Falls, Maggie was okay with that. She wasn't looking for any confrontations at the family picnic. Jeremy was the other one that didn't make any move to engage Maggie while Kol and Rebekah remained near her and she understood his reasons for why.

* * *

Brown eyes, so dark they seemed black at first glance, stared back at equally round and dark ones unblinkingly. One had his nose crinkled up on one side, his lip turned up slightly with it while he watched the other. Well, he wasn't really looking at them. What he couldn't take his eyes off was that obnoxious green bubble. It disappeared with each inhale and reappearing with each exhale, being pushed to its limit. But never _quite _enough to pop it.

Kol cocked his head slightly with his hands in his pockets. He also noticed the way salvia coated part of her chin and the plastic toy that she was currently exploring with her mouth. Her tiny fingers didn't relent for a moment on it, but she didn't seem the least bit phased by Kol's presence.

"Isn't she the sweetest thing?" Maggie's voice interrupted, stepping up behind Kol and the slight Southern drawl in her tone becoming more obvious than normal. Maggie grinned at Judith in the table rocker and the soft pink onesie. If anything, at least Mystic Falls was able to provide better care and supplies for the newborn.

"Just adorable," Kol muttered dryly, not taking another step closer to the small child. He watched the way Maggie stepped around him to sit down at the bench in front of Judith. She quickly snatched up a few napkins from the setting placed out for food to wipe off her chin and get rid of the offending snot bubble.

"Hi Judith," Maggie greeted her in a tone that naturally rose when people spoke to babies.

"Don't tell me you want one of these things?" Kol asked in an incredulous tone, seeing the way Maggie was fussing over Judith.

Maggie stopped and rolled her eyes. Typical male, or ancient vampire, she didn't know which influenced more at the moment. "These _things_ are called babies," Maggie rose to her feet. "And no, Beth has all the mothering instinct between the two of us," Maggie answered honestly, casting a glance over to her sister, who was talking with Carl and Jeremy by the fire.

While she had mourned the loss of being physically able to have children because it was still her choice, it wasn't really one she ever considered. She doubted she would have had them given the option anyway. Not every woman dreamt of being a mother and she was one of them.

"Do you want to hold her?" Maggie threw a smirk at Kol while carefully wrapping her hands under Judith's body to pick her up. She supported her head gently while holding Judith against her shoulder.

Kol shook his head once, quickly denying, "Nope, I'm good." He didn't even bother taking his hands out of his pockets and tried not to let it show how much Maggie's answer relieved him.

"Well if he won't, then I will," Rebekah piped up and almost startled Maggie. She hadn't even heard the blonde come over. Despite the pushiness in her tone, Maggie noticed genuine longing in Rebekah's eyes. She wasn't even really looking at Maggie, but at the small infant in her arms.

Maggie stopped, having never really considered Rebekah to be a baby person. But she couldn't deny that anxiously hopeful look on her face. "Alright then," Maggie chuckled and carefully handed Judith over to Rebekah, making sure she had a proper hold of her before letting go. The Original immediately clutched the child to her chest, supporting her head with her arm.

"Hi there," Rebekah smiled down at Judith, her voice rising into a higher octave than normal. Maggie marveled at how the usual cold bitchiness melted from Rebekah's expression instantly. Judith's fingers reached up and tangled up in one of Rebekah's golden locks, but the Original didn't flinch even if it hurt.

Rebekah absentmindedly turned away from Kol and Maggie, completely forgetting the two and wandering back towards the rest of the group. At first there were a few worried glances from Rick and Hershel, but everyone realized there wasn't a single malicious ounce in the blonde at the moment.

"See that," Kol murmured, leaning in towards Maggie's ear with a smirk. "Hand her a baby and she turns into an almost decent person."

Maggie shook her head, trying not to laugh.

"This almost decent person can still hear you!" Rebekah snapped out from the other side of the yard without taking her eyes off Judith.

Kol's smirk remained on his face for a few moments while he stared after his sister. However, it slowly slipped off his face and Maggie noticed the thoughtful expression that took its face. His brows began to furrow while his eyes darted around the group.

"I don't understand," Kol finally declared, murmuring in a tone low enough for just Maggie to hear. "If she's not yours," Not that Kol had ever suspected such since he figured he probably would've heard about it sooner, "or Beth's… who's is she?"

Maggie's eyes widened, as if he missed something obvious. "That's Lori's daughter," She answered him in a hushed tone, glancing to Judith. She almost said Rick's at first, but no one really knew for sure.

Kol frowned but didn't react, staring at Maggie blankly. The name wasn't familiar to him.

"I haven't told you much about my group… have I?" Maggie questioned when realization dawned at her.

Kol simply shook his head.

During the course of all this supernatural business, Maggie realized that there was still a lot about herself and her family she hadn't shared with him. They had much to learn from each other still. Maggie nodded solemn and made a simple promise with that in mind, "I will then…"

* * *

Maggie broke away from the Originals to talk to her father for a bit. She eased herself down to a seat at the picnic table bench next to Hershel. "How's your leg?" She asked with concern. It wasn't like they had medical attention when it first occurred. It had been so touch and go.

"Oh, it's starting to heal just fine," Hershel kept on hand on his crutches while the other rubbed out the tension in the muscle of the leg he was referring to. "Jeremy and Rick took me to the hospital to have it looked at," He admitted begrudgingly, he had insisted it would heal just fine.

As he spoke, Maggie stole a glance over towards Kol. She noticed he was currently standing next to Daryl, who was showing him some of the mechanics to his crossbow. Kol leaned forward, curiously inspecting the weapon, which probably seemed rather modern to him.

"The doctors gave me some medicines. I can't remember the last time I slept so much on the couch," Hershel sighed, thinking how odd it felt to nap in the afternoon, not having anywhere to go or the farm to look after.

Maggie gave a small smile, glad to see her father was doing better. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Hershel always said more with his eyes than his words. Her eyes wandered back over towards Kol and Daryl when she heard a twang and a sharp thud.

"Kol!" Maggie shouted out at him. "You better not be putting holes in my Daddy's house."

Kol turned on his heel, lowering the crossbow down from his shoulder. Daryl had his arms crossed over his chest and a glint of amusement in his eyes, seeing Kol was clearly busted. Sure enough, one of the bolts from the weapon was dodged deeply into the siding of the house. The two were standing away from the rest of the group, no one was in danger of getting hit, Kol figured. He just wanted to try it.

He gave Maggie a cheeky grin in response. But then his eyes moved over and saw the stoic glare from Hershel.

Immediately, the grin fell from his face and he shook his head innocently.

Maggie suppressed the urge to laugh at that and just turned her attention back to her father. Hershel's gaze remained on the Original while the crossbow was passed back to Daryl.

"Glenn came by the house the other day," Hershel announced in a somber tone. Just like that, Maggie's thoughts on Kol were immediately derailed. She felt her stomach sink a bit, wanting to know but not really at the same time what for. The last time Glenn was at the house, it was ugly.

"I honestly thought this separation was just a passing thing and you two would be able to sort things out," Hershel admitted. He hadn't originally liked Glenn all that much in the beginning, but he had proved himself in his eyes and it seemed like a shame to lose that after everything.

Maggie frowned, but didn't say anything. What was there to say that hadn't already been said?

Her eyes watched Hershel lean to the side and reach into one of his pants pockets. "But then, he gave me this back," He pulled out the silver trinket and Maggie sucked in a deep breath, recognizing the pocket watch of her great-grandfather's. The one that had been passed down through the family and Maggie knew how significant it was when he gave it to Glenn.

"I guess he really is letting go," Maggie murmured with mixed feelings. It was good that he was, but she never stopped feeling guilty for how much she hurt him in the process.

Hershel nodded and his thumb ran over the clock face. "And have you?" He turned the question around, it wasn't like they ever really got a chance to talk about it. "Are you letting him go?" He clarified, it certainly seemed like things were thoroughly over.

Maggie tried to force a grin, but it came out more like a grimace. She tried to think if she had any feelings left there. She could remember how she felt for Glenn, but at this point they were honestly just memories that seemed too distant to ever be scratched at again.

"I have," Maggie answered firmly with a nod. She had to look away from the resigned expression on her father. Her eyes wandered across the party again and found Kol.

This time he was returning her stare and there was a blank masked expression. Maggie swallowed thickly when she realized he had likely been listening.

Maggie bit her lower lip before tearing her eyes away from him and back to the rest of her family. "But I would carry it with you," Maggie spoke as her eyes settled on her sister and Jeremy. "I have a feeling you won't have it for long."

Hershel followed her line of sight and knew what she was referring to. It was a somber thought that it would be useless to pass the watch down through Maggie's line of the family now. It would never continue for her, but it could for Beth. Maggie also appreciated some of the irony of another pocket watch being passed through the Gilberts based on what she's read. At least this one wouldn't be nearly as troublesome.

* * *

Maggie was standing over by one of the picnic tables, which had the liquor bottles out from the Grill while talking to Beth lightly. It was then when the urges started to hit her. She shook her head to shake them away. They weren't bad, but the emotional strain of being there was starting to grate on her nerves a bit. Plus it didn't help having almost a dozen beating hearts around her.

Maggie kept her mind off of it by spiking her drink with some liquor. She was taking a sip of that while nodding along to Beth talking about school when she noticed Kol and Daryl. The grown men, or children depending on how you looked at it, were messing with the crossbow again. Except this time, Kol had shrugged off his jacket, showing the light blue button-up shirt underneath. Daryl had the bow this time and instead of aiming at the house, he was aiming at Kol.

Kol stood there with a cocky grin and Maggie focused her hearing a bit to catch the tail end of him saying something along the lines of that Daryl couldn't hit most vampires if he tried because of their reflexes.

To demonstrate that point, Daryl shot off a bolt and Kol easily caught it in the air. "Told ya," He smirked at the redneck, who snorted and shook his head to load up another one.

Sure enough, Kol caught the second one, which was aimed more for his left shoulder with ease, before tossing them both on the ground. That was their idea of fun? Maggie wondered. She mentally shook her head. Most family picnics there's normal games like horseshoes and crocket. Nope, only hers would indulge in 'Let's shoot the Original'.

Maggie set her glass down and walked over towards the two, but kept a respectful distance. She knew better.

"You really shouldn't encourage him for your own safety," Maggie called out to the two with a grin on her face despite it all. She folded her arms over her chest.

Kol turned his head to look at Maggie and put on a fake pout. "Oh you wound me, darling. I can handle myself," He claimed arrogantly.

Maggie chuckled and countered, "I wasn't talking to you."

Kol opened his mouth to say something more but he suddenly let out a hiss instead. Maggie startled at the sight of the bolt plunging into his chest. At first she was concerned where exactly it hit, even though regular wood couldn't do any real damage to him. Kol let out a swear under his breath and his shoulder sagged on the right side, where the arrow hit him.

"Gotcha that time," Daryl smirked behind the crossbow.

"Right between the ribs too," Kol cringed, feeling the wood rub against the bones as he spoke. His voice came out more like a wheeze than anything. Definitely punctured a lung, he thought to himself. One hand reached up to wrap around the shaft.

"Kol?" Maggie's eyes widened in concern. Rationally she knew he was okay, but it still wasn't a reassuring sight to see.

He waved his other hand to stop her from stepping forward. "It's okay, I got this," Kol gave the arrow a firm yank and pulled out of his chest. The wood was coated with red and stained his shirt a bit before the wound closed up. He took a deep breath and held it, his shoulders lifting with the motion and waited to feel the rest of his body recovered.

"Okay, I'm good," Kol declared with a cheeky grin. Then he looked to Maggie again and saw her shoulders grew completely stiff. Her eyes were focused on the arrow in his hand.

"Maggie?" Kol frowned at her reaction. She shook her head quickly, breaking out of her trance and turned on her heel to walk out of the back yard.

Maggie forced herself to take deep breaths, trying to force the sight from her eyes while she walked around the side of the house. She just needed a few minutes away from all the humans, she told herself. And Kol openly bleeding in front of her. Then she would be fine, right?

Kol caught up to her as she came around to the front of the house, which was empty except for the vehicles parked on the street. He left the bloodied bolt behind with Daryl. The teasing in his expression was filled with concern instead. Kol called out her name again.

Maggie stopped in her steps. "I'm sorry, the blood…" Her voice trailed and wondered if she should have fed more before coming here.

Kol frowned, catching onto what she was saying. He glanced around them. This wasn't exactly the best place to lose it, in a wide open space with so many people around. "Alright, come here," He ordered gently while his hands went to his wrist and he loosened the button to his right sleeve.

Maggie turned to face him with a perplexed expression while he began to roll up his sleeve. Once his wrist was exposed, Maggie caught on and her eyes widened in alarm. "Kol, I shouldn't…" She began to protest. For all the times she drank his blood, it was never directly from the vein.

"Do you have a better alternative?" Kol countered bluntly, pulling the fabric up to his elbow. It wasn't like he had time to tap a keg or anything.

Maggie's eyes darted down to the bloodstain on his shirt. It was still moist and she could feel the fangs pushing at her gums. Instead of answering him, she just shook her head.

"You can do this, remember your control," Kol reaffirmed and then stepped to Maggie, but moved around behind her instead. "And just in case I'm going to hold you like this, okay?" He added on with a bit of teasing in his voice while his left arm wrapped around her waist. It also pinned her other arm down to her side and held her back against his chest.

Maggie nodded numbly and Kol raised his right wrist to her, exposed open towards the sky. She swallowed thickly, staring down at the flesh and seeing the faint blue veins protruding underneath. Despite her apprehension, she couldn't deny the animalistic nature of her that appreciated the offering. Her free hand wrapped around his arm and she barely felt the fangs slip out before they sank down into his flesh.

Maggie closed her eyes and gave a sigh at the first taste. Immediately the searing burn in her throat was appeased by the blood. A moan escaped from her lips as she began to indulge. She felt Kol give a brief shudder behind her, but didn't think anything of it. He rolled his eyes up towards the sky and squeezed him shut. Feeling the pull on his veins and hearing the moan coming from her was going to be the death of him at this rate.

But then he felt the hand begin to tighten on his arm. A sensation of pins and needles began to ripple through his arm and it wasn't necessarily from her grip. Kol flexed his fingers, trying to keep the sensation. "That's enough, Maggie," He murmured into her ear.

She didn't respond at first, so he continued to whisper to her. "Enough, Margaret. Remember your breathing, focus. Don't let it control you."

It wasn't until his last sentence that he felt her begin to ease up, but he was still alarmed by the strength of her grasp. Her lips were pulling away from his wrist when another voice cut in.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Rebekah scoffed. Kol mentally swore at himself, looking up to his sister. He hadn't even bothered to keep an eye out for anyone once Maggie began to feed from him.

The veins underneath Maggie's eyes disappeared almost instantly. "That should be pretty obvious, sister," Kol clipped out shortly and pulled his wrist down, putting it behind his back to let it heal without tempting Maggie further.

Rebekah blinked, completely appalled by the situation she just walked into. She had been suspicious when she overheard Daryl and Kol, then saw Maggie took off. "Blood sharing, really Kol? Since when have you gotten into that?" Rebekah shook her head. Out of all her siblings, he was the one always tooting emotional detachment.

Kol grinded his teeth together, but loosened his grip on Maggie. He could practically feel the embarrassment radiating from her. Maggie stepped away from Kol with a hand covering her mouth, licking the away the remains of any blood from her lips.

Rebekah's gaze remained sharply on Kol and Maggie suddenly felt a lot smaller. "I think I'll go find you a clean shirt," Maggie muttered, sensing the siblings obviously needed to talk and not wanting Kol's ruined one to bother her later.

Kol clenched his jaw tightly, returning Rebekah's stare and didn't say anything. He let Maggie slip away towards the front door, hardly looking back at the two, and Kol waited until he heard it close behind her. Ever since Maggie started drinking his blood, he couldn't say he didn't think about her doing so directly and this was not how he envisioned it going.

"I didn't do it for myself, Bekah," Kol growled out in a low tone, somewhat distracted still by flexing his hand behind his back uncomfortably. Wasn't that supposed to stop now that she was a vampire?

He didn't realize that might not have been the best thing to say until Rebekah jerked her head back dumbfounded. "You did it for her?" She blinked, producing each word slowly as if they were foreign. Since when has Kol become selfless?

"What has gotten into you lately?" Rebekah frowned. He was gone most of the time, around Maggie, which she wasn't surprised at. But then he was around the mansion without her, he was quiet and almost mopey, irritable at best. Rebekah didn't know that stemmed from him masking pain.

When he was around her, he was more of his usual self that Rebekah was used to seeing. But even then there was still something different about him. And now blood sharing on top of what she figured out at Damon's party.

Kol refused to say anything, glaring at her and hoping she would go away. He had to pick his words really carefully at this point.

"Oh my god," Rebekah snapped out when it hit her. She stepped closer to Kol, as if studying his face in a new light. "You flipped it for her," Rebekah murmured in an almost awe-like tone. "You're in –"

Rebekah couldn't finish the words because Kol's hand was crushing her windpipe, wrapping tightly around her neck. She gasped, or rather choked on the last word, becoming completely inaudible.

Kol's patience ran out for this taunting or whatever Rebekah wanted to call it. "Finish that sentence and it's your esophagus," Kol growled out warningly, ignoring the fact his hand was still throbbing, despite the bite mark having healed out.

Before Rebekah could force out any words, the front door of the house opened. Maggie stepped outside with a fresh shirt in hand from Rick's closet, but paused in mid step. She thought they would've been done talking by now. Seeing the tension between the siblings and Kol's hand on Rebekah's throat caused her to reconsider. Rebekah looked at her from the corner of her eyes, unable to turn her head and Kol turned his towards Maggie.

"Uhh… I can come back?" Maggie offered, pointing with her thumb behind her, not wanting to get in the middle of it.

Rebekah reached up with her hands and shrugged Kol's hand away from her throat, unimpressed by his posturing. "We'll finish this later," She declared with a smirk forming on her lips and Kol watched her sourly disappear around the side of the house.

* * *

Maggie had stayed with Kol while he changed into the new shirt. She got rid of the ruined one quickly afterwards. It was one of Rick's shirts, she figured it would be the best fit since they were both so tall and had a similar build. After a few reassurances that she was okay, the two rejoined the party after Rebekah. No one said much about the momentary disappearance, having either not noticed it or saw Daryl shoot Kol.

While most of the humans were eating, Maggie settled down on sitting on the tabletop of one of the picnic tables next to Kol. She watched while most of everyone was gathered around the other table. It was funny watching Daryl and Rebekah with Judith. A grin played on Maggie's lips watching Daryl rocking Judith in his arms, asking if she missed Uncle Daryl. Rebekah hovered near the baby, having not gotten a chance to be around very many these days.

Kol snickered when Rebekah's voice rose a bit, scoffing at the nickname that Daryl used for Judith, "Lil Asskicker." According to Rebekah, that wasn't a proper name for a little girl. Daryl of course, remained adamant that it was completely appropriate.

Maggie shook her head, not quite sure what to think of their bickering, but figured it was harmless.

She grew quiet looking around at the eclectic group of people that have slowly become her family. There were the obvious ones missing like T-Dog, Lori and Andrea. But somehow she gained new ones in the process. Jeremy without a doubt had been accepted the easiest. Maggie noticed the small smiles traded occasionally between Rick and Liz. Their more quiet and subdue demeanor didn't make it as obvious as say Jeremy and Beth.

She hadn't quite decided where Rebekah fit in all of this. She was the same pushy Original, but she definitely seemed a little more human around Judith. The rest of the group she seemed cordial with, which in Rebekah terms was almost like being friends.

Maggie knew that Carol would've wanted to be here, to see Judith and Carl along with everyone else. Hopefully someday that could come to be. The only other person missing was Glenn, but he made his choice not to stick with the group, regardless of what happened between him and her.

Maggie's gaze wandered back to Kol. It was a bit different seeing him in one of Rick's plaid shirts, but it suited him. He was leaning forward with his forearms against his knees, impassively regarding the crowd, but otherwise seemed at ease. Her eyes dropped down to his hands while thinking about overall things seemed to go well and a grin tugged at her lips.

Deciding to be a little bold, Maggie reached a hand across to his, slipping it in between them to lace her fingers the closest one. The action broke Kol from his thoughts and he looked down at the gesture a moment before up at Maggie. It was the first affectionate one in front of her family. He gave her fingers a brief squeeze before removing his hand, rather quickly.

Maggie's grin dropped into her biting her lower lip. At least until she felt his arm reached behind him and the hand go to her hip, pulling Maggie into his side contently.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yay family picnics! And Kolie!_

_So this chapter is a bit of the quiet before things get more intense. First direct Kolie bloodsharing, yay! But let me know your thoughts on everything! We got some little clues that things aren't sunshine and rainbows for Stelena, something is still up with Maggie drinking direct vampire blood. What do you think of the Originals meeting the Atlanta group?_

_Hint for next chapter, Daggie – it's time for Damon and Maggie to sit down and talk. Klaus and other TVD characters will be returning soon or making appearances (Klaus I'm aiming for chapter 54 and there's two others yet to be revealed)._

_Please please review! I love the reviews and they are a huge motivator for me. Your feedback means a lot to me with all the hours I put into writing these chapters._

_Review responses –_

_M: I'm glad I got some of the wow factor with that last chapter! It's so hard to give little clues sometimes without giving things away (and gosh knows I have a lot of hints/foreshadowing in this story). I think we're starting to see how Kol feels a lot in this chapter (as if switching his emotions on wasn't enough), so that'll be a huge deciding factor for when Maggie explains what she learned from Elijah. I'm glad you liked the more domestic aspect of the Originals, sometimes I think it's nice to see characters when it's not all imminent danger and death threats. Mutual bloodsharing will have an effect and I've already dropped a clue about it in a previous chapter. ;)_

_Kellie: Yes! Klaus will be back starting in chapter 54 with mentions before then too. He'll be a big influence through the ending of the story at that point. Thank you for the kind words!_

_Poohxnya: Oh yes, I can definitely see the frustrations with the Katherine Pierce element to the relationships in this story (which makes it fun to write in my opinion). That decision is going to come up very very soon! Thank you so much!_

_IrishBeauty: I'm glad Stefan is starting to redeem himself! Malijah is a pretty awesome ship name, I must admit. It's got a nice ring to it. But yes, I'm a Kolie deep down inside. Thank you so much for the review, even belated ones. :P_


	52. Chapter 52

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_Natalie Walker – Urban Walker_

_Scene: Chicago O'Hare Airport_

_James Morrison ft. Nelly Furtado – Broken Strings_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie_

_The Civil Wars – Falling_

_Scene: Damon and Elena_

_Chapter Fifty-two_

Deciding to be a little bold, Maggie reached a hand across to his, slipping it in between them to lace her fingers the closest one. The action broke Kol from his thoughts and he looked down at the gesture a moment before up at Maggie. It was the first affectionate one in front of her family. He gave her fingers a brief squeeze before removing his hand, rather quickly.

Maggie's grin dropped into her biting her lower lip. At least until she felt his arm reached behind him and the hand go to her hip, pulling Maggie into his side contently.

* * *

Maggie's mind was swirling as she got ready for bed that evening. She stood in the bathroom brushing her teeth, much longer than she actually needed to. Through the open doorway, she sensed Kol moving about in the bedroom area. He was already changed. One of the first questions she asked him when they got in the door, like every other night during the past week was whether or not he was staying in the night. So far, he had yet to say no.

Her thoughts were still back to the picnic and the Originals interacting with her family. Other than her blood incident, the fact there was no major fights or death threats still threw her. She thought back to the way Kol talked to Daryl and the others. It seemed almost natural and that stunned her, in an alarmingly frightening sort of way.

It wasn't like she came there and flaunted her relationship with Kol to everyone. But at the same time, she noticed the distinct way that no one really asked what he was to her. Only Rick even asked why he was there. She knew better at this point to chalk that up as coincidence. The only person to say anything about it to her was Beth and even that was subtle.

Her little sister had been sitting next to her and simply scrunched her nose up in confusion. Her eyes were on Kol when she murmured, "I don't understand what happened… when you said you were bringing someone, I just thought it would be Damon."

Maggie choked on her drink quite a bit before she recovered from that one. Of course, she felt a little guilty about it. To Beth, she could see how it looked like her and Damon were going to get together for a while. She was probably one of the few people cheering in Damon's corner through all this.

But everyone else's silence was some sort of quiet acceptance of Maggie being there with the Originals.

Maggie shook her head of those thoughts as she finished rinsing and stepped out of the bathroom. Her eyes found Kol already in bed, lying on his back. He had one hand tucked behind his head while his right was held in front of his face. He absently flexed his fingers, staring at his wrist thoughtfully. Hearing Maggie close the door behind her, he dropped his hand and looked over at her.

He smirked slightly at her choice of bed wear, one of his shirts which was large on her frame and hung to her mid-thighs. His eyes followed her while Maggie went to turn out the last light in the apartment before making her way over to the bed and slipping under the covers.

Maggie's eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and at first she remained on her side of the bed. But she felt Kol's gaze on her and turned her head. He still kept his hands tucked behind his head casually and quirked an expectant eyebrow, flickering his eyes down at himself briefly.

Maggie snorted, catching the hint. She shuffled over the bed to curl into his side. She draped one arm across his chest and the hand tucked under his head came down to wrap around her in the process. Maggie tucked her cheek against his shoulder. Another habit she noticed from Kol being around so much lately is his tendency to shed his shirt in the comfort of his own home. It wasn't one she was entirely opposed to either.

She ran her fingertips lightly over his chest while she settled down under the covers for a few minutes. The action was eventually stopped by Kol clasping his hand over hers. "Thank you for coming today," Maggie murmured quietly, while she felt tired, her mind wasn't ready for sleep just yet.

She felt the rumble of a chuckle through his chest. "You need to stop doing that, darling," His tone was teasing, but she could sense a slight edge.

Maggie blinked in confusion, "Doing what?"

"Thanking me for doing things I would have done anyway," Kol retorted, letting the hand wrapped around her run idly up and down her side as he spoke.

Maggie rolled her eyes, but smiled despite herself anyway. "Right, because doing decent things might ruin your reputation if other people notice," Maggie muttered sarcastically, remembering his words at the waterfall.

"Precisely," Kol grinned while relaxing and closing his eyes.

Even though she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, Maggie felt the time starting to slip away. Kol remained still underneath her. His chest didn't even rise and fall when he slept, she noticed, probably having been long past the habitual human instinct. It made it really hard to tell when he was awake or when he was asleep when he had his eyes closed.

With a soft sigh in the darkness, she shifted her head slightly, trying to get more comfortable.

"Can't sleep?" Kol whispered, almost startling Maggie, without even opening his eyes. He could feel her restlessness in the slight shifts of her body against his. Maggie simply shook her head a little against his shoulder.

"Me either," He smirked. In truth his thoughts had been back on the picnic and among other things from the past.

"What were you thinking about?" Maggie asked innocently, knowing her concerning conversation with Elijah was the main reason for her restlessness. She still had to figure out when to tell Kol about it. Seeing the way he got along with her family made it more complicated. What if he didn't react well?

"You," The one word sent a chill down Maggie's spine. It wasn't accusing, but meaningful in ways she didn't fully comprehend.

"Really?" Maggie questioned, the tone imploring to know exactly what. Kol lacked his usual smirk and cheek when he said it. She doubted there was some underline sexual suggestion to it, which left a number of other possibilities.

"Mhmm," He murmured and paused to clear his throat before proceeding, "I was thinking about the first time I saw you."

Maggie bit her lower lip, keeping her head tucked against his shoulder. It was easier not to get lost in his eyes and his lips if she wasn't directly looking at them. "When I ran into you after stomping off like an idiot?" Maggie clarified in a bemused tone.

"Try about a year earlier than that, love," Kol's grin grew broad, staring up at the ceiling of the apartment.

At that, Maggie's head shot up quickly and she pushed herself up on her side to look at him fully. "What?" She mumbled in sudden alarm.

Kol's eyes flickered with amusement when they met her frantic wide emeralds. "You don't remember?" He teased her lightly. The hand over hers on his chest moved to touch her cheek. Maggie remained stiffly still staring down at him, completely unsure how to react to that. She shook her head rigidly once.

"I'll show you, just close your eyes and relax," He whispered out gently and used the hand on her cheek to prompt her to lie back down. Maggie felt her heart pounding, but complied anyway.

How was she supposed to relax after saying something like that? Even with that, she barely closed her eyes before she felt her world slip away from her fingertips.

* * *

Maggie shook her head, chasing away the dizziness from her eyes. However, that was soon replaced by confusion when she realized she was standing up and moving. She was leaning back against a glass handrail of a moving walkway. Looking down at herself, she was relieved to see that she had normal clothing at least, some jeans and one of her dark shirts.

She looked off the walkway to see people moving about, many with suitcases or rolling luggage bags. She frowned, trying to get a good look at some of them but having difficulty. Naturally on the moving walk way, they passed by in a blur. It was dark and her natural instinct told her that she was underground. Most of the lights came from the zig zag design of bright LED lights overhead. It took her a moment to remember where she had seen this place before.

"O'Hare?" Maggie muttered, remembering the name of the Chicago airport. They were under the tarmac going into a different concourse right now.

"Yep, Chicago O'Hare," Kol's voice interrupted her thoughts and Maggie whirled around to see him leaning on the opposite handrail next to her. Like she, he was dressed in some of his usual casual clothes sans his jacket.

"You've been here before?" Maggie asked dubiously. She was pretty sure airports were among the things that weren't around at the turn of the twentieth century.

"Just once before," Kol answered simply and turned towards where the walkway was heading. He leaned one elbow against the hand railing and made no move to hurry. Maggie followed his gaze, noticing the brightness of the lights at the end, where the stairs led upwards. She noticed the large overhead signs that indicated they were heading towards Concourse B.

She frowned slightly in thought, remembering most of her flights back home came out of Concourse C and B, mostly domestic eastern flights.

Kol sighed and muttered sarcastically, "Compel yourself into first class. It's easy, I do it all the time, he said."

"What was that?" Maggie quirked an eyebrow him, taking her eyes off the end of the walkway.

Kol ran a hand through his hair, ruffling some of the locks before going on to explain. "Niklaus booked my first flight out from Mystic Falls, but I had to last minute book the return trip. I was put on standby, but I managed to get a seat anyway," He offered an arm out to her while he stepped off the walkway.

Maggie took the offer and nodded along while listening to his story. "So I got on the plane and found out they put me in _economy,"_ His nose wrinkled up in disgust at the word. Maggie bit back a smile and refrained from telling him that's how most normal people travelled. "Niklaus said just to compel myself into business class if I didn't like it."

It seemed simple in theory, but Klaus also failed to mention he was going through one of the most trafficked airports on a frequented connecting flight that was usually booked full. "I compelled the steward to allow me to sit in a business class seat," Kol continued and Maggie grinned knowingly, having a feeling it wouldn't go well at this point. "But then this stuffy pig boarded, demanding his seat," Kol recounted, remembering how the gentlemen had been waving his ticket to prove it. "Saying something about being a Mileage Plus member and what have you." Like Kol had any idea what that was.

"He started throwing a fit, which drew the attention of security and I think an Air Marshal is what they called it," Kol scrunched up his nose, still unfamiliar with all the terms being thrown around that day. "I thought, I would just compel security to get rid of him and problem solved." How hard could it be to escort one man off a plane, after all?

Maggie pressed her lips tightly together while picturing this playing out in her mind, trying not to laugh at the mental image. She remained by his side while the two ascended the stairs.

"But _no,_ that just drew more of those guards or air police," Kol cocked his head slightly, trying to think of the right name and remembering quite the disturbance it had caused at that point.

"You mean TSA agents?" Maggie supplied for him.

"Yes, that!" Kol perked up slightly and cleared his throat to continue on, "They wanted statements and had all these silly policies," He waved his hand dismissively. The agents had been citing all these fines and consequences for simple things such as being too loud or delaying the plane boarding process.

"So I had to compel the bloke whose seat I took, most of the flight crew and the people in business class who saw all this. Then the agents that removed the man from the plane, and then I had to compel the attendant to let me talk to the pilot to compel him to come up with an excuse for the delay to flight control that would still let the plane take off," Kol rattled off and finished exasperatedly when he ran out of breath.

They reached the top of the stairs and stepped out into Concourse B. By the end of Kol's story, Maggie was shaking her head and laughing. Yeah, compel your way into first class, it's not as easy as it sounds.

"All that trouble for a little extra legroom," Maggie teased lightly while her eyes darted about the terminal. She couldn't help but be amazed how realistic everything seemed. She could see the sunlight filtering through the glass panels overhead and the steel structure. The rolling of wheels against the floor and chattering on cell phones was louder than she recalled with her new senses. She could even pick out the certain flavors of pretzels and fried food from the concession stands along the way. None of the people took any notice of them, but whether that was the usual traveler attitude or because of the dream she didn't know.

Kol shrugged nonchalantly and a smirk grew on his face as he thought about it. "I suspect Niklaus was still sour I put wolfsbane in his paints before I left Mystic Falls," He added, thinking how bored he had been at the mansion during the day there.

Maggie noted they were walking past Gate B6 before turning her head to look at him again. His hair seemed a much lighter brown shade in the direct sunlight. He didn't seem nearly as menacing with the lazy contentment in his eyes. "And you remember all this from one visit?" She marveled in the recounting details of the dream. Everything was there, the workers cleaning up garbage disposals down to the screens full of arrivals and departures.

Kol shook his head, answering lightly, "Nope, I'm pulling this mostly from your subconscious at the moment."

Maggie's eyebrows rose impressed at that. She knew her dream manipulation had been uncontrollable and inexperienced. She couldn't produce anything with such clarity as this. But she figured, his age and experience played more into this than anything else. Even Damon's she had only see her and Damon in, she wondered if he could produce a large crowd like this.

Maggie remained in humble silence while they walked. Her hand kept a grim grip on his upper arm and she hovered close to him, mostly having to avoid colliding with the people walking by.

A few minutes passed before he turned and announced abruptly, "Ah, here we are."

Maggie stopped with him and her eyes traveled up automatically to the gate sign. They froze there when she saw "B12" staring back at her. That was when she got the tickling sensation at the back of her neck. It was like an odd sense of déjà vu but she wasn't quite convinced that's what it was.

At least, she wasn't until they stepped forward and Maggie saw the attendant counter. Next to the line for the gate, there was a row of chairs on either side. The numbers flashing on the television screen above the attendant counter completely stole Maggie's attention as she put it together quickly.

Looking to the row of blue chairs immediately next to gate line, Maggie spotted an eerily familiar brunette. Familiar, as in identical down to the short haircut and the baggy Northwestern sweatshirt with the black laptop bag at her feet. Her head was turned away, talking away on a cell phone, but Maggie knew who it was.

"That was _you_!" Maggie gasped, turning to Kol when it all came together. "You were the reason that flight from Denver was delayed?"

Kol grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Oops," He claimed in a remorseless tone.

"Come on," He urged forward and moved to take a seat in the row opposite from the past version of Maggie. Whether it was a coincidence there was two open seats or just the dream manipulation, Maggie wasn't sure but followed after Kol. He lounged back in the seat with an arm across the back of Maggie's. For a long while, Maggie was silent as she watched her younger self. It wasn't unnerving, because it looked exactly like her, but that girl was so much different than the one today.

Her cheeks were a little rounder and skin a little paler from spending hours in college classrooms, instead of outside on the run from walkers. She wasn't as bitter about the world, but she had that scowl on her face that would become almost permanent over the next year. The scowl that had only recently started to fade. As Maggie sat, the memory of this came back to her and she knew that conversation she was having on the phone. Hershel was talking to her about what happened on the farm.

Maggie tore her eyes away from her and looked towards the double doors that were being propped open by the United Airline employee. She could already hear the footsteps of the passengers deboarding the plane at the bottom of the ramp.

"It took me the longest time to recall why your face seemed familiar to me," Kol murmured quietly and enjoyed the way Maggie sat up stiffer, watching the first passengers appearing in the hallway. Maggie nodded and didn't say anything, watching for the earlier version of Kol to appear. The tickling feeling at the back of her neck grew, she knew what was going to happen next, but she had to see it.

Maggie heard his voice before she saw him. He was snapping at someone on the cell phone about his neck getting broken by Damon before they took off with Jeremy. It took a moment before Maggie could faintly make out Klaus' voice on the other side of the line, thanks to her vampire hearing.

The past Kol emerged from the walkway with brisk steps and irritation radiating off his shoulders. Apparently the flight and confusing take off had done nothing to help alleviate the tension from the fiasco in Denver. He was wearing the same black jacket that Maggie kept from Kol.

Maggie eyes darted to her younger self and she knew right away what to expect. She wasn't even looking up, completely engrossed in her conversation, like many people did those days. She barely saw Kol's sneakers as he walked by. It was what she said next that stopped him dead in his tracks.

It was that moment gushy high school teenagers imagine the love of their life would stop and instantly know the moment they spotted the one. Like some trashy romance novel.

But no, reality didn't quite work like that.

"What do you mean he _bit _Shawn?" The younger Maggie hissed lowly into her phone, causing the past Kol to nearly trip over his feet.

Even though the vampire had walked right past her and now was a good ten yards away from Maggie, he heard and turned on his feet. His eyes sharpened quickly on the source of a phrase so commonly referred to vampires. He kept the phone to his ear while Klaus continued to yap away, but he studied the woman that had her body half turned away from him.

The real Maggie smirked slightly. To any stranger, it looked like he was completely gawking, but now she knew he was just listening to her conversation. She didn't need to listen to recall how Hershel had explained one of Shawn's friends turned and he got bit in the process.

"Are you going to take him to the hospital?" Her younger self asked her father over the phone, her eyes trained on the floor.

Maggie remembered the answer being no before Hershel said it. He was stubborn and believed that he could treat Shawn just fine without paying ridiculous hospitals bills. Besides he claimed, they hadn't heard anything about one of the neighbors that disappeared earlier that morning. Maggie knew later that night Shawn would bite Annette when he turned before Maggie even got home.

While Hershel was explaining all that, the younger Maggie's gaze moved along the floor and she looked up. She remembered the feeling of being watched in that moment. When her gaze moved up, she caught Kol staring blatantly at her.

Her eyes flickered up and down Kol quickly before mustering up what Maggie could only describe as her best, "_What the hell are you looking at?"_ glare.

And just like that, Maggie looked away from Kol dismissively. The vampire in question looked a bit startled by the glare, shaking his head briefly and turning away. It was almost in, dare she say, embarrassment at being caught.

"I think it's spreading, Niklaus," The earlier Kol murmured lowly into the phone and picked up his steps quickly to head off towards his next gate. Maggie faintly caught something about Klaus saying he wouldn't be surprised if the FAA grounded flights in the next 48 hours.

"You were so _un_impressed," The real Kol commented next to Maggie, reminding her that he was still there through all of this. There was a slight dejected tone to his voice. Maggie turned to him and swore she caught a bit of a pout too.

That sent her over the edge, she started to laugh and shook her head. "I'm sorry. Hot random stranger or not, you were staring like a complete creep, Kol," Maggie teased him lightly. While it was eerie to watch her memories play out before her and the nature of the conversation on the phone was heavy, it didn't weigh her down as much now. She had replayed that conversation so many times in her head before, but never really cued into the fact _that_ was Kol.

Kol just shrugged and grinned, watching the way Maggie laughed until she finally settled down. She shook her head in disbelief, only barely paying attention to the past version of her shelf.

"So just like that," Maggie commented, thinking how simple and almost normal it was. Almost, because it looked that way on the surface, but the truth was totally different. If it Kol hadn't tried to compel that man, the gate never would have been changed and they never would have saw each other.

"What would you have done if you knew I was the doppelganger then?" Maggie asked Kol curiously, remembering how he had no idea what Rose looked like. That was the only reason he just kept walking, she figured.

"Oh, I would've found your home in eight hours tops," Kol answered quickly and confidently.

"Really?" Maggie scoffed, "How?" He could tell that just from one look?

Kol snickered at her alarm, but explained frankly anyway. "Well, first I would compel one of these other passengers to give me their ticket to get to Atlanta," He gestured towards the other people sitting around them, but Maggie didn't take her eyes off Kol. "Then I would've compelled an attendant for the flight manifesto to get all the passenger information. After that I would go to the nearest Department of Motor Vehicles office and cross check the address with the photographs and birthdates…"

"And you would know where I live, when I was born, and who I am just like that," Maggie finished for him, nodding in numb understanding of just how resourceful being a vampire could be. It was unnerving really. "I would be dead by dinner," She muttered under her breath, glancing towards the innocent recollection of her younger self.

"Maybe, maybe not," Kol admitted, but his tone was leaning more towards the latter.

Maggie looked back him sharply, imploring at the ambiguity.

"I spent five hundred years chasing an idea, not a specific person or face. An idea I have yet to fully come to understand," Kol said. He had years of contemplating what that idea could be, but the truth was he never knew for sure. Just like he wondered what that face would be when he met it, but he didn't know until now. "I didn't kill you now, who's the say that I would've killed you that time?"

Maggie nodded, taking a deep breath and frowning thoughtfully while she considered his rational.

But apparently Kol wasn't done speaking. "And maybe if this didn't happen…" His eyes flickered down between them, referring to the present. "I was doing sweeps through the east coast, I would've eventually found that prison if Damon hadn't found you. Or if this plague hadn't occurred and Elijah came for you, he would've asked me to help hide you from Klaus."

"What are you trying to say, Kol?" Maggie's head began to spin from all the possible scenarios that had one common variable.

Kol leaned forward to her and raised his hand, not the one the back of the chair, to her cheek. "What I'm saying is that," His tone softened and she felt the back of his knuckles brush against her skin, "in _some_ capacity or another, you and I were unavoidable."

Maggie swallowed thickly, feeling a chill go down her spine from that last word. She wasn't one for believing in fate, but when he put it like that it made you stop and think. "Doesn't that scare you?" She asked in a quiet whisper, thinking more of how she felt about it.

"I was terrified at first," Kol admitted bluntly in a rare moment of honesty before a smirk took over. "But I spent centuries chasing an idea and when I gave up looking for it, that's when I found you. After living for as long as I have, there are only a few things I have faith left in and one of them is that things happen for a reason," His hand turned to cup her cheek gently as he spoke.

The knot in Maggie's stomach was only a little alleviated by the soothing touch. She remained captivated under his gaze while she hung onto each word. The adoration in his eyes struck her the most and it took Maggie a long while to realize that he was waiting for her to say something.

She let out a breathless chuckle, almost squirming under the tension. "You were right, you don't play fairly," Maggie mimicked his earlier words while the one on her mind wouldn't shake away.

Kol just grinned broadly at her.

* * *

Maggie stirred in bed with a yawn. She stretched her limps out like a gingerly feline under the covers. Turning over on her side, she noticed that Kol was already up and out of bed. That didn't really surprise her and she wondered how he could be such an earlier riser. She settled down a moment, thinking back to the dream she just had. It seemed so surreal to be sitting with Kol in a busy airport talking about fate. But she knew the words they exchanged were real.

She heard the refrigerator door open from the kitchen. Pulling the covers aside, Maggie climbed out of bed and headed towards the noise. She came into the room to find Kol putting a blood bag in the microwave for a few minutes. At least it wasn't any eggs this time, Maggie thought to herself.

She swiftly approached him once her groggy mind caught up with the fact she had the real version in front of her and not a dream. The microwave hummed to life and Kol turned around, sensing someone stirring in the apartment to find Maggie right behind him. He smirked at her and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by her lips on his.

Her hands went to his cheeks, sliding back into his hairline while his hands caught her hips. Kol recovered from his surprise quickly and hummed against her lips in approval before using his tongue to part hers. Feeling his resolve to stick to his resolution begin to waver, Kol had to ease back from the kiss as the last seconds ticked down on the microwave. He couldn't think about just how thin the fabric of that shirt actually was and how easy it would be to tear it away.

"Mmm, I should share dreams more often if this is the response I get," Kol greeted her in a teasing tone while the microwave beeped behind him.

Maggie scrunched her nose up slightly and pulled her hands back to swat him lightly in the chest. "Stop," She chastised but ended up grinning anyway. She stepped away to let him turn around and retrieve his blood bag. She slid into one of the island bar stools while she watched him pop the cap off the bag. Idly, she made a mental note to track down some coffee beans. She could use a little caffeine boost in the morning.

"I won't be able to train with you today. I need to get out of Mystic Falls for a bit," Kol announced seriously after downing half the bag.

"Get out of Mystic Falls?" Maggie questioned his word choice immediately, sitting more upright in the chair.

Kol nodded and gestured down to the blood bag in his hand. "I need to hunt something fresher," He explained without saying he also needed a chance to clear his head.

Maggie had to bite back the natural instinct to ask if she could go with him. But it caught up with her how morbid that would seem. It wasn't like he was going to be hunting deer and she didn't have a direct need for it.

"Right, because you're drinking for two now," Maggie smirked, taunting him return for the comment he made about vampire hormones on the road to Georgia.

Kol shot her a rueful look.

* * *

Maggie found her cup of coffee later that morning at the Mikaelson mansion. Taking advantage of the warm morning air, she sat out on the back patio in the chair of a small dinette set. She slipped one the hot liquid, noting how strong the coffee bean flavor was on her senses while Elijah sat across from her. Kol left shortly after morning conversation. She knew he didn't particularly like the idea of her being alone with Elijah, but she had to keep him updated to keep up her end of the deal she made.

Elijah had his suit jacket draped on the back his seat and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. It was the most dressed down she had yet to see him, which made him seem a little more human in her eyes. He took a sip of his own coffee.

"This is the first human craving I've had," Maggie declared with her sudden realization. Sure, alcohol had been her go to on several occasions, but it wasn't for the flavor.

Elijah nodded understandingly, "Your body must be finally adjusting." He had to admit that it seemed unnerving to him still that a vampire was feeding regularly on other vampires, but he was learning that Mystic Falls caused him to doubt what could be impossible.

Maggie kept her fingers wrapped around the warm ceramic and shrugged. "I suppose, I haven't had a blackout in a week," She commented, thinking since she started drinking Kol's blood.

"I suspect that has more to do that has more to do with Kol's_ lessons_," Elijah smirked faintly at the last word. The first time he heard Maggie getting thrown into a wall, he thought that Kol was legitimately torturing her.

"Probably," Maggie agreed, grinning behind her coffee cup before taking another sip.

She set her cup back down on the table while silence settled over them. She had to admit she wasn't as nervous around him this time, as long as he didn't decide to bring up the past. To avoid that, Maggie thought about something else on her mind and took the opportunity.

"May I ask you something, Elijah?" Maggie cleared her throat. The Original quirked an eyebrow for her to proceed, choosing not to point out the fact she just did. "Does the term claiming have a special meaning?"

Elijah's eyes widened fractionally before taking the time to sip his beverage and putting it down on the table, collecting his thoughts. "Claiming is an old vampiric term. It's an intimate exchange that marks a vampire belonging to another and vice versa," Elijah explained, if he was uncomfortable by the topic he did a good job of hiding it. "Some younger vampires may not be as familiar with the practice and while it discourages other suitors, it might not stop more persistent ones."

Maggie bit her lip, unable to help equating the way he described that to marriage practices. She thought of wedding rings and how that deterred most men, but sometimes a gold band wasn't enough. That sounded like a very serious commitment and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. The use of the word persistent caught her attention, too. "Persistent… you mean vampires like Damon?" Maggie questioned carefully.

Elijah nodded, but didn't say anything because he was thinking her question actually narrowed down who brought up the claiming term without him asking.

Maggie shifted upright in her seat a bit, not entirely sure how much she wanted to have this conversation but she did start it after all. "How exactly does that work?" She asked, rubbing one hand against the back of her neck as she did.

Elijah leaned back on his seat, folding his hands lightly in his lap, seeming to be perfectly at ease still. If anything, she picked up a hint of amusement at her discomfort. "It requires an exchange of blood from both parties, which can form a bond in rare instances. It takes several exchanges before it affects your scent," He gestured a hand casually as he spoke, waving it in the air. "Which is how other vampires know you're unavailable, so to speak. But I imagine that won't affect yours much more than it already has been," There was a definite smirk on his face as he finished this time.

"I smell different?!" Maggie's voice rose slightly, her eyes widening and she had to fight the natural instinct to turn her nose to sniff her shirt.

"Naturally, you've been drinking Kol's blood for a week now, have you not?" Elijah pointed out without needing the answer. Most vampires may not be familiar with Kol's scent, but he could smell his brother on her since the moment she walked in the door.

Elijah took Maggie's silence as confirmation. If she was still human, he was sure that her cheeks would be fire engine red at this point. "Why exactly do you ask about claiming, Ms. Greene?" He tilted his head slightly, choosing to remain focused on the facts of the situation.

Maggie delayed answering by taking a sip of her coffee, which was really more of a scalding gulp that burned her tongue. It healed quickly anyway. "Kol mentioned it… It's something he wants to do," Maggie fumbled with the proper usage of the term.

This time Elijah didn't bother hiding the way his expression fell into naked shock and wonder. His gaze moved away from Maggie, absently on the scenery and blinking quickly. Maggie's brow furrowed tightly, feeling a little unsettled at the eldest Original looking frankly… lost.

He often wondered how to get Kol to let his emotions back in and what type of man he would be when it happened. He didn't realize it was happening right under his nose. Kol had become so crafty at his deceptions it was hard to see the truth after all these centuries. But even Elijah had to recognize the gravity of claiming and the emotional attachment from both parties that comes with it.

"Elijah?" Maggie called to him gently.

Elijah snapped from his thoughts with a brief head shake. "My apologies…" He murmured halfheartedly before forcing his eyes back up to Maggie's gaze. He cleared his throat to explain his behavior, "Rebekah informed of her suspicions that Kol let his emotions back in. I just wasn't sure myself…" His voice trailed and the '_until now'_ was evident in his tone. His eyes wandered again and Maggie could tell he wasn't entirely seeing her at the moment.

Maggie ran her finger anxiously around the rim of her coffee cup, not entirely sure how to respond. It was harder because she couldn't read whether it was a positive or negative reaction from Elijah. But she gathered it was something he would have to work through on his own.

She glanced down at her cup, noticing the caramel liquid was almost gone. "I'll get us some more coffee," Maggie offered rising to her seat. Elijah gave the faintest numb nod and she reached forward for his cup as well. She stepped away towards the French doors to give the Original a few moments alone.

* * *

Kol didn't come back that night and Maggie didn't find him in the morning either. She couldn't hide that she had wished he had been there. A part of her had to acknowledge the fact she liked waking up to him being there. And it wasn't just for the blood bottles he left in the refrigerator either.

Maggie kept herself busy by working at the Grill and seeing Carol. She spent most of the time there recounting the family picnic and how things went for the vampire. Obviously Daryl wasn't as good at divulge details like female would be.

As the sun was setting in the town square, Maggie had found herself sitting on the table top of the wooden picnic she normally spent time at with Damon. She rubbed her hands together, not because she was cold, but from the anxiety. She had sent Jeremy home with a message to send to the eldest Salvatore. They needed to talk and she didn't want it to be at the boardinghouse where someone else would likely overhear.

The heels of her boots were tapping against the wood when the rumble of an engine cued the arrival of the blue Camaro. She watched the car pulling into one of the parking spots along the square, spotting the familiar head of raven hair. Maggie took a deep breath and forced her feet to stop while she watched Damon climb out of the car, sporting his usual black leather jacket.

"Hey," Maggie greeted quietly as Damon sauntered up with his hands stuffed idly in his pockets. She felt his piercing blue eyes dart over her and he pressed his lips tightly together, giving a nod of acknowledgement in return.

He moved to sit down next to her, but Maggie noticed he was careful to not actually touch her. "I haven't seen you around much lately," Maggie commented, trying to ignore the tension and put on a small reassuring grin.

Damon wasn't biting though. "You really find that surprising?" He retorted bluntly, his eyebrows rising a bit confrontationally.

Maggie's lips parted in surprise, but the words died in her throat. The last time she really got a chance to talk to him was at the birthday party and he wasn't exactly shy then.

Damon sized up her reaction quickly. "I take it Kol failed to mention I came by your apartment," He pointed out. His hands were clasped together as he leaned against his knees, trying to appear relaxed but his shoulders were rigid.

Maggie shook her head quickly, wondering when this had occurred and squirming in her seat. When did he come by? Was she there? What did Kol say to him? Whatever it had been, it obviously hadn't gone well if it kept Damon away all this time.

"I get it," Damon beat her to say anything, biting out the words bitterly. "He's _helping_ you, which by the way you absolutely reek of him, but hey that's helping." He had to restrain himself from using air quotes with the sarcasm.

"Damon," Maggie sighed the name, trying not to wince from the storm brewing behind his eyes. "It wasn't like that…" Well, it was but she thought she deserved a chance to explain herself.

"Stop, Maggie," Damon cut her off sharply. "Whatever you're about to say next, think about it real carefully first," His tone was warning and Maggie could tell he reached his limit for dealing with BS.

Maggie opened and closed her mouth several times, feeling like a deer caught in headlights. Despite the attitude, she took a deep breath and shook her head, unable to come up with a direct response. "What do you want to know?" She asked quietly.

"The truth, Maggie," Damon demanded, calming his tone enough to keep it even. "Just the truth, no more lying or deflecting."

Maggie held her hands, one clasped over the fist of the other in front of her mouth. Her stomach knotted while she tried to think about how to word the truth, not wanting to give it away. But eventually she decided she had to treat it like a Band-Aid, there was no making this moment better and she wasn't the best with words to begin with.

"Fine," Maggie conceded, forcing her eyes to look back at Damon. "Kol's been staying at my apartment to help me with my control." Her hand moved to absently rub over her wrist while she added on, "And I've been drinking his blood. That's why you smell him."

Damon's head jerked back like if he had been slapped. Stun kept him from immediately responding, but he probed for more information anyway. Drinking blood was personal and every vampire knew that, which could only mean one thing. "And have you two been…" His question trailed, the snark dying in his throat because he wished he didn't actually have to ask.

"Damon, don't go there…" Maggie shook her head in a warning hesitant tone. She could feel the sting around her eyes, knowing it wouldn't do either of them any good to get into the gory details of everything. The hurt was evident in Damon's eyes no matter how much he tried to hide it.

Unfortunately, her warning was everything short of an admission.

Damon couldn't sit still next to her any longer, he rose to his feet and a hand tugged at the hair on the back of his head. "How long?" He shook his head in disbelief, wondering what point this had all started. Call it morbid, but he wanted to know the moment he had pushed her away to him while trying not to think about the pain in his chest this caused. "Were you planning on telling me at all?" He turned towards her at that.

"Damon, don't," Maggie shook her head defensively, "You can't go there when –"

She didn't answer how long because she didn't know herself. How was she supposed to explain that she had always noticed Kol?

"When I still love Elena, I get it. I know," Damon snapped out quickly, his hurt flaring into agitation quickly. He stepped up to her and Maggie remained seated, having to look up at him. "Here's the difference. I never lied to you about it. I told you from the beginning exactly what was going on. You know I'm trying to get over her and I gave you space, thinking you needed to get over Glenn and everything else."

Go figure, he thought bitterly, he tried not to be overbearing when it came to Maggie's emotions, letting her dictate the pace of their relationship… Just for all of that to blow up in his face.

Maggie bit her lip harshly to keep herself from saying anything, feeling the first tears pooling in her eyes at the raw emotion rolling off of him.

"You knew every moment exactly how I felt… And for what? Me to lose you to _him _anyway?" He doubted more to himself than Maggie, her shoulders sagging as he waved a hand in the air.

"That's the thing!" Maggie piped up suddenly, refusing to acknowledge the threat of the tears. "I'm not some competition, Damon. I'm not a prize to be won or fought over. This isn't a game."

"You don't think I know that, Maggie?" Damon retorted, his voice rising in ferocity. "It never was a game to me. I meant it when I said I love you, Maggie. But now I'm wondering did _you_ mean it you said you love me?" He challenged her.

At that Maggie rose to her feet. "Of course, I love you," Maggie snapped out, refraining from throwing an insult at the stubborn jerk because when she went nose to nose she felt something deflate in her. The tears started to roll down her cheeks. She gave a shaky exhale, "But not in the way that you want me to."

The truth that she wouldn't openly acknowledge was out between them.

Maggie wrapped her arms tightly around herself, her gaze dropping to the ground. "I don't love you like that and you're right, I haven't been fair to you," She admitted shamefully. She couldn't force herself to fall for Damon and it wasn't happening. He was right after all, the heart wants what it wants.

It forced Damon to step back, almost like he took a physical blow. The anger was sapped out of him by the hurtful reality. His eyes dropped and head shook, as if trying not to accept what he heard and processing it at the same time.

The silence felt deafening to Maggie. She didn't bother wiping away the first tear that ran to her jawline. She didn't want to hurt him, but he was right. She couldn't go on with the lying and trying to deflect from the truth. She honestly wasn't the good guy at the end of the day. She lied and manipulated for her own means and that included people she cared about.

When Damon looked back up at Maggie, there was something defeated in his eyes and she hated knowing she put it there. "Let's just say," He began hypothetically, "if there wasn't Elena, Rose or Glenn… who would have you picked?" He couldn't help but wonder how different things would have been between them without those three blaring obstacles. Maybe she wouldn't even have gone to Kol at all.

Maggie cringed at the what-if question because it was honestly nothing more than that. "Damon, I can't answer that." She didn't want to rub salt into the wound, but she had to be fair. "Without them, we wouldn't be the people we are today. Don't ask me to pick like that."

Damon's nose scrunched up, his lips rolling over his cheek as he swallowed her answer. He just nodded and didn't say anything more, his throat was like sandpaper at that point.

He gave Maggie one more parting glance and before she could speak up, he turned his back and started walking towards the Camaro.

_It'll always be Stefan and Kol was there. _

* * *

Maggie tried to wipe away the tears and stop the sniffles when she cut the engine to her SUV. She had to pull it together for just a bit. She couldn't shake the hurt in Damon's eyes and the guilt that bubbled like a poisonous acid in her stomach.

She looked to the glow of the Mikaelson mansion, the light coming through the first floor windows. She used the collar of her shirt to wipe away the last tears and stepped out of the vehicle. A quick scan around and she noticed a lack of a particular silver Audi, but two other SUVs in the driveway. She approached the front door and figured to knock this time.

A minute later, the front door opened to reveal Rebekah. She cocked her head at Maggie's appearance, choosing not to comment on it and stating the obvious in her usual short tone, "Kol isn't back yet."

"I know," Maggie had to suppress the shudder going through her shoulders. "But I could use an evening of insensitivity and no one asking me what's wrong," She said in a hopeful tone, really looking at Rebekah.

The blonde narrowed her eyes on Maggie and folded her arms over her chest. Her curiosity was piqued, not for genuine concern over Maggie's state, but interest in what happened.

"Have you seen Nik's wine cellar?" Rebekah asked with a sly smirk while moving to open the door wider for Maggie.

Maggie gave her an appreciative, although pained, grin at the effort, moving to step inside. The last thing she wanted now was to talk about her feelings and how she felt about what just happened. Drinking the prized wine of the man she hated most seemed like a good way of avoiding that.

* * *

The stars seemed mockingly bright night. They were clear without any clouds to shadow them, staring down at Damon. He felt like he should shift his body to get rid of some of the discomfort, but he didn't. He just kept his hands on his stomach while the asphalt dug into his shoulder blades. Honestly, it was nothing compared to the war in his mind and the stabbing in his chest. But he didn't let that show other than the scowl on his face as he glared up at those mocking lights.

He didn't even bother turning his head for the pair of shoes echoing against the ground, approaching him. He recognized the stride and the scent before she reached him. The brunette cocked her head slightly at him and then looked around the empty forest surrounding them. "I hate to break it to you, but it's going to take a lot longer for a car to come around these days," She greeted him in a weak attempt at humor.

Damon just half shrugged, replying without hesitation. "I got all night," It wasn't like he was in a rush.

He sighed when she refused to go away and instead moved to lie down next to Damon, not quite shoulder to shoulder but mirroring his body positioning. "Find your own patch of pavement, I was here first," Damon snapped out at her childishly.

"If I recall correctly, I think technically I was first… calling for a ride home," Elena corrected him, finding it interesting of all the places that Damon chose to slip off to was the place of the conversation he compelled her to forget.

Damon quirked an eyebrow, but didn't respond. This road was dirt last time he was in Mystic Falls, so maybe that didn't quite count and in that case Elena would have him there.

"What are you doing here, Elena?" Damon questioned bluntly, the hint of aggravation in his tone. Maybe he should have just gone and pestered Alaric instead to have someone to drink with. It wasn't like he could just go to the Grill or break in, that's right Maggie worked there too.

"I just had a talk with Stefan," Elena stated with mixed feelings, fidgeting with her fingers as she did. Her straightened hair fanned out around her on the pavement. The Salvatore kept staring to the sky while Elena turned her head towards him.

Damon gave a shallow snort, asking in a tone lacking much emotion other than bitterness, "Yeah? And how did that go?" And the glutton for punishment of the year award goes to…

"I'm here instead of with him, aren't I?" Elena pointed out, her tone soft. It was a marveling contrast to the biting and harsh one he just had earlier with a different doppelganger. He couldn't let him turn to look at those brown eyes though.

"Why are you?" He frowned up at the constellation he was trying to focus more on than his own pain.

"Because I realized I should have made a choice a long time ago and I shouldn't keep holding onto something that isn't there anymore," Elena admitted, taking a moment to bite on her lip before letting out a deep breath and continuing, "Choosing Stefan had always been the safe option, but I was holding onto something that wasn't true. And you've always been there for me, through everything no matter what. Stefan… Human or vampire, everything."

Damon set his lips tightly together, his jaw twitching as he locked it to keep himself from saying anything. It was all things he had heard before since she transitioned and his resolve was beginning to wear down.

"But more importantly," Elena paused before voicing what she never got a chance to say before, "I love you, Damon."

Damon turned his head, allowing him to really look at Elena for the first time. His eyes grew wide while his lips formed an 'o' at shock from hearing the confession out right. For a long while, he just stared at her and Elena refused to flinch from his gaze, almost as if he was waiting for her to change her mind or take it back.

She loved him? She always tried to tell him that she had feelings, but it he just they were only stirrings and nothing substantial.

"God, I've wanted to hear you say that for so long," Damon sighed out in wonder and Elena started to give him a small grin. She was almost tempted to reach her hand out towards him.

But he broke his gaze by squeezing his eyes shut and turning his head back towards the sky. The wonderment melted away into a grimace instead.

He wanted her to say that, but she never did because it was always Stefan. And maybe if it wasn't Stefan anymore, that still left him second best to his brother. A familiar female voice nagged at the back of his mind, leaving him to wonder just how long it would be before he did something that would chase Elena right back to Stefan even if it was true.

He opened his eyes, those stars still flickered tauntingly at him. All of the sudden, his bones felt so heavy. And something was just so tiring by the whole situation. He could feel the way the Petrova woman next to him was staring with a mixture of apprehensive confusion.

"I love you, too," He whispered out, his voice being carried away the faint summer breeze in the air. He cleared his throat before speaking up firmly and looking Elena in the eye. "But if I choose you, then I'm going to lose Stefan," He admitted frankly.

Elena opened her mouth to protest, but she didn't know what to say. She felt like there was a possibility of rejection coming with that statement, but that was assuming Damon was going to the right thing. He always admitted to how he could try to the right thing, but he usually messed that up. And he said he loves her, that's something, right?

"And I already did that once before," He continued, ironically with the same face of a different woman, he thought. "But I can't make the same mistake again and lose my brother. I _won't_ make that mistake again."

His brother had been the one constant in his eternity, but he couldn't jeopardize it again. Damon got up from the pavement in almost a blur. He had to get away. He didn't stick around long enough to see the tears forming in Elena's eyes.

* * *

Maggie was up in Rebekah's room when the Original was showing some of her clothing that she had brought over to the mansion. Most of it was from before she was daggered in the 20's and the clothes she bought prior to the outbreak. Maggie wasn't one to normally fuss over fashion, but with a glass of wine in one hand and needing a distraction she was open minded.

In the end, she was rather curious at the older fashion. She marveled at some of the designs, especially since the vampire could afford some of the finer materials and designs of the time. Maggie ran her fingers over some of the smooth fabric while Rebekah prattled on, rummaging through hangers briskly, when she heard the front door of the mansion open.

"It sounds like my brother is home," Rebekah commented absently while smoothing out some sequins on one dress.

Maggie sighed and knocked back the rest of her wine. Okay, it was quite old and vintage, blah, blah, blah but she really wasn't in a sipping it type of mood. She did at least give it a few conservative sips the first glass, but after that, she stopped caring.

"Oh Elijah, I really hope you're not back for another lecture on properly decanting wine," Maggie muttered dryly when she felt the senses at the back of her neck tipping her off that someone was approaching the bedroom. Her back was turned to the door. How she knew she figured had something to do with the heightened Original blood senses. She glanced at the wine glass in her hand, thinking the eldest Original meant well, but tonight was not the night.

"It sounds like the first one was dreadfully boring," The accented voice cut into the room.

Maggie nearly dropped her glass and turned on her heel to see Kol leaning against the doorway, his arms crossed and a smirk on his lips. She barely processed setting the glass down on the dresser by clothes before crossing the room and throwing her arms around Kol.

The Original stood up and easily caught her, quirking his eyebrows at the eagerness. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her small frame against him and inhaled deeply. He ignored the way Rebekah narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at the couple, almost studying them.

Not that he wasn't relieved to see her, but he could tell something was off by how tightly she held onto him and the obvious fact she was drinking with Rebekah. He confirmed this when Maggie pulled back enough to look him in the eyes. He noted the puffiness around hers and frowned a little, "You've been crying." The statement came out imploringly while he reached one hand to brush against her cheek, almost out of habit at this point.

"Yeah," Maggie was a little startled by how quickly he picked up on it. "But I don't want to talk about it right now." And certainly not with prying ears around either.

Kol stroked his thumb back and forth against her skin a few moments while considering his answer. "Okay," He conceded in a gentle tone. He had just got home after all. Besides, he'd rather she came to him about it on her own.

Maggie kept her hands at Kol's shoulders, only dropping one to run down his chest, starting to feel a little better to just have him back. Briefly in the back of her mind, she wondered if it was okay to miss someone after just one day. She was even more appreciative of the fact he wasn't pushing the matter further.

"Is there something I can help you with, sister?" Kol's tone rose with impatience, but he didn't take his eyes off Maggie. The question was anything but friendly. He could feel the way Rebekah was almost gawking, her head tilted to the side slightly and her mouth hung open with sharp eyes.

Rebekah snapped out of it, almost literally perking up. "Oh good," She spoke mockingly, "I almost didn't recognize you, Kol, and mistook you for a sensitive sap."

Maggie pressed her lips together and bowed her slightly, knowing that Kol was shooting her a death glare in response.

"Go ahead and get ready for bed, darling," Kol murmured without taking his eyes off Rebekah. "I'll join you in a minute."

Not interested in arguing with that, Maggie nodded and slipped out from Kol's hands through the doorway, into the main hallway.

Once she was gone, Kol stepped into the room slowly and tucked his hands behind his back. He glared at Rebekah coldly and lowered his voice to a level appropriate to keep it between them, "Is there a problem, Bekah?"

The Original folded her arms and simply shrugged with a smug expression. "Not at all, I happen to like her," It was obvious he was referring to Maggie and Rebekah had to admit she was the only doppelganger she could stand. "And so does Elijah… But what are you going to do about, Nik?"

Kol relaxed fractionally at the apparent lack of actual confrontation between the two of them. He wasn't sure if she was going to let the emotions topic go, but he certainly wasn't going to instigate it. "I'll deal with him when the time comes," He stated dismissively and turned to head out of the bedroom as well.

Rebekah's voice stopped him at the entryway, "You know Nik isn't going to stay away for long, not when we're all here together in his house… and I'm sure he still wants to kill her." Even with Kol's message sent to him in New Orleans after the hybrid incident, she doubted her brother would handle being the one casted on the outside from what's left of his family for long.

Kol clenched his jaw and went still while choosing his words. He knew that Rebekah's threat was her backhanded way of showing she cared about him and by extension Maggie.

"If he raises a hand against her, it'll be a grave mistake," Kol declared ominously without turning back to look at Rebekah before slipping from sight.

* * *

The next morning, Maggie woke up in Kol's bed, tucked underneath the covers. To her surprise, she wasn't alone. Normally he rose before and she half expected to hear the shower running already. Instead, he was half propped against the headboard of his bed while she remained curled into his side. One arm held her to his side while his right hand remained free.

Maggie yawned and nuzzled her face against him before chasing away the sleepiness. She opened her eyes and was going to greet him good morning until she noticed what he was doing. He held his right hand in front of his face, which was pulled into a thoughtful expression. He repetitively flexed his fingers while staring at his wrist.

Maggie's brows furrowed, this wasn't the first time she caught him doing that. "Kol?" She questioned softly, aware that he knew she was awake, but he didn't move.

Hearing her voice, he stopped moving his fingers but kept staring at the faint blue spider work of veins beneath his skin. Hunting had been one of the lower priorities among the things he needed to do during that day. One of them had been to think with a clear head uninterrupted or distracted.

"Neurotoxins… some of them cause uncontrollable muscle contractions or fasciculation, even numbness or paralysis. Cardiotoxins can actually stop the heart. Hemotoxins destroy red blood cells. Some cytotoxins can rupture cell membranes," Kol rattled the terms off in an eerie calm and factual manner.

Maggie's eyes grew wide while her body became rigidly still, not entirely sure where this was going or what had brought it on. "Why are you telling me this?" Maggie asked softly.

"Because when you drank from me, my arm went numb," Kol let the hand finally fall to turn his head and look at Maggie sternly.

"You mean the night I died?" Maggie wanted to clarify, not entirely surprised since they had talked about it before.

Kol shook his head, "No, at the picnic."

At that, Maggie pushed herself up to a seating position to be at Kol's eyes level, staring at him in bewilderment. "What? I thought that was impossible… now that I'm a vampire," She nearly stuttered. Her blood and other doppelganger abilities were supposed to be useless now, right?

Kol inclined his head, but he didn't have a clear answer for her. Instead, he focused on what he did gather. "In theory, but I have to wonder… whatever neurotoxin venom may have, they all have the same goal," His gaze dropped while he logic through it, "Immobilization of their prey… Which seems like a _peculiar_ adaptation for a vampire or a human to have, particularly one that targets vampires and not humans." He's seen her feed on humans before, they were definitely not experiencing what he was.

Maggie held her tongue while she thought about it. This was now the second time that Kol's arm had gone numb from her drinking directly from him. Once was as a human and now as a vampire. Naturally, her mind went back to the incident with Damon too. There was a voice in the back of her head whispering what the possible reason could be, but she didn't have enough reason to jump to conclusions and she honestly didn't want to assume it was that.

Kol shared the same level of contemplation and the bedroom was filled with heavy silence until he was the one to break it. He had a question form in his mind ever since he heard Maggie's explanation in the kitchen of her apartment. What he didn't know was how much the question would be a game changer.

"Maggie… have you ever drained a vampire completely?" He asked, wondering what would happen if she wasn't stopped.

Maggie bit her lip and shook her head slowly. She began to pick up on his line of thinking with that look from him. It set her on edge and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest from the gravity of the possibilities.

"If what you say is true," Kol muttered, having not actually seen the incident with Damon himself, "Then I suppose it would take a vampire with a borderline death wish… can't say that I know of any," He added on a half-hearted smirk.

Maggie looked away from Kol, blinking in disbelief while trying to wrap her mind around what he could be suggesting. Well, it wasn't _could be_, Kol wasn't one to take things lightly. If he didn't know one now, knowing him he would probably go out and find one.

But as she thought that, she realized he may not have to do that and maybe she would be damning herself for what she said next.

"I think I know one."

* * *

_Author's Note: Oh snap!_

_Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I've honestly been swapped with my courses, both college and practicum (Yay for five classes and two practicum classes). Anyway! Such a sad chapter, but now begins the buildup to the end of the story! The character returns begin next chapter, things will pick up! What did you think of Damon and Maggie's talk? How about Damon and Elena? Keep in mind, in this AU, there was never that scene from 3x22 of Elena picking a brother, so this chapter nodded to that in some ways._

_And Kolie! What do you think of their actual first meeting? I thought something simple and normal (on the surface) would be much better than something dramatic and over the top – like stalking a girl in the middle of the night on an empty road._

_Anyway, please please Review! The feedback is a huge motivator, especially when I got a lot of other stressors going on in life._

_Review responses –_

_M: I wouldn't say that Kol is in denial about his feelings, he just doesn't like having other people point it out and rub it in his face. Let's be honest, Rebekah is about as subtle as a freight train after all. I'm glad you like the Stefan/Maggie interaction, Stefan always surprises me on the show with his occasional one-liners! But yeah, Glenn is a sad situation (though I have to say the proposal on TWD show was the worst I've ever seen on any show) and I can't say it will improve for him (especially if I decide to go with a sequel)._

_Guest: I'm not sure who you are, but I'm glad I was able to improve your day! I can definitely relate to that and know the feeling of needing a pick me up, so thank you!_

_Eby: You're so silly! I hope to hear your feedback/10,000 questions again soon!_

_Z: I never knew there would be so many Daryl/Rebekah shippers! It is certainly giving me something to think about for the last section of the story. And I agree that Caroline and Maggie perhaps could reconcile and become friends, however they are both stubborn, so it's something that would take work and time… which may or may not be on their side. I'll admit the idea of a sequel is appealing, I just have to work out the timing of it. I'll keep everyone posted on it. Thank you so much for the awesome review and I look forward to more!_

_UrieNanashi: Aww, thank you so much! And no, I wouldn't be mean and turn Kol human accidentally like that. He would hate it. I'll be honest, when I started this story I hadn't intended on bringing in Caroline or Tyler at all, so that was a recent development but I could see a bigger role for her if I go with a sequel. I am still aiming for 60 chapters plus a short epilogue._

_Guest 2: Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked those little moments and I hope the long waited talk is worth it!_


	53. Chapter 53

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_Plumb - Cut_

_Scene: Carol's cottage_

_Christina Aguilera – Bound to You_

_Scene: Kol and Maggie talking_

_Maroon 5 ft. Rozzi Crane – Come Away to the Water_

_Scene: The Grill to the end_

_Chapter Fifty-three_

"If what you say is true," Kol muttered, having not actually seen the incident with Damon himself, "Then I suppose it would take a vampire with a borderline death wish… can't say that I know of any," He added on a half-hearted smirk.

Maggie looked away from Kol, blinking in disbelief while trying to wrap her mind around what he could be suggesting. Well, it wasn't _could be_, Kol wasn't one to take things lightly. If he didn't know one now, knowing him he would probably go out and find one.

But as she thought that, she realized he may not have to do that and maybe she would be damning herself for what she said next.

"I think I know one."

* * *

Daryl paced back and forth in the living room of Carol's cottage in agitation. Without thinking about it, his body fidgeted between biting his thumb and ruffling up his hair in aggravation. He hadn't thought much of inviting the Original inside the house. That was a contrast to the last time he answered the door for a male vampire, who he put an arrow in instead. But now, he was starting to think that maybe he should have put an arrow into this one too.

The vampire in question stood by the window of the living room with his hands in his pockets. At least he had the decency not to look bored by the situation, Daryl thought bitterly. It was hard to be bored by what the two women in the room with them were discussing though. There was nothing humorous or lighthearted about it.

The more Daryl listened to it, the more he scoffed that Carol was even entertaining the idea.

"This is bullshit!" Daryl exclaimed, "You can't seriously be thinking about doing this?"

Maggie and Carol looked up at the outburst. Carol was sitting on the couch with her arms leaning against her knees. Maggie stood next to her with her arms wrapped around her body. The two women shared equally somber expressions.

Maggie bit her lip and bowed her head slightly. She knew if anyone would have a strong opinion objective to this, it would be Daryl.

"There's a chance it could work, Daryl," Carol murmured quietly, having been convinced by Maggie's rationale.

"A _chance_. Yeah, there's also a chance it could kill you," Daryl shot back hotly.

Kol remained by the window, trying to stay out of the conversation as best he could. He was there for Maggie, but he also recognized this conversation wasn't meant for him. It was amongst the three people that had been through a lot together in the last year.

"After everything we've done to survive, you're just… just giving up!" He huffed out exasperatedly while throwing a hand in the air.

Carol winced and Maggie frowned. While Maggie had heard about it and was aware of the bond between Carol and Daryl, she didn't witness what happened at the prison. She didn't see the way Daryl had went searching for her in the tombs and managed to find her alive, holed up from the walkers and severely dehydrated.

"Hey mate, we don't know that it'll kill her," Kol decided to speak up, actually being frank and not cheeky. "It could possibly just desiccate her for a bit." He resisted the urge to point out that she was technically already dead.

Daryl shot him a scathing look. Right, as if drained dry was so much better than permanent death. "Oh, fucking fantastic," Daryl snarled out, shrugging the crossbow on his shoulder stiffly. "I'm not standing for this," He declared and marched off towards the front door.

Neither Maggie nor Carol moved to stop him, knowing he needed to blow off steam. It wasn't his decision to make at the end of the day, no matter how much he didn't like it. Maggie doubted that he would actually go far.

An awkward silence fell upon the room with the slamming of the screen door behind him. Maggie didn't even get much of a chance to contemplate the fact Kol was actually trying to reassure Daryl in some way.

"You don't have to do this," Maggie reminded Carol in a quiet tone. She had her doubts herself, but she tried not to let it show. It seemed so much simpler when just her and Kol had been talking about it in theory. If there was anyone that wasn't cut out to be a vampire, she figured it was Carol.

"I know, but I don't want to go on forever just wondering about the possibility," Carol nodded, wringing her fingers in front of her.

Maggie opened her mouth to protest that logic, but Carol didn't give her the chance.

"Look at me, Maggie," Carol stated in her characteristic blunt tone. "Look at what I've become. I can't be around people." Maggie knew how much Carol struggled with the bloodlust, it was different for every person. For her, she had yet to really spend much time away from the cottage and Maggie couldn't imagine living off the animal blood and the occasional blood bag was all that pleasant. "I'll never be able to go out in the sun or feel human again."

Maggie wished she could say those things would get better in time, but she knew that was a lie. She wasn't going to preach to anyone about bloodlust, especially when she only just recently begun to get hers under control. She couldn't promise Carol that she would get out in the sun again. And she certainly couldn't promise she would retain her humanity.

Maggie knew that she was losing hers already. She's killed almost a half a dozen people already and she hardly even thinks about it. She's already lost some of her human urges and mannerisms. She can't tell the difference between her nature and the nature of the night creature sometimes. Only a few people she would admit to that she liked the new strength and power she was gaining from Kol's blood. Honestly, it was hard to picture going back to something less now that she's had a taste of it.

"I don't know what to say," Maggie admitted softly, letting her shoulders sag with misgivings. Yes, she had come to Carol with the idea, but now it felt like she was dying all over again. She saw it in the vampire's eyes sparingly. She tried to hide it most of the time. Carol had never really adjusted to being a vampire and being this creature wasn't in her nature.

"I know," Carol murmured, appreciating that Maggie had never been the best with words. The older vampire rose to her feet and reached forward to grasp at Maggie's hand, plucking them away from her body.

"When I made my choice to transition, I gave up my chance of seeing my baby girl again," Carol's eyes glistened at the memory of Sophia playing in her mind. Her freckled copper-haired ray of joy in her old life. "And I did that to stay with my new family," Carol smiled sadly at her adoptive daughter in front of her and thinking of the rest of the Atlanta survivors.

Maggie's hands gave Carol a squeeze while she bit her tongue, trying to be strong and not tear up as well.

"But I can't even do that. I can't stay in this in between," Carol reaffirmed her decision. She couldn't do an eternity of living holed up in this cottage, unable to see the Atlanta group or Sophia on the other side. "It's not fair to me or to Daryl. He won't say it, but he's already sacrificed enough by staying here with me."

The others didn't see how much she kept him away from the other survivors or how hard the first few days had been. The vampire blood healed up the bruises and the bite marks. Daryl even got rid of the bodies not just for Carol, but Maggie as well. Seeing the difference in Daryl when he came back from the family picnic reinforced her opinion too. It was a subtle one, but Carol could tell being able to see everyone and particularly baby Judith had much needed for him.

"I need to do something and if this is it… it's worth the risk," Carol declared, looking Maggie directly in the eyes. Neither vampire paid Kol much attention, who remained at a distance, watching in somber silence.

Maggie inhaled deeply, which came out more like a stifled sniffle. "I understand," She didn't truly, but it was all she could think of to say. She was struck by the determination and sadness in Carol's eyes. She wasn't going to change her mind in the slightest.

Maggie looked over at Kol, feeling her gut twist and only Carol's hands were keeping hers from starting to shake. The Original's expression would seem largely impassive to most people. But the slight nod from him and Maggie knew that he was sticking around for every moment, for her.

"Okay," Maggie sighed, steeling her shoulders and looking back to Carol. She gave Carol a tight lipped forced grin that came out more like a grimace. Her eyes flickered down to the woman's neck. She could feel the appeal of the blood, just from thinking about it. But she couldn't look Carol in the eye and do this.

Maggie slipped her hands from Carol's and instead moved around to stand behind her. At least from this angle she couldn't see her face, she would feel less like she was sentencing someone who had been a mother figure to her to death.

"I trust you," Carol whispered quietly and tilted her head to the side, anxiously balling her hands into fists in front of her. She knew Maggie couldn't come to her with this if she only had a slight hunch.

Maggie nodded numbly. She started to raise her hands to Carol's shoulders to hold her still and brace her. But she stopped at the last moment, remembering the vice grip that could become and dropped them quickly. Her eyes studied the curve of her neck, the angle created by the stretched muscles, seeing the veins beneath the thin layer of flesh.

Carol squeezed her eyes shut when she felt Maggie's hot breath on her skin. Kol pulled his hands out of his pockets, posed to step in if needed but he kept his distance. The fangs slipped out from Maggie's gums before she descended.

She hoped this would be her chance to redeem herself for the mistake she made with Klaus and being the reason why Carol was a vampire in the first place.

* * *

Kol let out a shaky exhale. For once, he didn't bother trying to hide his expression behind a confident smirk or cold stare. There wasn't any part of him that felt confident. He felt shattered and tossed around in confusion. He walked a few feet away from the porch of Carol's cottage. Daryl was already back inside. After it was over, he went outside to find the hunter. He was taking his frustrations out on a pile of firewood, splitting the wood with massive swings.

Kol told him briefly what happened and the redneck slipped into the house right away. Kol didn't bother following after him. Maggie was okay, but at this point he didn't feel as if he belonged. This was their family to deal with. Maggie remained inside with Carol for a long time.

He stood, staring out into the woods surrounding the property trying to wrap his mind around what he just witnessed. He ran his fingers over his face, trying to rub out the invisible tension there. It wouldn't go away though, this wasn't some bizarre nightmare that he would wake up from.

The screen door screeched with someone emerging. He didn't really know how long he had been out there, just that the sun was setting in the horizon now.

Maggie stepped down the porch steps and approached Kol slowly. He turned around immediately and his lips moved, but he didn't form any words. His gaze was imploring enough as it was.

"I think I'm going to stay here with them tonight," Maggie stated, folding her arms carefully across her chest. It was still too earlier to say either or way.

"Sure," Kol nodded absently, not entirely surprised to hear that. While he had an invite into the house now, he knew it didn't include staying. His mind was hardly on sleeping arrangements though.

He shook his head, his eyes darting between Maggie and away towards invisible ghosts of thought haunting him. "I just… don't understand how this is possible," He muttered. "It shouldn't be…"

Maggie's brows furrowed while she tried to put her thoughts together logically. She was still trying to get over the feeling of how much blood she ingested. She thought she would feel disgusting for gorging on that much. It had been so long since she drained someone completely dry. But she felt invigorated… with a full stomach at the same time. It was a confusingly disorienting feeling.

"You said that the ritual… with the vampire blood, some of its qualities were extended," Maggie stated, recalling their conversation in front of the burning White Oak tree. Kol nodded in confirmation, letting her continue. "The Bennett witch said the hybrid died because he forcibly took my blood… It was supposed to be a cure, but if only given voluntarily."

"And that died with your transition," Kol narrowed his eyes while he tried to follow along with her thinking. "Werewolves are living creatures, accepting blood from an undead creature cannot sustain or eradicate the werewolf gene I would imagine. But even if extended to vampires…" His voice trailed, still struggling that he was even voicing and entertaining the idea.

"I know," Maggie said. She didn't see how a vampire could help a werewolf now. And in theory, it shouldn't work on vampires either. She took a deep breath, "But that morning when I spoke to Elijah, he told me more about the ritual…"

Kol quirked an eyebrow, clearly alarmed he had been right in his suspicions but he held his tongue.

"I think it did get extended… beyond just my blood, but to _me," _She gestured toward her chest as she spoke. It was her as a person, it wasn't just coursing through her veins. It embodied everything that she was an entity.

Kol grimaced. That was exactly what he didn't want to hear. He didn't want the idea and the person mixing into one. It was part of the whole reason why he turned her in the first place, to separate them. "But _how_?" He had to question. She wasn't supposed to be the doppelganger anymore. She was supposed to be his Margaret.

"Elijah told me that the witch came to him… She tried to manipulate him for his blood. The blood of an Original to undo the spell casted by the Original witch, but he didn't give it to her," Maggie explained carefully. A few months ago, when Damon said Elijah would probably blab the secrets to her, she thought she would be reiterating it to Damon, not carefully balancing secrets between the siblings.

"And when she didn't get it, she came to me instead…" Kol almost growled out lowly once he caught on. Oh the mother's plight of her daughter, it had been a clever ruse after all. Kol had thought he was being the clever one by using the plight as an excuse to get back at his brother, but really it was the witch that had the third level of manipulation.

He shook his head slightly in memory of those events. Maggie bit her lip while she watched him, knowing he wasn't entirely there in the moment, but she had to keep going.

"And I'm not a witch, I don't understand how half of this works or know why I can still do it… but think about it, Kol," She said his name, partly to get his eyes drawn back to her. She stepped up to him and placed her hands on his upper arms.

"Your blood turned Rose. You turned me _and _I'm drinking your blood," Maggie said meaningfully. At this point she knew better than to overlook so many coincidences, especially if Original blood really was as powerful as Elijah claimed it to be.

Kol's face fell at her point. At this point, he was hardly aware of his body, of the simple fact he was standing there and Maggie was looking for some sort of reassurance. She was holding onto him not just because she was bound to him by blood, but she needed him. Things were changing greatly now and she needed to be able to look to him to get her through it. He had been the guiding lighthouse in her darkness before and she would definitely need that for what would come of this.

But what he said next didn't do that. He stepped back from her hands and his face contorted with turmoil. It was his doing that started all of this and no one to blame but himself for perpetuating it. And if it was true, then she represented the idea that went against everything he believed.

"Then it seems I've created my own demon," Kol snapped out harshly and Maggie flinched. He liked being a vampire. A cure or poison, either one was a threat to that very existence.

He was gone before Maggie recovered from the initial sting of his words.

* * *

Maggie tugged Kol's jacket around her as she walked up to the front door, trying to get a sense of stability from the material. It had been two days since things felt even remotely stable. It was two days since Kol took off, leaving her at the cottage and she hadn't seen him since. Maggie spent most of her time at the cottage, seeking a different sense of stability there.

The only sign that Kol was around was the occasional shifting of belongings in her apartment. She could tell that he was coming and going, but just during times she wasn't there. She always noticed the refrigerator remained stocked with a day supply of his blood, even when she took a bottle from it. At least he wasn't cutting her off, but at the same time he was leaving her alone to deal with it.

She only had one shift at the Grill during that time and she was grateful for it. Things were still tense with Jeremy's discovering of her recent roommate. Plus there was the obvious fallout with Damon, which she wasn't surprised to not see him there. She worked with Matt, who eluded to other tensions in the Gilbert house so he was more preoccupied with that and didn't ask Maggie much about why she seemed off.

"Hello?" Maggie called out into the foyer of the Mikaelson mansion as she stepped inside. At this point, she was past knocking on the front door with how often she showed up there. Her eyes glanced up the staircase towards the upper level of the home.

She was deciding between going upstairs and searching the rest of the first floor to see who was home when her senses tingled, drawing her towards one of the hallways.

"Hello Ms. Greene," Elijah greeted her politely, stepping out from one of the front studies. He was dressed in one of his usual suits, but at least the undershirt was a brighter color than normal.

"Elijah," Maggie turned to see him with a book in hand, calmly marking the page and closing it without taking his eyes off of her. She asked right away nervously, "Is Kol here?"

"I haven't seen him around today or yesterday," Elijah frowned slightly when he noticed the immediate disappointment in Maggie's eyes, but there was a lack of surprise. She swallowed thickly and nodded, keeping her hands stuff into the pockets of the jacket. Elijah cocked his head slightly, "You seem agitated. Has my brother done something to cause this?"

Maggie had to stifle the immediate yes that came to mind, but she knew that wouldn't be fair. Besides confiding their dispute to his brother didn't seem like a good idea. She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know," She answered lamely, not knowing exactly where things stood between them because of it. "He just… took off, literally."

Elijah nodded thoughtfully, sensing right away she wasn't entirely open to discussion about it. "Yes, he tends to be rather impulsive like that," He remarked, knowing his brother's ability to take off at a moment's notice. He wasn't as familiar with Maggie's similar habit of running away from her problems.

Feeling how quiet the house was and the reason for her being there lacking, Maggie toyed with the idea of simply thanking him and leaving. Before she could formulate it, Elijah stepped aside in the entryway to the study. "May I show you something, Ms. Greene?" He offered one hand out into the room.

"Maggie, please," She corrected him, finally having the mind to.

Elijah's lip quirked up while he watched Maggie walk into the room. It was more of a library than anything else. It was large enough to line the walls with bookcases. In the center of the room was formal seating set. It was one of those ornate sets with a smooth silky intricate fabric, but not a lot of cushion to the seats. In the center of them was a low coffee table.

Instead of moving to one of the seats, Maggie saw Elijah go to the bookcase. His eyes perused over what appeared to be many ancient texts before finally pulling one from the shelf. The markings on the spine were in a language she didn't even have the slightest guess to its origin.

The dark material was obviously some sort of old animal hide and Maggie approached him curiously while he discarded his original book and opened the pages of the new one. "Over the centuries it was rather difficult to remain in contact with my siblings. Especially Kol, which I'm sure you're beginning to see why," He smirked slightly when Maggie didn't object. She knew how he tended to disappear when he didn't like the way a conversation was going.

"Kol - 1302 to 1369," Elijah translated the title of the text for her politely. He showed her some of the pages and that's when Maggie noticed the two styles of handwriting in them. The ink was old, but rich from the careful preservation. The more she studied the pages, it appeared to be a log or correspondence of sort.

"What is this?" Maggie's eagerness got the best of her while she noticed Elijah's darting over the pages. He lightly ran a finger down the pages as he scanned the information.

"It's the original way of 'texting'," Elijah's tone was so dry she almost missed the sarcasm. "This book was spelled with a sister text, essentially a linking spell for inanimate objects. What is written in one text, will appear in the other. It was a popular way for witches and other creatures to communicate over long distances… at least until certain technological developments and it fell out of favor."

Maggie's eyebrows rose at that. Huh, so cell phones weren't exactly an original idea. Apparently, there was Witchy Wireless around much longer than that. "I bet those could make a comeback now," Maggie murmured, thinking how much technology has failed in this world. "Why don't witches still use them?"

Elijah inclined his head in his form of a shrug. "It has its flaws. If one book is to be damaged, the other would bear the same fate. You also have no idea who may be writing in them, so they can be precarious," He explained, not expecting to get her to understand how it was better than no communication at all during those time periods.

Elijah looked up from the book and pointed out each shelf as he referenced them. "These are my texts from Kol, Rebekah, and Klaus," His hand rose to each of the three shelves before dropping back to the book in hand.

Maggie nodded absently, her eyes passing over the spines of the books. She noticed the initial set of symbols on the books were similar. She gathered it must have been his siblings' names. She didn't realize it was the same markings from the caves below Mystic Falls. But seeing the books did give her an idea and the gears began to turn in her mind.

"This particular text… I received the messages from Kol while I was traveling in Europe," Elijah continued on, noting where one brother began writing and left off for the next one to pick up. Maggie was still processing the fact he was holding a book from the 14th century in his hand. "He was traveling in Africa at the time, following some witches I believe," Elijah murmured, seeming to voice his thoughts aloud.

At that point, Maggie was only barely listening to him. She briefly wondered if this was how the witch contacted Kol about the ritual for Rosemarie. She glanced up to the books, thinking it was time to take control of her life again and this could be the starting point.

Elijah sighed next to her, the memories coming back to him as he recollected. "Witches he massacred, of course," He frowned, with Kol always came death.

* * *

Maggie delayed by wiping down the bar counter of the Grill for the third time. She impatiently waited for Jeremy to grab the last of his things while she casted a glance towards the first door. "I got it from here, Jer," Maggie called out to him, wanting the teen to get out the door already. The darkness was creeping through the front windows. He really should go, last thing she wanted was paranoid Elena to show up looking for him.

"Alright, alright, I hear you!" Jeremy joked around, throwing his hands up in surrender as he emerged from the store room. He threw Maggie a smile and a brief goodbye before slipping out the side service door.

She grinned at him as he went. At least being around him wasn't so bad. She got a sense something else was going on at home and he didn't ask any questions about Kol. There was an unspoken agreement between them not to push whatever was bothering the other person. As soon as she heard the door close behind him, the grin fell off her face and she grew serious.

Reaching under the counter, she pulled out the texts she stashed before he showed up earlier. For the moment, she only had three of them. The one was remarkably older than the other two. It was heavy and musty, but she handled it with care. Maggie deposited them carefully one of the tables. The only table that didn't have the chairs turned up for the evening.

While she had time to kill, she disappeared into the back to rummage up a whiskey bottle. The thirst wasn't so bad since she stopped by the apartment for a drink before work. At this point, this was to calm her nerves and collect her poker face. With or without Kol, she was setting her plan into motion already.

Maggie was situated into one of the three chairs when the front door opened. She had a glass and bottle of whiskey on her right. On her left was the three books piled up neatly at the corner of the table. She looked up from the amber liquid and smirked at the two new arrivals. The women approached the table. The one was rigid and stiff in her movements, radiating apprehension. The other had a sway to her hips and sass spoken by her cool demeanor.

The younger one slipped into the first seat, her shoulders were hunched with tension that Maggie usually attributed to Elena Gilbert. The second female slid into the seat with ease, leaning back against the support with one arm draped casually behind her.

"Bonnie and Lucy Bennett," Maggie greeted calmly, raising her glass in their direction before taking a smug sip of her drink. "It's a pleasure," Maybe she was feeling a little more confident with Kol's blood in her system. She certainly wouldn't be brought down as easily this time if it came to that.

"We got your message. What do you want?" Bonnie asked sharply, skipping the pleasantry. She didn't like being called into town, especially by a vampire who's caused so much trouble already. Lucy opted to lay back and let Bonnie do most of the talking, quietly assessing the situation behind her sly look.

"I was hoping we could negotiate a deal," Maggie placed the glass down on the table carefully before looking back up at Bonnie seriously.

Bonnie scoffed immediately, "We don't work with vampires." Lucy nodded her head in agreement, though it was a little begrudging and not as hostile.

"Oh yes, that's right. I've heard about you, Bonnie," Maggie smirked, making a point of leaning back in her seat and leaving her hands on the table. It showed she didn't feel threatened by the witch. Maggie continued on, ignoring the sharpness in the witch's eyes. "You tried to prevent Elena from transitioning into a vampire when the outbreak hit Mystic Falls. The spirits weren't impressed and cut you off from your magic in retaliation."

Maggie paused in her words, tilting her head as she continued confidently, "But then _all_ those people were dying around you. They could stand idly by while watching all the suffering and tragedy. So the spirits only restored your powers with two specific conditions. Protect Mystic Falls… and severe your ties to vampires, specifically Elena Gilbert and her sympathizers." Maggie reached forward for another sip, adding on tauntingly at the end, "Tell me, did I miss anything?"

Lucy's eyebrows rose at Maggie's attitude. It was unclear whether she was impressed or surprised at the callousness. Her eyes darted quickly between the doppelganger and her cousin.

Bonnie's knuckles were white from her clenched fists and Maggie briefly wondered how close to an aneurysm she was at the moment. "How do you know that?" Bonnie asked lowly, not quite giving her the gratification of a direct answer.

Oh, still a sore spot, Maggie thought. She simply shrugged her shoulders confidently. "It's a small town, people talk," She smirked. The truth was with all her hours at the Grill, it was easy to ask casual and seemingly light questions of Matt and Jeremy. With enough even careful leading questions, she's painted a very interesting perspective of the town.

Bonnie forced her chin up, determination strong in her eyes. She didn't like the tension in the room, but she wanted to keep the upper hand. "So then you realize just speaking to us like this, the spirits could cut off my magic and put _every_one in Mystic Falls at risk," Bonnie clarified frankly, she couldn't imagine how someone could be that selfish.

"Oh, I'm aware," Maggie retorted quickly, keeping her expression calm with a challenging glint in her eyes. "But I think you and the spirits would be very interested in hearing what I have to offer first."

"What could _you_ –" Bonnie began to protest immediately in a condescending manner.

"Ease up, Bon. You can't tell me you're not a little curious to hear her out," Lucy took the opportunity to cut her off and join in the conversation. Unlike her cousin, she didn't get worked up by the obvious instigating from the vampire. Her eyes flickered to Maggie and the books on the table, adding on, "I know I am. What do you have?"

Maggie shifted her attention to Lucy quickly. Briefly, she wondered if this was their Bennett version of good cop, bad cop. "Before we get to business," Maggie dropped the attitude and picked up the first book, which was a grimoire. "I need you to look at this, tell me if there's a spell for linking objects and if you can do it." She slid the tomb across the table, opting towards Lucy since she was being more receptive.

The elder Bennett leaned forward immediately in her seat. Despite herself, Bonnie leaned closer to her to get a peek at the cover. She frowned at the name, as did Lucy. "This is comes from a very old line of witches…" Lucky voiced aloud while she translated the name in her mind.

"Where did you get this?" Bonnie immediately questioned, the hostility disappearing instantly from her expression to wonder.

"It doesn't matter," Maggie denied any room for discussion on it. She didn't need to tell them she snitched it from Elijah's study. There was a fourth shelf of books he failed to mention. It had a rather small section from Finn, small because he was daggered most of the time, and then there was this grimoire.

She kept her eyes on Lucy as the witch held her hand over the tomb. Without actually touching it, the book fluttered open and flicked through many of the pages in a blur. It settled down on a specific one that a quiet minute was spent with Lucy reading and translating under her breath quietly.

"It's here," She declared calmly once she was certain, still baffled to have such an old text in her hand. "And the spell is reasonable."

"Good," Maggie was glad they were competent enough for that. It wasn't like she had any idea just how strong these witches were. "I'll need this set of books spelled," She patted the top of the other two books on the table as she spoke. They were blank inside.

"Seriously?" Bonnie huffed out, leaning back in her seat insulted. "You called us out here to spell a couple of library books?" She was beginning to contemplate leaving. She didn't like that Lucy was humoring the vampire at all.

"No," Maggie retorted sharply, starting to get tired of Bonnie's judgmental tone. "That is only the first step, but I would like to be able to count on the two of you when the time comes," Maggie forced her tone to remain calm while she looked between the two witches.

Lucy cocked her head, remaining pensive in this. She didn't have her magic shut off like Bonnie did and she had more years of dealing with vampires, so she remained more calculating in the moment.

"We don't have a debt to fill to you," Lucy reminded her in a gentle tone. While they had tried to prevent Maggie from dying, it was for their own reasons and that was the extent of their involvement.

"And even if we did, the spirits would never allow it," Bonnie chimed in, folding her arms over her chest.

"No, usually I doubt they would," Maggie agreed with her, partly feeling on edge from Bonnie's tension. She could feel the way the static in the air picked up. It was like the humidity in the room dropped and she could spark from brushing the wrong surface. "But I think the spirits would make an exception in this case."

"What sort of exception?" Lucy was the one to nod suspiciously, sensing the confidence of the vampire. It was bold for her to call out two witches as a newborn vampire, especially her cousin that was not being discreet in how she felt.

Maggie took the time to knock back the rest of her drink before answering the witch, "How does restoring the severed Bennett line sound to you?"

* * *

It was the next morning before Maggie made her next stop. The meeting at the Grill went on for quite a while. Needless to say, her proposition definitely caught the interest of the witches, but it then posed another dilemma. It was the next day when she had an evening to think on it that she came up with a clear solution. Maggie was disappointed to not see Kol at the apartment either. His half of the bed remained untouched all through the night.

But there was still the renewed supply of sport bottles when she came back from the Grill. It still gave her hope to sort things out.

At the moment, she had to stay focused. She glanced to the passenger seat of her SUV as she drove. One of the spelled books was sitting on it. The book was rather simple, it had a blank navy bound cover. It wasn't quite pocket size, but at a glance anyone would probably assume it was just a Bible. Glancing back to the road, Maggie pulled up the driveway, finally getting to her destination. She was impressed with herself for being able to find it. She had only been here once before.

Cutting the engine, she grabbed the book and wandered up to the double front doors. She glanced around briefly at the white columns and the brick exterior of the home. It was late in the morning, she doubted the Mayor would still be here. She usually saw her downtown near the police stations and the other city offices.

Maggie leaned against the frame and knocked on the door. She bowed her head slightly as she listened, trying to pick up anything coming from within the house. It was mostly quiet, but she did sense one person moving around.

A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a young man with bronzed skin from the sun and short cropped black hair. His eyes narrowed on her immediately and he squared his shoulders. "What do you want?"

Despite the hostility, Maggie gave a taunting smile. "Tyler, is it? I don't think we've formally met," Maggie retorted, expecting him to move out the way to invite her in, but he didn't.

"Yeah, I know who you are," Tyler replied shortly, he had heard plenty about this doppelganger. He moved to shut the door, not wanting any trouble that came with her. But the door was stopped by Maggie's hand, she continued to smile forcefully at him, ignoring the rude the gesture.

"Oh, good. We can get straight to business then," Maggie announced in an almost cheery tone while she pushed the door back open. She felt a little resistance from him at first, but he gave up when she stepped across the threshold and by him to enter the house. She didn't need to remind him that his mother had invited her in during the party.

"I don't see what business I could have with you," Tyler challenged after closing the door behind her. He folded his arms over his chest and cocked his head a bit as he stared her down. The vampire didn't care much for it, instead her eyes were wandering around the house, taking in the small details she missed last time.

She stopped by the floral arrangement on the small table in the center of the foyer. "Oh, you're still mad I broke Barbie's hand. Protective boyfriend, I get it," Maggie smirked at him, taking her eyes off some of the colorful petals.

At the mention of Caroline, or rather the insulting nickname, Tyler stepped up to the vampire pointedly. He wasn't going to take getting talked down like that. She added on sarcastically, "If it's any consolation, she deserved it."

She saw it coming and reacted before she really thought about it. The angle was lower than what she was used to and the motion was much slower, so Maggie easily caught the wrist of the fist being raised towards her face. He wasn't as tall as Kol and he certainly wasn't as fast. The surprise was evident in the hybrid's eyes when she blocked him and kept her hand wrapped around his wrist, tightening threateningly.

The humor dropped from her expression and she glared at him. "Don't make an enemy out of me," She warned him darkly, "When you and I already have one in common."

"Klaus?" Tyler slipped the word out uncertainly. He was positive how he felt about the Original hybrid, but he wasn't convinced with Maggie. The vampire shrugged his fist away from her and took a step back, pacing in the foyer once more. She gave a simple nod of affirmation.

His eyes passed over her incredulously. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Maggie. Compared to the formal dress she saw her in before, she looked lethal now. She wore black combat boots that laced up over her jeans up to her knees. She had a plain black v-neck shirt, but he could make out the impression of a gun tucked into her jean waist. The gun wasn't even what made her lethal, he knew. His eyes paused briefly on the book in hand.

"I find it hard to believe you're enemies with Klaus," Tyler didn't buy it. "I've heard how cozy you are with the Originals," There was a mocking touch to the way he said cozy.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow and turned to face him fully again. Even after that display, he was still arrogant. Maybe it was a testosterone induced hybrid thing, she figured. He was dressed as if he had been out for a work out, or whatever it was that hybrids did in their spare time. "Technically, Klaus is only their _half_-brother," Maggie replied cheekily, but could see that didn't sway Tyler all that much.

Maggie let out a soft sigh before admitting seriously, "Yes, I am particularly close to Kol and Rebekah. Elijah and I… have a mutual respect for each other," She wasn't daring enough to call it a friendship. He offered guidance and advice, but that was the extent of it, in her eyes. Maggie cleared her throat before addressing Klaus, "But Klaus has tried to kill me twice already, and I'd rather not give him a third chance."

The way Tyler held his tongue and narrowed his eyes on Maggie told her he didn't know the finer details of that. It didn't surprise her that much, the hybrid wasn't in the tighter social cult of Elena Gilbert's life and Caroline had been on the outside of it lately by extension.

"The first time he chased me off a waterfall and the second he had one of his hybrids bite me," Maggie clarified bluntly.

Some of the tension in Tyler's shoulders eased up at that. Whether it was from interest or convincing, Maggie couldn't be sure. She wasn't aware just how much a hybrid being compelled to bite someone hit home.

"So what do you plan on doing?" Tyler shifted the subject slightly, interested to see what she had to say at this point.

"Well, my natural instinct would be to kill Klaus," Maggie drawled out, but there was a distinct lack of white oak, no thanks to herself. She also knew that even though Kol resented Klaus today and maybe tomorrow, some day he might come to resent her if she killed his brother. "But any attack upon him will result in a war, which I'm hesitant of starting a war with an immortal. I'm sure you can do the math how long that would last."

Tyler nodded that he was following along with her. He didn't react to her knowing smirk at the last comment. He just let her continue on while watching her fingers brush against the marble surface of the decorative table in the center of the room. She kept the book tucked under her other arm.

"The first attempt will be diplomacy. Klaus is a man of his word," Maggie was banking in that, "But if that should fail, then I would like to have a contingency plan and that's where you come in." Her eyes looked back up at Tyler pointedly.

"And why would I work with you?" The challenging was back in Tyler's tone. In truth, Maggie only told her intentions without giving much of what she was actually going to do. It made him suspicious. He wasn't that he was afraid of sticking his neck out there, he just rather do it on his terms.

Maggie clenched her jaw, starting to get impatient and bit back her initial reaction. She easily could tell him that he didn't have a choice in cooperating or not, because she could resort to more persuasive methods. She had all day to bleed him out if she had to.

"Because I came here to offer a way to keep Klaus off your back," Maggie declared, pulling the book out from under her arm at this point, holding it between both hands. "I'm aware of his crusade against your life."

The sternness dropped from Tyler's expression, he blinked rapidly, clearly not expecting to be offered help in any form from Maggie. "How?" He asked reflexively.

"You're right in that I am _cozy_ with the Original family. I can keep tabs on Klaus' whereabouts and relay it to you through this book," Maggie stated frankly and held the book out to Tyler. The hybrid stared down at it for a long moment before taking it in his hand. She watched him flip through the pages, frowning at the way they were all blank.

"I have the sister copy, it's spelled. We can communicate this way," Maggie explained while he stopped on the first page. There wasn't anything written there yet, but there would be after whoever picked up a pen first.

Tyler nodded and taking a deep breath at realizing what she was offering him. Most of the time he was running blindly from Klaus. Some places he stayed longer than others, but he was mostly looking his shoulders. He knew what it felt like to be jumpy at noises in the dark, wondering if it was walkers or Klaus.

"What's the catch?" He asked after running his fingers over the first page and looking up at Maggie. Something like this didn't come without a price.

Maggie smirked, at least his paranoia wasn't misplaced. Not too many people that came to Mystic Falls claiming to help actually ended up doing only that. "I need you to find me a witch and retrieve her," Maggie stated, placing her hands lightly on her hips, "And I think for the obvious reasons this should remain between you and me."

Tyler shifted on his feet uncomfortably, not sure how he liked the sound of retrieving a witch. But at least it sounded like there was no killing and maiming involved. "The obvious reasons?" He questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, if you go telling Caroline… She'll go to Elena, who will tell the Salvatore's," Maggie waved a hand as she rattled off the names. "And let's not underestimate their ability to screw things up."

Tyler didn't have a comeback for that. He wasn't particularly thrilled with either of the brothers. Looking down at the book, he thought of mostly Caroline. She wouldn't be happy if he kept this from her, but it wasn't the first time he had to do something behind her back for their sake. It was an opportunity he had to take and later he could explain it to her. Hopefully she'll be okay with then.

"So where's this witch?" He asked when he finally made up his mind. At the end of the day, finding one person and bringing them here was a small price to pay to have another person keeping an eye on Klaus for him.

Maggie's grin grew sly. "Chicago. From what I understand, she's holed up in the subway system with another coven. It's someone you may be familiar with," Maggie paused before adding on, "But I would be careful with this witch… from what I hear, she has fangs."

* * *

Maggie ended back up at the Mikaelson mansion that night. Working out the arrangements with Tyler took some time and then Maggie spent a good deal of the day trying to find Kol. Which she had no luck in doing so. Maggie checked all the places she could think of. The waterfall, the Grill, and even the abandoned house they had trashed together. Of course, all the driving around and going to different places might have made it more likely she just missed him.

It had been four days since she last saw him, not that she was counting or anything. But she couldn't let this continue on now that things were set in motion. Maggie didn't like going to sleep those nights, staring up at the ceiling and feeling the chill of the empty apartment. It was too quiet, she could hear the groan of the old apartment building from the other inhabitants moving about and the water running through the pipes.

She decided if she couldn't catch him, she would leave a message for him. Before she left the apartment, she pulled out a note and left it on the counter. It was the note he had given her at the abandoned house.

_When you need to find me. – Kol_

Just leaving out in plain sight, she knew that he would see it. She needed to find him now and he was nowhere to be found.

At the end of the day, she decided to hang around the mansion in hopes of catching him there. Since Rebekah was there, the blonde immediately latched her claws onto Maggie. She sensed how much the Original really just needed a few close friends, which she usually didn't have because of her status and her family.

So that was how Maggie found herself being roped into helping Rebekah curl her hair. The blonde sat in the chair in front of her mirror while Maggie carefully made her she didn't burn her fingers. Every now and then Rebekah snipped out a correction to how she was doing it, but mostly Maggie listened to her prattle on about other things going on in Mystic Falls. Apparently the phone lines would be working soon, Maggie picked up.

"What do you think about throwing a party?" Maggie suddenly piped up, breaking from her concentration to see Rebekah's reaction in the mirror. The Original perked up immediately and Maggie had to dodge her knuckles from the hot appliance.

"A party?" She tried not to let her voice rise too much with interest. She kept her eyes narrowed, "You mean like one of those trashy keggers that Elena threw at the boardinghouse?"

Maggie snorted slightly at Rebekah's contemptuous attitude. Only she could sound eager and condescending in the same sentence. "No," Maggie smirked, picking up a new lock of hair. "I was thinking something a little more _memorable_."

"Well, I could pull together a ball…" Rebekah began to muse aloud, thinking it would be lovely to outdo the Mayor's recent party and certainly Damon's birthday party. She tried not to dwell too much on the fact the last time there was ball at the mansion, her mother tried to murder all of her children.

Maggie's eyebrows rose at that, knowing it would be over the top if Rebekah arranged it. "Do you think you could do that in a week?" Maggie asked, dubious that it would be possible under normal circumstances, never mind a post-apocalyptic world.

"Please, I'm an Original," Rebekah chided and waved a hand dismissively, "Not some two-bit high school dance planner… A week is plenty of time."

Maggie snickered that Rebekah couldn't resist insulting Caroline in the process. "Then let's do it," Maggie agreed, not that because she actually cared one moment for throwing a party.

Rebekah grinned, never being one to pass up on an opportunity to flaunt her superiority and competiveness. She didn't need to even bothering asking what the occasion would be, she didn't care. "Who are you thinking of inviting?" Rebekah asked, her mind immediately starting to formulate ideas and arrangements, but she needed to know the size of this party.

Maggie paused in her work to look up at Rebekah through the mirror. "I was thinking," She paused and shrugged her shoulders casually with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "well,_ everyone_."

* * *

Maggie caught up with Elijah in the study that he showed her earlier. It took quite a bit to get Rebekah out of planning mode, as she was going to call it. The blonde immediately started throwing around theme ideas and arrangements, going on lists of things she would need to do. Maggie wasn't entirely convinced she was looking for any actual input because she was pose one question and answer it herself almost in the same breath.

Eventually, she dislodged herself from Rebekah's attention and made her way downstairs to find Elijah. She didn't encourage the idea of throwing a party just for the sake of it. No, she had her plan and she was going to execute it in true Mystic Falls' fashion.

Maggie wandered into the study and found Elijah reclined on one of the chairs, as if it was more comfortable than it actually was. He had a few books opened on the coffee table before him and one in his hand. She didn't even bother trying to peer at what he was studying so intently.

"Elijah," Maggie called out his name, having entered the room quieter than she realized.

The Original looked up from his page curiously. "Hello Maggie," He greeted her politely and Maggie grinned that he remembered to call her Maggie and not Ms. Greene this time.

"What can I do for you?" He asked, having figured she would remain mostly upstairs with Rebekah when he noticed the doppelganger's presence this evening.

"I was wondering if you could send a message to Klaus," Maggie stepped forward, leaning her hands against the back of the sofa as she gazed at Elijah.

"I could," Elijah said carefully, he didn't bother masking his surprise at hearing the hybrid's name coming from Maggie. "But for what purpose?"

"To have him come back to Mystic Falls," Maggie announced, taking a deep breath before she did. Even she had to admit she felt nervous about voicing the thought aloud.

Elijah closed his book slowly, turning his body to grant her his full attention. "Are you sure that is wise?" He questioned. He wasn't concerned for his safety and he held his reservations about Maggie's, but he wondered if she really knew what she was asking.

Maggie nodded firmly and threw on a fake smirk, "It is… You can even tell him we're throwing a welcome home party."

She could only hope it was wise, but truthfully she wished and needed Kol with her on this. Elijah didn't know that when Maggie glanced towards the windows, it was longing for one Original and not fear of another.

* * *

A knock came at the front door. Elena rose from her seat at the dining table with Matt and Jeremy. The boys were downing some eggs and bread for breakfast before they had to go off to work. She kept her appetite with just a simple cup of tea. Hearing the knocks, Elena walked down the main hallway, frowning at who was coming by so earlier.

She didn't get to the door before it opened anyway and she sighed at the intruder. Damon sauntered into the house, like he owned the place of wherever he went. "Okay!" He announced, not bothering to say hello to anyone while the door shut behind him and putting his hands in the air. "I'm going on record here, if anyone snaps my neck this time around it will _not _be pleasant."

His eyes lingered meaningfully on Elena at that. No plotting with baby Salvatore behind his back this time. Elena frowned in confusion, letting Damon step past her and wander into the kitchen with the rest of the boys. Jeremy and Matt exchanged a look, causing Jeremy to shrug noncommittal.

"What are you talking about, Damon?" Elena was to the first to pipe up, choosing to ignore the jab from Damon because she honestly wasn't sure what spurred that on.

Damon quirked an eyebrow at her reaction. He pulled a piece of folded paper out of his pocket. "You didn't get one of these?" He waved in the air slightly, the paper was rich and thicker than the average print sheet.

Elena's eyes zeroed in on it, but she shook her head.

Damon opened it up and made a point of clearing his throat before reading aloud in a mocking tone, "Please join the Mikaelson family and their hostess, Ms. Margaret Greene, for an evening of drinks, dance and celebration one week from this evening."

"Another one of those?" Matt exclaimed, subconsciously rubbing at his hand after dropping his fork. He could safely count himself out of that one after the last one.

"Yeah, Esther is still _dead _dead, right?" Jeremy turned in his seat, looking mostly to Damon for confirmation of that.

"Very dead," Damon agreed with a flicker of his eyes in annoyance.

Before anyone could say anything further, the front doorbell rang. The four heads turned to it before three pairs of eyes went to Elena.

Elena anxiously went to the door, hesitating at first to see if it would burst open again. But, she didn't sense anyone outside, so she opened it. Looking around, there was no one there and then her gaze dropped to the ground. There were three envelopes on the welcome mat, each had a respective name for the teenagers living in the house. Elena picked up hers on top and began to open while she moved back down the hallway.

Her eyes were scanning over the page while she felt the others watching her. "Let me guess," Damon smirked at Elena's slightly befuddled expression, "You got a personalized message too?"

Elena actually got two messages, but the second one from Elijah she wasn't going to read aloud to the others. Instead she focused on the swooping cursive of the invitation. It was obvious their hostess wasn't the one that wrote it, but it was definitely intriguing.

Elena cleared her throat and read aloud what her message said:

_Ms. Elena Gilbert, _

_A meeting of Mystics Falls' supernatural creatures will occur after the first dance, I hope you will attend. _

_Your hostess, Ms. Margaret Greene_

* * *

_Author's Note: Who's ready for a party?_

_And what do you think of the character appearances this chapter? _

_I know you're all probably wondering, "What happened to Carol?!" I'm a little evil like that…. And with Kol's reaction too!_

_Anyway, let me know what you think! Or just share your excitement to see what happens at the party. I can't believe this story has almost 200 reviews, please keep them coming! You guys are amazing._

_Review responses –_

_M: Yep, I've made up my mind. There will be a sequel that I will post a preview after the epilogue for this story. I've dropped hints for it, particularly in this chapter and other chapters. It'll be a shorter story. The only difficulty will be timing with my course work and job. I hope this chapter had some lovely twists and turns! Especially with the mention of Abby Bennett, I bet most people weren't expecting that. (Plus the long awaited explanation for Bonnie and Elena's estrangement) _

_IrishBeauty: Haha I think Raryl is going to be the official ship name for that one! There'll still be more Raryl in this story and definitely in the sequel. The Kolie ship is a little shaky this chapter, but next chapter we'll see how that gets resolved. _

_Guest: Nice guess on the experiment, but not quite! And yeah, I agree I wish the brothers would wise up on the show. It seemed like Stefan had a moment with pointing out how they just keep repeating history over and over, never changing. Thank you so much!_

_Kellie: I wouldn't count on Kol feeling guilty about taking life and we'll see an explanation of that in a couple of chapters. _

_Sky410: I think Daryl would be a badass vampire, but I don't think I could see him being happy with it. Maybe that's just me. I think Rebekah and Daryl would have an interesting dynamic because of the age difference physically, the fact I don't think Daryl would be happy as a vampire but Rebekah is one. There would be a lot of challenges to overcome there._

_Eby Mikaelson: Thank you. I'm sorry about the PMs, I didn't mean any offence by them and I hope I didn't cause any. _


	54. Chapter 54

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_Everclear – Father of Mine_

_Scene: Kol's return_

_Maroon 5 – She Will Be Loved_

_Scene: Elijah and Maggie talking before the ball & Damon and Klaus talking_

_Within Temptation – All I Need_

_Scene: Opening dance – this song is selected for a specific purpose_

_Chapter Fifty-four_

Elena actually got two messages, but the second one from Elijah she wasn't going to read aloud to the others. Instead she focused on the swooping cursive of the invitation. It was obvious their hostess wasn't the one that wrote it, but it was definitely intriguing.

Elena cleared her throat and read aloud what her message said:

_Ms. Elena Gilbert, _

_A meeting of Mystics Falls' supernatural creatures will occur after the first dance, I hope you will attend. _

_Your hostess, Ms. Margaret Greene_

* * *

Evening was beginning to settle in that day when Maggie slipped into the back service door of the Grill. There was only the one Gilbert vehicle left in the parking lot after the day. Maggie scrunched up her nose at some of the dirt left on the handle of the door. She rubbed her hands together, trying to get rid of some of it while she walked through to the kitchen, hearing shuffling around within. Her jeans were stained dark brown with smear marks all over the rest of the denim fabric. She had dirt almost up to her elbows.

Matt looked up and his eyebrows rose at her appearance. "What happened to you?" He asked, setting down the last box of the end of the day meal service. Maggie had the cleanup for the evening and he was on his way out.

"Party planning with Rebekah," Maggie sighed and shook her head while she went over to the sink, setting about to wash off the dirt from her arms. She was seriously beginning to wonder if vampires could develop allergies from the afternoon she spent with the Original.

Matt snorted lightly, but didn't say anything. He mostly smirked from Maggie's demeanor and tried not to dwell too much on the source of it.

"I swear, she could dictate a small country," Maggie muttered while she tried to get some of the smudge out from underneath her fingernails.

"She probably has," Matt replied, finishing what he was doing and moving to stand next to Maggie. He leaned against the counter lightly while watching her.

The vampire didn't look up until she was determined her hands were clean. She smirked at his comment, it could be true and she would believe it.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what this party is all about?" Matt not so subtly changed the subject, folding his arms casually over his chest.

Maggie continued to smirk, at least with Matt he wasn't necessarily confrontational or harsh. He certainly didn't intimidate her in the slightest bit. "Did you get the invite?" Maggie countered with a question while she shut off the water and grabbed a towel to dry her hands.

"Yeah," Matt admitted a little begrudgingly, still not entirely thrilled with the whole idea.

"Well if I survive Rebekah this week, you'll find out then," Maggie retorted cheekily while Matt followed her out to the front of the house. He shot the back of her head a sour look before she turned on her feet.

"But seriously," Maggie added, furrowing her brows thoughtfully, "I'll try to keep Kol off your back this time."

* * *

Maggie's hand ran lightly along the wooden railing of the stairs as she hiked up to the floor of her apartment. The building was quiet and a little stuffy from the low functioning air conditioning in the few occupied apartments. She sighed, it reminded her just how empty the building was and therefore her apartment would be too.

It was another day ticked away that she would have to curl under the covers of her bed alone. It wasn't that she couldn't handle sleeping alone, she did when she broke up with Glenn and staying at Carol's. But she didn't like knowing she was alone, away from Kol, purposely for something she had done.

With that thought in mind, Maggie dug her keys out of Kol's jacket while gold number nine of the apartment door stared back at her. After turning the key in the lock, Maggie flicked on the light as she stepped inside. She barely shut the door before the light was cut off from her vision and her back was pressed up against the door.

"Do you have a death wish?!" A voice snarled at her angrily, but Maggie barely comprehended it. She was gasping from the hand wrapped tightly around her throat. She dropped the keys with a clatter to the floor as she grasped at the wrist. The hand forced her head up at an angle, causing her eyes to clench shut instinctively.

"I turn my back for one moment and you're baiting my brother?" Kol snapped out while he towered over her. Maggie forced her eyes open, trying to get a breath of air through her crushed throat.

"It's all, part of… the plan," Maggie gasped, having to force each word out once she got over her initial shock of seeing Kol. It wasn't exactly heartwarming to see the way his dark eyes blazed and the tension in his jaw.

At that, Kol's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he jerked his head back in confusion. The hand loosened on her throat, "What plan?"

Maggie pulled his hand away from her neck completely. Her head hunched as she sucked in the unnecessary deep breath. She was hardly listening to his two words though. She felt a flare of emotion swell up from her chest. Frustration was the first one, from being left alone for the past five days and him taking off without giving her a chance.

"_Turn your back_?" Maggie repeated incredulously. "You ran, Kol! You ran like a fucking coward," Maggie cried out and raised her hands to shove against his chest, not really focused enough to use supernatural strength.

His nostrils flared from the strike, but he didn't back away from her. He placed his hands against the wood of the door, trapping her with his body. "What more do you want from me? You're the very thing I've wanted to destroy for _five hundred_ years, Margaret," He growled out in aggravation, unable to properly express how much of a head trip this was for him. This woman was completely infuriating and maddening.

"I know and I didn't have any choice in that," Maggie tried to keep her voice from rising further while she got up in his face, almost nose to nose. "But I'm stuck with it and you ran when I needed you, Kol. I _needed_ you… and I need you with me now," Her voice dropped as she ran out of breath, particularly at her last statement.

Tentatively, Maggie reached her hands up towards his face. Kol remained unnervingly still while those words hung in the air between them. Her fingers brushed against his cheeks, only breaking his stare to take in each feature of his face delicately. Despite the flare of emotion, which passed like the igniting of a flare, there was still the raw desire left behind and the need to she had to recognize.

Why did she always have to push and force when he wanted to look away and run?

"I need you, Kol," Maggie whispered sincerely, putting the emotion into that one word while her fingertips touched along his jawline. She didn't bring her eyes quite back up to his, she could feel the way they were boring into her. It made her feel exposed and she had nowhere to hide, literally and metaphorically.

Their eyes didn't meet and Maggie's head was pushed back against the wood of the door. This time it was from the force of the lips upon hers. They were hurried and demanding, almost bruising against hers, but they soothed the burning in her chest.

The kiss was as quick as it came though. Maggie barely processed it and started to move her lips in return before Kol was pulling away hesitantly. The tension in his features slipped into careful anticipation when he opened his eyes once more.

It was then Maggie really understood what she was seeing in him. His shoulders literally shook with the emotions coursing through him, more than he's had to deal with in decades or even centuries, but in his eyes she saw someone who was purely lost. He was trying to navigate through these waves after only recently letting in his humanity and here she was challenging it even further. Even on his best days, expressing himself with words didn't always work so he did with actions.

So Maggie answered that reserved look in his eyes in a way that he could understand. Her hands slipped down to his neck, gently wrapping her fingers around the back to keep him close. She wasn't going to let him slip away.

Licking her lower lip briefly, Maggie stroked her thumbs along his jawline while she collected her thoughts. She felt the subtle way he leaned into the touch, the whiteness in his knuckles easing up on the door. "Where did you go?" Maggie asked softly.

"North Carolina," Kol answered her in an equally quiet tone, becoming much more subdued after the outburst. "To check on the daggers," He clarified vaguely while he leaned in and inhaled the scent of the woman who had singlehandedly been his undoing.

Maggie's brow furrowed at that. To check on the daggers? That didn't seem like a very plausible response to finding out he did and a bit of an odd instinct. "You didn't go to Charlotte to just check on the daggers…" Maggie shook her head slowly, not buying it.

Kol's expression froze and for a long while she thought he wasn't going to answer her.

"No," He sighed out gently and a grimace passed over his features. "I went to Mikael's tomb," He corrected with the truth this time.

Maggie's eyes widened at that. She vaguely remembered Kol dropping a comment earlier that Klaus and all his Daddy issues would never dare go near Mikael's tomb. She hadn't realized it was in Charlotte or there was more to it than that.

Kol dropped one arm from the door. Maggie could step away if she wanted to, but she didn't. His head hung while his lips twisted and pulled with indecision of each word he uttered. "My father… he hunted us, me and Niklaus especially," He explained. He knew Mikael's resentment stemmed from Niklaus not being his son and the amount of death Kol left in his wake.

"He was never there. He never gave us a chance," Kol couldn't shake the memories of their first days after turning. Mikael didn't look after his family. He let them massacre their village and then scatter to different ends of the earth after that. He was supposed to be the patriarch of the family, to look after them and guide them. He could still remember being human and what his father was like. But he was also too young to bear the brunt of his aggression, Niklaus did mostly.

"He stopped seeing as his children, his family… and he saw us only as monsters to be destroy," The bitterness was laced with hurt, an emotion that Maggie was used to seeing expressed from Kol. But it made her heart break just a little bit more for him. Kol's eyes snapped back up to Maggie with new conviction, "And I realized I can't become him."

To her surprise, he leaned forward and his hands dropped to her waist. Maggie felt him bury his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder while embracing in her closely. "I don't want to turn into him. I can't be that person," Kol murmured into her shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't sacrifice his family loyalty and he didn't want to start getting close to it.

Maggie gasped, thrown how quickly she had gone from being held against the door to holding up Kol. She didn't hesitate to return the gesture. She was struck by the tone in his voice. If anything, it was fearful of becoming that person passed judgment so easily on what someone had become than who they were.

"Kol," Maggie said his name soothingly for both of their sakes. "You are _nothing _like him," She never met Mikael, but she doubted he was anything like this. "I know you would do anything for your siblings, even if it means pissing off one to protect the other," Maggie recognized what he was really trying to do by interfering with Rosemarie's ritual. No matter how big the dispute they got into, they were still siblings at the end of the day and he wouldn't kill or standby and watch one get killed.

Maggie felt his fingers squeeze on her hips, but Kol didn't respond. She could tell he was listening with how still he remained in her arms. His breath falling on her skin drew a shiver. "You are nothing like him," Maggie repeated in a whisper, staring over his shoulder aimlessly.

Maggie wasn't sure how long she stood there holding him, but she didn't care. She was unwillingly to go where anywhere else. Finally, Kol pulled his face away from her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. While she spoke about his siblings, she knew that left out the obvious question of just how far he would go for her. And Maggie didn't need a direct answer, she took consolation with the devoted glint in his eyes and the fact he was here right now.

He leaned down to kiss her again. This kiss was softer, his lips barely brushing against hers before gaining confidence. It was sweet, expressing the pure appreciation from him. That was what caused her toes to curl and Maggie rose up on her feet to prolong the kiss.

The short peck turned into a second longer one. A spark of a match went off within her, awakening her senses with the reality that he was here to stay and the need grew to a flame. The heat rose between them as she looped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a third and more sensual kiss.

It broke a levee with him as he parted his lips to plunge his tongue into her mouth. A guttural growl rose from his throat at feeling her fingers digging tauntingly into his scalp. A zipper sounded in the air from Kol opening up Maggie's jacket and grabbing the fabric at her hips to pull her away from the door. He turned her body around before prompting her by stepping forward, really forcing Maggie to back pedal slowly into the apartment.

Maggie loosened her hands from his neck, running down the front of his shirt and feeling the cotton of the brown long sleeve shirt he wore. A moment later the jacket dropped to the ground and Maggie accidentally bumped up against the sectional wall between the bedroom area and the rest of the apartment.

Kol broke away from the kiss to plant another one at the corner of her mouth before slowly working his way along her jawline. "You're going to tell me this plan," He murmured while his lips brushed against her skin. Maggie ran one hand through his hair as he did, the other reacquainting itself with the feel of his shoulders as he held her.

"Everything," Maggie agreed breathlessly as she felt a shiver from his teeth on her ear.

"I'm going to keep training you to fight and you're staying on my blood," Kol demanded between kisses just underneath her ear, feeling fiercely protective of her and wanting her at her strongest. His hands ran over her hips, slipping underneath the fabric of her shirt.

Maggie's eyes rolled open at that, not really staring at anything in particular over his shoulder. She realized then he really was choosing her over the curse. When she took too long to respond, she gasped out a moan from feeling his teeth nip at her neck. "Of course," She nearly whimpered.

She shivered at the way his lips worked down along her pulse point to the base of her throat. Maggie leaned her head back as far as she could to let him. Her shoulder blades pressed back against the wall for support when his hands slide around to her rear, grasping firmly through the jeans. "And I'm moving in," Kol declared officially.

The hand buried in his hair halted briefly while Maggie considered those words. At least, she tried to think about them, but it was hard with the way his hands slide up from her rear to her lower back, underneath the shirt and leaving a burning wake on her flesh. She felt and heard every demanding breath, hot and heady from him.

"Okay," Maggie gasped out. Realization came next, he was really moving in and staying with her on this. They would deal with this together. "Okay," Maggie repeated the word, a smile starting to grow on her face. One of his hands slide out from underneath her shirt and before she could wonder where it went, she felt the button loosen on her jeans.

"Kol?" The question came out a little shaky from the feeling of his lips sucking on her skin. This was getting to that invisible boundary he had set between them. Her hands shook with the excitement thrumming through her body, but also indecision on how far to take it. He didn't answer her, instead she felt his hand slip inside her jeans and between her legs.

"Kol!" Maggie's gasp slipped into a moan and she arched her back a bit. She felt Kol groan into her neck a moment, feeling her heat and how wet she was on his fingers.

It was then he pulled away from her neck to look her directly in the eyes. The hungry gaze was mirrored by an emerald one of a similar nature. "One exception," Kol decided, the last bits of his restraint being torn to pieces.

Maggie just nodded eagerly, not entirely sure what he meant until after his lips crashed on hers. One exception to the rule he declared earlier. She realized then she hadn't told him yet that she talked to Damon, but she wasn't going to bring it up now. Coherent thought went out the window with the permission to pull up and take off of his shirt.

Kol pulled Maggie off the wall and pushed her back towards the bed. In a blur of movement, her back was pressed down against the top layer of comforters. Her hands went immediately to his belt, forcing the shake out of them long enough to pull it off and loosen up his jeans. He wasn't as neat and gentle as last time and neither was she. Maggie flipped him over onto his back so she was straddling his waist and only paused to help him shed the rest of her clothing.

Her chest heaved and their heavy breathing filled the air before becoming dominated by her moans. Maggie gasped when she felt him slip inside of her and a low groan came from his chest. Her touches were firmer and more demanding, wanting to sate the need she felt for him in the past five days. It was about letting herself get intoxicated by his touch and presence once more after being deprived of it.

His roughness spoke to the surge of emotions going through him lately and the lack of release. But he contrasted it with the caresses and kisses, feeling the assurance he made the right decision and basking in the pleasure from her he was slowly becoming addicted to.

When it was over, Kol wordlessly put the out the lights and pulled the covers around them. Maggie didn't need to say anything more because Kol said it with the way he pulled her body against his. Maggie tucked her head against his chest, letting one arm sprawl next to while he held her around the waist. His other hand rested lightly on top of her forearm, the thumb stroking idly while they settled into the darkness.

Maggie gradually let her thumping heart recover to a normal rate, feeling exhausted but more content than she had in days. Eventually, she felt the thumb stroking her skin lightly cease moving and the natural rise and fall of Kol's chest graduated. She figured he fell asleep at that point.

The silence of the apartment emphasized the one word that had been playing on repeat in her mind, itching at the corner of her lips to spill. "I love you, Kol," Maggie whispered faintly aloud, mostly to herself, just to hear what it would sound like.

She let her eyes close after that without lifting her head. She didn't see the way his lips pulled into a small smirk.

* * *

"Kol… wake up," Maggie murmured while trying to fight a smile off her face. The morning light filtered through the semi-shear curtains of the apartment. It was the day of the ball and it was admittedly hard to fight the urge to continue lying in bed. Normally she wasn't the first one awake, but the nerves of the day made for a restless night.

She lay on her side with a pair of strong arms wrapped around her tightly. What set her senses on edge more was feeling his breath falling on her shoulder and the warmth from his body. She felt a rumble from his chest and a negative nudging against her shoulder, the closest thing to an answer.

Maggie snorted lightly and moved her hands down to his wrists locked around her waist. She tried to pry one up, but Kol just tightened his grip instead. "Kol," Maggie tried to drop her voice into a warning tone, but failed miserably. "Let me up." He knew she had to get up to go meet the witches.

"Nuh-uh," Kol mumbled stubbornly against her, refusing to open his eyes.

Maggie laughed, but still tried to get up anyway. She squirmed against his body and shifted, at least until she felt something else. "And good morning to you too, Mr. Mikaelson!" Maggie's eyes widened, feeling what would have been a blush on her cheeks.

Kol let out a groan, but didn't relent. He still didn't bother opening his eyes as he murmured, "Maggie, I'm an immortal… a vampire," He adjusted his shoulders as he began to stir before adding on dryly, "But above all else, I am a man and it's the morning."

"I could help you with that, you know," Maggie smirked teasingly.

"Minx," Kol growled out half-heartedly before finally giving in and loosening up his arms. He rolled over onto his back while Maggie snickered at him. He tiredly rubbed his eyes and ruffled up his hair a bit while she climbed out of the covers. While they had the one exception, she didn't tell him about Damon since they were focused on the ball throughout the week.

Maggie paused before going to the dresser to look back at Kol with a grin. He remained sprawled out on his back while she got changed, stretching his arms lightly and slowly waking up. True to his word, more of his clothes and possessions showed up the next day after their talk. They went back to the daily training sessions, which could only be held in the beginning of the week in the ballroom. During Maggie's spare time, she got roped into ball preparation with Rebekah, which was mostly moving furniture and prepping the mansion.

One of the afternoons, Maggie showed up at the mansion after a shift at the Grill. Just as she cut the engine of her SUV, she heard a rumbling come from within the home. Frowning in alarm, Maggie got out the car and went inside the house. She was in the foyer when she heard another impact and she followed the noise into the ballroom.

She stopped short at the sight of two hybrids, one getting tackled by the other. The pigskin in their hands caused Maggie to sigh and shake her head. She folded her arms over her chest while the two blurred and she quickly did a head count of all the men in the room. There was a half a dozen, the four hybrids she was somewhat familiar with from supply runs and recently being roped into ball preparation. What surprised her more was the other two, especially the one catching the football on the end closest to her.

"Stefan?" Maggie cocked her head in confusion at the younger Salvatore. He was the only Salvatore to approach her, trying to ask about the ball like Jeremy and Matt. She deflected from him answering directly that time too.

"Hey," He barely grunted out, giving Maggie a nod while the two hybrids broke out from him and he threw the football at almost a blinding speed. Neither hybrid caught it though, they were beat by a cheeky smirking Original on the other end.

"Hello darling," Kol called from the other end, groaning slightly from the force of the ball against his chest, but keeping a hold on it anyway. The players slowed down to a gradual stop at the doppelganger's arrival.

Maggie jerked her head back slightly, trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing. "I didn't know you two were… friends," Maggie statement came out more as a careful question, looking to Stefan for a rational explanation.

"Oh, we're not pals," Kol piped up and denied quickly. Stefan turned his head barely to catch a return pass roughly in his hands. He flashed a tight lipped grin that Maggie wasn't sure if it was actually a grimace from the force.

"Yeah, like not even remotely close," Stefan agreed dryly, flashing the dark-haired Mikaelson a careful glance. Before Maggie could form the obvious why question, Stefan tossed the ball lightly off to one of the hybrids, who were slinking out one by one now that the game was clearly interrupted. "But right now I don't want to be anywhere near Elena or Damon…"

Stefan stuffed his hands casually into his jean pockets before shrugging with a smug look, "And I know Klaus hates when we play football in the ballroom…" It seemed like a win-win to him, piss off Klaus and take out some of his frustrations.

Just over Stefan's shoulder, Maggie could see a dent in the drywall that was in the impression of a shoulder. Briefly, she was actually more concerned about Ball-tator Rebekah would say than Klaus. But Stefan's first claim confused her even more. "What do you mean - ?" Maggie began to ask before her words were cut off by a gasp.

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist pulled Maggie off her feet and spun her around. "Kol!" Maggie nearly screeched, mentally cursing the advantage his height brought before he set her back down on her feet. His hands slid on her hips, spinning her to face him and being greeted by his broad grin.

"Enough jibber jabber, if we go now we could still make an escape," Kol interrupted in a conspiratorial tone, effectively cutting Stefan off from her direct field of visage.

Maggie snorted and shook her head at his attempt to get out of dance instruction with Rebekah. Apparently it was tradition to have an opening dance and she didn't want anyone to make a fool of the family in front of everyone. "No thanks, I've seen what she can do with a hair straightener," Maggie retorted in mock horror, but not actually doubting the blonde vengeance.

"You should have seen her in the Dark Ages," Kol replied tauntingly, stepping closer to her and not pulling his hands away from her hips. Maggie bit her lip at the way it felt so natural when he held her like that, but she reminded herself they weren't alone.

"We're staying," Maggie reaffirmed, raising her eyebrows slightly to emphasize the _we_ part.

During this, Stefan's forehead tightened with thought as he watched the two vampires interact. He couldn't quite put his finger on how to describe it, but he definitely noticed the difference when Maggie looked at Kol than anyone else. There was less hesitation in her words and expressions.

"I do believe that's your cue to leave, Salvatore," Kol growled out in a low tone, breaking Stefan's thoughts without actually looking up at the adolescent vampire.

Maggie shot Kol a warning glare for the rudeness, not that she really expected anything less from him. But she made a point of looking to Stefan, who rolled his eyes at the Original's attitude, and mouthed a quick "_Sorry_" to him.

It was three days before the ball when she noticed a message in her book from Tyler. It simply read "_Found AB_". She replied shortly to prepare for a return trip, but wait for her mark.

Two days before the ball, she stopped going over to the mansion. More of the hybrids showed up to help out and Kol informed her that Klaus had return. For good reason, she didn't feel the urge to hang around the house until the event. Kol remained by her side the entire time from that point on, except for when she went to the Grill and once while she went to the Greene house.

Living with Kol didn't actually turn out to be much different than the nights he had stayed over before, except Maggie didn't have to wonder if he was staying each night. With his clothes and belongings, the book shelves were now full. Some more electronics were placed next to the television with an assortment of DVDs for them to go through later. After making up, Kol seemed to be more of his normal self. If anything though, he seemed more confident than usual, always wearing that knowing smirk. Maggie figured it had more to do with the ball and the plan than anything else.

After meeting with the witches at the Grill, Maggie spent the rest of the day at the mansion in the company of Kol and Rebekah. It was mostly with the blonde to take care of last minute preparations and then Maggie was dragging into Rebekah's room to get ready. At first Maggie had been worried about running into Klaus, but Rebekah prattled something on about him chasing after the Forbes girl before the ball.

When Maggie emerged from Rebekah's bedroom, she felt rather liberated to be free from Rebekah's fussing. The blonde was taking a few more minutes to perfect her hair, leaving Maggie a chance to walk around the house and take in the final product.

Maggie wore a strapless mermaid style dress of a rich navy fabric with ruching around the torso. It flared out just below the hip to trail lightly just above the floor. Rebekah straightened her hair and tucked it with a side part, finishing off her makeup with a smoky look to accent the color of her dress.

She walked out from the bedroom wing of the second floor to where the hallway opened up into the front foyer. Maggie stopped and held her breath as she gazed down at the sight below her. An arrangement of flowers and plants had been moved into the house, ranging from hues of blues, purples, and greens. The lights had been tinted a soft blue color and fabrics of iridescent shades were draped along the walls.

"Rebekah's abilities are impressive, no?" Elijah's voice interrupted Maggie's contemplation as he emerged from the bedroom wing. He was dressed in an immaculate black suit, Maggie knew his brothers would be wearing a similar one, with a white undershirt. His eyes passed over Maggie's figure appreciatively as he approached her. The doppelganger didn't tear her eyes away from the scene before her, one of the hybrids were propping the front doors open for the guests that would be arriving soon.

Maggie's lips pulled up into a small grin and nodded in response. "It's very a Midnight Summer's Dream," Maggie agreed, noting the way vines were woven among the spindles of the grand staircase. Some lights were laced with the flowers, giving the whimsical appearance of fairies dancing along the pedals.

Elijah stopped next to Maggie and placed a hand lightly on the railing with his other in his pocket. "Indeed," Elijah thought he overheard Rebekah throwing that concept around as a theme. "Does that make you Hermia or Helena?" The Original smirked at her classic reference.

"Neither, I hope," Maggie chuckled quickly, vaguely recalling studying the piece during her school. It was a rather complicated love affair, she recalled. As she thought about it, Maggie turned her head to look at Elijah properly, "Though, you strike me as a Lysander."

Elijah cocked his head slightly at that. "How do you see that?" He questioned curiously.

"You try to distance yourself from others," Maggie commented, thinking of his impersonal appearance. She took her hands off the railing to turn and face him fully. It was then she realized he was standing rather close, but she didn't back away. Instead she met his gaze with her next careful words, "But because of your compassion and hope for humanity… you fall under love's spell easily, even when it's masquerading with the same face."

The lingering of a smirk fell off the Original's face at those words. She felt how his eyes bore into her and noticed the way his Adam's apple moved with a reserved swallow. After she said, she realized that was crossing the line of their usual conversations. He offered guidance on matters of being a vampire, but it wasn't personal, especially about him.

"And do you find that to be a fault?" Elijah turned it around on her, to Maggie's surprise wasn't hostile or insulted. He didn't deny her claim though. "To have that hope," He clarified gently. After all, what would be left of him if he had abandoned that hope centuries ago?

Maggie inhaled sharply before answering honestly in one simple word, "No."

Elijah inclined his head slightly, studying her like a puzzle to be solved. One that he wasn't finding to be unpleasant either. He watched the way her lower lip rolled into her mouth, biting on it anxiously. He also noticed the way her fingers fidgeted nervously at her side before Maggie took a step back away from him, to an appropriate distance.

Maggie was thrown that he had listened to her and even wanted to know her opinion on the matter. Whatever it was that passed, she had to step away from it. Maggie dropped her gaze and moved around Elijah to head for the staircase, to find Kol downstairs.

"Maggie," Elijah called to her, turning around to match her movements.

Maggie stopped, mostly because he actually remembered to use her first name this time. She turned back to him, seeing he recovered his composure quicker than she did.

"I want to apologize for the other day, when you told me about Kol…" He cleared his throat and stepped back up to Maggie. At the mention of Kol's name, Maggie's brow furrowed slightly and she kept rooted to her spot for that reason.

"After you said, I've seen the differences in him and it's because of you," Elijah continued on gently. He reached forward to Maggie and took one hand in his. Maggie felt a lump in her throat, unable to form any words while he lifted that hand to his face.

"Thank you for bringing my brother back," Elijah murmured sincerely before pressing a kiss along her knuckles without taking his eyes off her.

Maggie only nodded numbly in response to that, taken back by the genuine expression from the eldest Original. It was rare, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the fact it was directed at her.

"Margaret?" Kol called her name from the bottom of the staircase.

Elijah quietly dropped her hand and Maggie turned her head in his direction. The sight of Kol quickly dispelled the nervous knot in her stomach. He stood on the last step, dressed formally and clean cut. His hair still had the slightly windswept look to it. The lines of the suit emphasized his angular facial features. Of which, were giving Elijah a harsh glare.

How much of that conversation he had heard, Maggie didn't bother to stop and consider. She moved swiftly down the stairs to join Kol, a smile lighting up on her face at him. The harshness in his eyes eased up immediately with each step she took closer to him, leaving Elijah at the balcony level to watch the couple.

"Don't wander too far, Ms. Greene," Elijah reminded, choosing to go with her formal name now they were in the company of others. The doppelganger glanced over her shoulder at him, momentarily perplexed. "You have to greet the guests with me, you are the hostess," Elijah smirked slightly, this was her party after all.

Maggie looked to Kol, as if searching for a way out. He just raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders. His brother had a point. From that look, Maggie sighed and had to keep herself from pouting.

* * *

Elijah held her to that. Shortly after, guests started to arrive and Maggie had to remain by Elijah's side in the foyer, a few steps away from the front door to greet the guests. As the eldest of the family, Elijah led the introductions and did most of the talking. After a few guests, Maggie figured out she could just repeat the same phrase in three different ways and basically get away with that.

Maggie didn't really care for the pleasantries and found her eyes wandering constantly. She noticed the way most of the men wore suits, as instructed by the invitations. The women mostly wore various summer dresses and semi-formal styles. No doubt Rebekah had selected their dresses with the intention that they could not be out done.

The only time she paid attention was introductions to a couple of Council members and greeting Carol Lockwood. Maggie refrained from asking how Tyler was doing, knowing how taunting that would be. Every now and then she would catch a glimpse of Kol and Rebekah. Once she caught a sight of Klaus passing through rooms. He flashed her a predatory smirk that sent a chill up her arms and Maggie subconsciously took a step closer to Elijah at that.

Maggie wasn't entirely surprised when the Salvatores showed up with Elena and they didn't bother to greet them. They just showed themselves inside the house, much like every other party they've gone to. Yes, it was a bit of a snub, but she wasn't going to pretend to be nice in that case anyway. The only difference was the sad glance towards Damon that she gave. She picked up on the way his eyes zeroed in on her and he kept that mask on his face to hide how he really felt.

The house quickly began to fill up as did the driveway of various vehicles and even one of the school buses that opted to pick people up from downtown. The amount of time and effort that went into the event was astounding, but Maggie never doubted Rebekah's tenacity.

The blonde Original in question was slipping from her bedroom with a CD case in her hand, when she spotted someone out of place on the second story of the home. She wore a vibrant red dress, in a similar but asymmetrical style to Maggie's. She frowned at the clearly invited guest, who was walking down the hallway towards a different part of the house.

"Daryl?" She called out, causing the hunter to stop in his tracks momentarily, a little surprised to hear her calling him by his name for a change. "What are you doing here?" She questioned sharply while stepping up to his side.

The redneck had one thumb tucked under the strap to his crossbow while he glanced Rebekah up and down without hiding it. "What are you doing here?" He grunted the question back at her.

"I live here," She scoffed, clearly looking at him for a real answer.

"Huh," Daryl glanced around him purposely before smirking, "How about that." He continued walking down the hallway at that.

But Rebekah didn't let up that easily, she picked up the hem of her dress and moved to follow after him, keeping pace with his strides. Clearly, she wasn't going to get a straight answer that way. "So what? You thought to bring a crossbow but not… sleeves," She commented on his clothing, worn out jeans and an equally torn shirt.

Daryl snorted and shot back quickly, "Well I sure as hell ain't going to wear no monkey suit and stand around sipping champagne."

"We aren't having champagne," Rebekah defended stubbornly. The one thing she had agreed to easily with Kol and Elijah was the fact there would be no toast, especially given what happened last time. Daryl looked to her while biting the inside of his cheek, amusement in his eyes, but indecisive on what he wanted to say next.

Before he could, a voice behind them interrupted. "Sister," Kol called out with his hands tucked behind his back. His normally snarky attitude was low and possibly cautious. "'Lijah wants us on the staircase."

Rebekah turned with a sigh towards her brother. When she glanced back at Daryl, he was already moving down the hallway again. Shaking her head, she followed after her older sibling, who began to smirk at the way she was clearly following after the human.

"I hope you're not fancying another hunter," Kol taunted her once she was close enough, earning him an elbow thrown into his side.

* * *

Kol stood next to Rebekah at the second level balcony, looking down at the people gathering in the front of the house. They were still waiting for Klaus to join the rest of the family. No doubt he was off in search of that Forbes girl, Kol figured. He couldn't help but notice the smug look on Rebekah's expression when she momentarily disappeared, the CD case no longer in hand.

"What are you up to, sister?" Kol questioned her in a low tone between the two of them, hoping it would be something interesting. The parties weren't exactly his taste, but he had to respect the dramatic flair that Maggie was going for.

"Nothing murderous, if that's what you're thinking," Rebekah warned him, having kept a quiet eye on Matt Donovan as soon as he arrived. "But," Her voice picked up in devious pride. "I was going through some of the town archives, looking for music when I found the entries for the Miss Mystic Falls pageant…"

"Okay," Kol's furrowed slightly, he wasn't really sure where this was going and he didn't think the word pageant sounded promising.

"Well, I found the music from when Elena Gilbert entered… and her escort was Stefan Salvatore," Rebekah grinned, knowing Elena would be dancing with Elijah instead. She just about lit up when she found the escort list, unwilling to pass up the opportunity to make the Gilbert just a little more miserable and ruin what was likely a precious memory between them.

Kol didn't really react though, not particularly impressed or really understanding of that flavor of vengeance. He was more distracted by spotted the fair hair of Klaus moving through the crowd and towards the staircase. "Your pettiness is impressive, Bekah," Kol muttered sarcastically, dismissing and shrugging it off his shoulders in favor of joining Elijah and Maggie on the stairs.

Meanwhile, Maggie's stomach was in a twisted mess of a knot as she stood next to Elijah on the staircase while he gathered the crowd together. Being the hostess of this event, she was obligated to stand next to the current patriarch figure of the family on her right side. Just off to her left a few steps up were Kol, followed by Rebekah and lastly Klaus. He walked by her without saying a word, but still with that unnerving smirk. Clearly he wasn't going to try anything with all of his siblings standing right there.

Maggie did her best to just ignore him while Elijah quieted down the chatter amongst the crowd. She took a deep breath, realizing there was no backing out of anything now. All of this had occurred because of her doing and she had to see it through now.

She barely listened to the first words of Elijah's address, which commented something on the importance of family and appreciating what they have. Her eyes were scanning the crowd. They settled on Damon and Stefan, who surprisingly weren't standing with Elena immediately at their side. Granted, she was only a few feet away, but it wasn't like she had them on either arm in that moment. Her eyes locked with Damon's briefly, but she couldn't read anything by it from their distance. She saw Stefan lean towards Damon to whisper something, but she didn't catch it.

"Is this as weird to you, too?" Stefan asked, thinking how odd it was to see Maggie up there with the Original family, almost like she belonged there the entire time. There was an obvious divide in the way that they stood with Klaus being the furthest away from the other three siblings and Maggie having the other males protectively on either side.

Damon clenched his jaw and scrunched his nose slightly in irritation. "You have no idea," He muttered in response, thinking it would almost prefer to see Esther up there again instead of having Maggie so close to the Originals.

"And I would like to thank you all for coming tonight," Maggie chimed into Elijah's speech at the appropriate moment, not wanting to say much more than that. She didn't like the feeling of having so many eyes upon them. She looked back to Elijah, who wore a perfected polite expression.

"Now, if everyone would like to move into the ballroom and find a partner, it is tradition to open with a dance. You are welcome to join us," Elijah concluded the opening speech while gesturing a hand towards the ballroom. The chatter in the room picked up once more.

With a sigh of relief, Maggie looked over her shoulder up at Kol while the rest of the people moved about to gather their partner. The Original smirked at her and stepped down to her level before placing a hand on her lower back to guide her towards the ballroom with the others. It took a couple of minutes for everyone to filter into the room.

Maggie noticed the way that Elijah gravitated towards Elena and it was too crowded for her to pick up on their words exchanged. She didn't care much for the purple dress that Elena wore, looking like something from a beauty pageant. Somehow Rebekah had managed to find Matt, who still looked nervous to be there, but he was trying to be a good sport about it.

The Originals went to the middle of the room to open the dance. Maggie stood across from Kol and casted a glance down the line at the other pairs. She noticed Klaus on the far end with a begrudging Caroline standing across from him. She looked radiant in a yellow floor length dress. Among the crowd gathered along the walls, she noticed the Salvatore brothers, Alaric, the Council members, and even Sheriff Forbes, who was still in uniform despite the event. She caught a glimpse of Jeremy with Beth, which she made a mental note to say something about later.

As the first instrument sounds began to carry into the air, Maggie snapped her eyes back to Kol and stepped forward to him. The confident smirk remained on his face as his eyes passed over her, taking in each detail. Her hand met his with each, feeling the soothing feeling of the touch while the other went to his shoulder. The hand placed on her waist was light, but commanding in belonging there.

"You are quite the little temptress this evening, love," Kol murmured quietly into her ear, pulling her a little closer than Rebekah would have wanted them to be.

"Why, thank you," Maggie tried to keep her tone light and teasing, but struggling with the way her cheeks felt like they were on fire from his words and his presence. She tried to keep her wits about her by not looking him in the eye, choosing to look over his shoulder and focus on the deliberate and precise steps of the dance.

At the other end of the dance, Caroline's back went just about ramrod straight when she heard the first notes of the song, recognizing it immediately. Her eyes darted around briefly to Elena and then the Salvatores before zipping back to Klaus. "Seriously?" She hissed in a low incredulous tone to him.

Klaus' eyebrows just rose at her outburst. Before he could get a word in, Caroline snapped out, "This song?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, sweetheart," Klaus said innocently, but a little irritated to be on the resulting end of the sudden attitude. Any hint of a grin disappeared, "Rebekah picked the music."

Caroline huffed and shot a death glare down the line to the back of Rebekah's head.

Elena's eyes grew wide in the meantime as she danced with Elijah, feeling like she took a sucker punch to the stomach. She didn't accuse her dance partner like Caroline, she took it quietly with a sharp inhale and rigid movements.

"Are you okay?" Elijah asked out of concern at the sudden shift in Elena's demeanor, keeping his voice low between them.

"Fine," Elena clipped out while shaking her head in the obvious sign that she wasn't okay. She looked past Elijah towards Rebekah, to catch a caddy smirk from the Original. Of course, she would try to get under her skin.

"Just Rebekah trying to get to me," She muttered more confidently than she felt, glaring daggers at the blonde. Her stomach clenched, thinking back to the memory of the last time she heard this song and how much more it hurt given how things had been going lately.

Stefan watched the scene unfold before him with a mask of indifference. The slightly bored expression in his eyes threw Rebekah off, who's head was darting about to gage Elena's reaction and Stefan's reaction. What confused her particularly was how unaffected Stefan seemed to be, but his brother standing next to him had a twisted grimace.

She hadn't been there to know that while Stefan was off munching on Amber, Damon had actually been the one dancing with Elena.

Maggie and Kol were oblivious to the chatter of the dance partners, especially as more people began to join in. Inevitably, Maggie couldn't keep her eyes away and found them meeting Kol's dark gaze. It trapped her there from that moment on as she listened to each words of the female's singing and moved with his lead. The movements around them and the watchful gazes of the others began to slip from her mind as she watched the way Kol's smirk slipped into a genuine smile, barely aware of her own.

She marveled in the way his presence could make her forget about her anxieties, whether it was the outcome of this evening or even down to the little things. He made the bloodlust seem to be only a distant worry. The overwhelming anger and misery she experienced since coming to Mystic Falls and turning seemed only to be a hollow memory. He made her feel secure with the hand on her waist and the way his fingers laced with her hand. He set the butterflies flying in her stomach with each smile and smirk.

"Tell me, darling," Kol demanded in a quiet voice, seeing the way she was looking at him and knowing what he wasn't supposed to hear that night. "Have I won over your heart?" He smirked.

Maggie's eyes widened with a fleeting moment of panic and alarm. She didn't expect such a direct question. And _now_ he wanted to ask about that? With everyone and who knows how many listening?

"I… I thought I wasn't a prize to be had," Maggie scrambled to deflect, drawing on Kol's earlier declaration that she wasn't some possession to be objectified.

"And you're not," Kol agreed easily, but wasn't going to let her get away. "But to hold the affections of your heart is a privilege, one I intend to hold solely."

Maggie opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't up with anything. She was still stunned by the open declaration. Granted, he had said he wanted to claim her, but that was when it was just them. Now they were being seen together and in a rather intimate way in front of everyone she knew.

On the edge of the room, Damon stood with stiff shoulders while he watched the couples move about the dance floor. His blood ran like acid through his veins and he faintly tasted bile at the back of his throat. There were no proper words of the awful sickening feeling of being forced to watch the two women he loved recently dancing with two other men. Granted, one was because of his own choice, but that didn't make any better.

It caused a stab in his chest hearing the song from the Miss Mystic Falls competition, only because it was one of the few untarnished moments he had with Elena. And now, he was being reduced to watching the eldest Original channel his Petrova affection on the most recent doppelganger.

Also, he hated seeing the way Maggie looked at Kol with such affection she never shared for him. She didn't even look over once. She was absorbed by him and the quiet conversation they were having between the two.

"I need a drink," He grumbled out halfhearted to his brother before disappearing from the ballroom. He didn't want to watch anymore of this. Even Damon Salvatore had his limit for self-punishment.

As the song was winding down to an end, Kol didn't receive an answer to his question, but that didn't mean he would let it go. At the end, the partners were supposed to step back with a parting kiss placed upon the female's hand. Maggie let out a deep breath and stepped away from Kol as they were supposed to, letting him grasp her hand.

However, instead of doing what his dear sister wanted, Kol gave the hand a firm tug to pull Maggie back towards him. His other arm wrapped around her waist lowly as she crashed into his chest and he boldly caught her lips with his.

Maggie gasped in surprise at how quickly it happened, unable to pull away from his hold. But at the same time, she didn't want to. She lost her thoughts to the soft feeling of his lips and the gentle, but confident way they moved against hers, coaxing her. Despite herself, Maggie rolled her weight onto her toes and leaned up into the kiss. The hands that caught herself on his shoulders smoothed out and relaxed.

Kol ignored the scoff he heard from his sister about showing some class, more consumed by the woman melting against him. He didn't see the knowing smirk Klaus was sending his way, despite having Caroline stomped away from him after Elena. Rebekah's neat line of a proper finish was completely defenestrated with the Petrova doppelganger fleeing at the end of the song, followed by Caroline and then Kol kissing Maggie.

Maggie felt her undead heart pounding furiously when Kol slowly eased away from the kiss. She let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes to meet his. He stared down at her a long moment as a smile slowly broke out across his flushed lips. It was triumphant and devious, in his signature way, but the lightness in his eyes almost gave them a dark brown hue.

"I believe this is the part where you're supposed to slap me," He whispered teasingly, breaking her out of her revelry.

Reality hit her like a wave of cold water through her body. Maggie's eyes widened and darted around her quickly, suddenly realizing he had kissed her openly in front of everyone. Other couples were moving on the dance floor with the new song now. She noticed some eyes were casted there way and the murmuring of comments. But it wasn't like the entire room stopped and stared at them. Klaus and Elijah were already slipping away from the dance floor.

Maggie didn't slap him.

* * *

Damon knocked back his drink and deposited the empty glass carelessly on a waiter's tray as he walked back towards the ballroom. He had disappeared outside for a few moments, but then had to give Elena the slip when she tried to follow after him. No doubt she would want to talk about feelings and what happened, but he just didn't want to deal with it right now.

Some would call it cowardice, but he preferred to think of it as avoiding the issue and it's unnecessary conversation. He gravitated back towards the ballroom, knowing the meeting would take place soon and wanting to keep tabs on everyone else. At least, he tried to distract himself from the hurt by focusing on the matters at hand. In the end, this wasn't a social party and he still wanted to figure out what exactly was going on.

He stopped at the edge of the dance floor when he spotted Maggie and Kol still dancing. Apparently the Original had coaxed another dance out of her. Damon couldn't suppress the slight up curl of his lip as he watched the couple, mostly glaring daggers at Kol, wishing he had one to dagger him with.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" A British voice taunted next to him.

Damon suppressed the urge to audible groan at the Original hybrid standing next to him. His hands were tucked behind his back with that leering stare as he watched the couple on the dance floor. He had kept half an eye on Caroline, but knew she was outside trying to comfort Elena at the moment.

"Sorry, Klaus, my schedule for evil villain bonding time is full," Damon clipped out dryly, not even bothering to turn his head to look at him, "But the next available appointment is after my self-lobotomy." He really wasn't in the mood for this now.

Klaus smirked and didn't rise to the attitude, having learned to take it with a grain of salt. Instead, he was going to rub the salt into the wound. "You know, Damon, I used to admire you," Klaus commented, undeterred.

That caused Damon's brow to furrow in his confusion and he turned his head a little, not fully in his direction.

"Especially your ability to get sweet Elena to forgive every horrific thing you've ever done," Klaus drew out the words almost mockingly. "I wondered what your secret was… Was it compulsion? Manipulation? What it is that you say to her…" His voice trailed while staring aimlessly at the silhouette of Maggie being spun around in Kol's arms.

Damon clenched his jaw and his eyes narrowed, but Klaus' last statement caught his attention. He turned to really look at the hybrid that time, there was an imploring touch in his eyes behind the sneer. "Something tells me this about a certain blonde vampire," Damon pointed out in an almost sing-song tone, pushing the focus away from himself.

The smirk fell from Klaus' face momentarily while he glared at the Salvatore, but he wasn't going to indulge him. The Salvatore wasn't going to get under his skin that easily. He chose to ignore his comment and continued on, "Yes well, but then I realized it must just be something pathological with Elena because I'm left wondering what happened with Maggie…" The sympathetic tone in his voice was completely insincere.

The smugness in Damon's expression faded and he just shrugged his shoulders, trying to act nonchalant. "Some people don't take well to being kidnapped, who knew," He muttered indifferently, trying to hide the emotional reaction behind his eyes while he glanced back out towards the couple.

Klaus stepped closer to twist the knife further in a low tone, "Then it must _burn_ to know she won't forgive you for one little act, while Kol has singlehandedly murdered most of her ancestors." He saw the way Damon's shoulders stiffened immediately and his eyes widened.

He turned back to Klaus, a mixture of shock and confusion, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Klaus just smirked and stepped away from Damon, leaving the stunned vampire in his spot. Damon wasn't keen on following after the hybrid to provoke him further and he was more preoccupied by those words repeating in his mind. Numbly, he digested that information, wondering how much of it to take for truth while looking back to catch a glimpse of Maggie smiling over Kol's shoulder.

* * *

Caroline folded her arms over her chest as she leaned her hip against the armrest of the sofa of the living room. She had to resist the urge to tap her foot impatiently, knowing how many vampires in the room would be irritated by it. "I don't get it, what's the point of this meeting, Klaus?" She snapped out at the hybrid on the other side of the room, figuring he was the one behind it.

On her side of the room were Elena, Damon and Stefan. They mostly stood in silence, flanking each side of the doppelganger. Though their interest perked up at Caroline's words, obviously having been thinking the same thing.

On the other side of the room was most of the Originals. Klaus was pacing back and forth in front of his two siblings, Elijah and Rebekah. Elijah kept his thoughts hidden behind a careful mask. Rebekah looked mostly bored as she studied her manicure.

"I wouldn't know, Caroline," Klaus' tone was tight. "I didn't call this meeting." There was an edge from being called away from New Orleans.

Stefan and Damon exchanged a look at that.

Before anymore could be said, Maggie sauntered into the living room through the entryway that was being watched by two hybrids. They kept the rest of the party away from the gathering. Followed closely behind her was Kol with his ever present smirk. His eyes passed over his siblings briefly before watching Maggie stride through the center of the room.

"Oh, good everyone is here," Maggie announced almost cheerily. "Despite the invitation, the Bennett witches have decided not to come," She informed no one in particular, knowing they were really on watch at the witch house with the other half of the linking spell.

She glanced around the room to see every supernatural creature of Mystic Falls being represented, aside from Tyler for the obvious reason.

"And why exactly are we here, Maggie?" Stefan was the one to speak up in diplomatic tone, asking the question on everyone's mind.

Kol remained on the opposite end from Maggie as she stopped in front of the fireplace, turning to face everyone.

"I want to put a deal on the table," Maggie declared, opting to get straight to the point as she responded to Stefan before looking to Klaus pointed. "For Klaus that'll involve everyone's cooperation." No more secrets or hidden agendas for this one, as far as she was concerned.

The idea of cooperation caused Damon to balk and Maggie heard Rebekah let out a scoff with an eye roll. Like she would ever be willing to cooperate with the golden Elena.

"Just what sort of deal?" Even Klaus expressed his misgivings, but was intrigued enough to ask.

Maggie squared her shoulders in his direction, taking a moment for everyone to get over their initial reactions before answering him. "I want you to leave Mystic Falls and never return," Maggie demanded with an unflinching cold stare. "But more importantly, I want you to leave its residences alone to live peacefully."

Caroline and Elena who were looking at Maggie with a moderate level of contempt eased up as they stood up straighter. Naturally, Elena perked up at the possibility of Klaus being out her of life permanently. Caroline didn't need to say who she was thinking that was technically a resident of Mystic Falls.

Klaus let out a breathless bark of a laugh at that. The idea was completely ridiculous and far too demanding in his eyes. It was almost humorous. Maggie's expression didn't change at his mocking amusement. The silence in the room only stifled his laughter quickly as it faded into a dark serious glare.

"That's a pretty lofty demand, sweetheart," Klaus warned lowly. His tone caused Kol to take a step forward, the amusement disappearing from his eyes, not liking the threatening expression of his brother. The hybrid didn't pay him any attention and Maggie didn't back down from the stare. "What could you have that would cause me to even _consider _that for a moment?"

Maggie was grateful for not having a heart rate that could be heard by the eight pair of eyes on her. She also hated the pet names from Klaus. They made her want to claw her skin to get rid of the memory of them. But she held onto her composure for her next words, "There's a cure."

Klaus froze, almost thinking he misheard her. While he had dabbled with the idea of a cure with the Salvatores, he admittedly hadn't had much progress over the last couple of months. Traveling and research was exceedingly difficult given the obvious reasons of the circumstances.

"A cure for what?" Rebekah was the first to pipe up. Her normally condescending attitude was drawn in thoughtfully.

"Vampirism," Maggie replied simply without looking away from Klaus, showing how serious she was being.

She felt the way the younger vampires in the room shifted on their feet. Three pairs of eyes went to Elena immediately and she knew the gears were turning in their minds immediately.

Maggie tore her eyes from Klaus to look at Kol. She gave him a pointed nod. The Original returned it briefly before slipping from the room in a blur.

Rebekah followed his movements, her head whipping back and forth trying to wrap her mind around the fact he would be in on this of all things.

Elijah remained unnervingly quiet, standing in his corner of the room and Maggie avoided looking at him.

"And where is this cure?" Klaus questioned her while Kol was out of the room, barely bothering to be polite about it.

"You're looking at it," Maggie stated frankly.

Before he could ask what exactly she meant, Kol entered in the room again. This time he was followed by two others. Rebekah cocked her head slightly at the sight of Daryl, who had his crossbow drawn in front of him, not leveled with aim though. If anything, the idea of him shooting a vampire before it would kill him seemed laughable. He took consolation in the weapon and the fact he's already shot two of the vampires in the room.

What drew everyone's attention behind him was Carol. She wore a simple sundress and fidgeted with her fingers anxiously in front of her. The normal confident attitude of the woman was greatly subdued and replaced by a hammering heart rate that pounded away like a drum beat for everyone in the room, except Daryl, to hear.

Rebekah was the first to step forward, in a blur that stopped short a few feet away from the woman. The sudden movement startled the two humans, who took a half step back. Daryl relaxed though when it was just Rebekah and not Klaus coming forward.

"Human," Rebekah muttered, her eyes passing over Carol in disbelief as she took in the clear scent and felt the urge of the blood through her veins. "How is this possible?"

"How indeed," Elijah spoke up in a controlled even tone, while actually looking at Kol. The youngest male Original just kept a masked smirk on his face as he watched everyone's reactions, choosing to ignore Elijah. Maggie could tell the eldest was piecing things together and she was briefly worried about the formidable expression.

"Regardless of how, there's your proof," Maggie commanded the attention of the room again, not wanting to get into the specifics of that history lesson. She gave a nod towards Daryl and Carol, "Thank you, Carol." She tried not to let it show just how quickly she wanted to get Carol away from Klaus, fearful of how the hybrid would react.

Daryl nodded in return and gestured for Carol to follow his lead out of the room. The older woman didn't need to be told twice and Daryl kept his eye on the room carefully before backing out himself. Kol just smirked at the precautious nature of the human.

Klaus let them go because he was more stunned than anything else. A cure of vampirism opened an endless realm of possibilities, some good and many bad.

"So the deal is I'll give you your hybrid blood bag in exchange for leaving Mystic Falls," Maggie offered shortly with a hand on her hip, snapping Klaus' attention back to her.

"Excuse me?" Caroline's voice shot up at the reckless regard for her friend.

"No way!" Elena gasped in offensive, taking a step forward.

Maggie felt the circle of the room get a little smaller from the way the Originals were drawn in by Carol, with the exception of Kol taking a protective step forward towards Maggie, and now the younger vampires balking at her proposal.

Klaus chuckled, glancing over at the Salvatores, which neither seemed particularly pleased. "And just how do you expect the Salvatores and Elena's little friends to agree to this arrangement?" He questioned tauntingly, remembering how ill received it was the last time he talked about taking his doppelganger away.

This time it was Maggie's turn to pull out a smug smile before retorting, "Oh, I have no intentions of curing Elena."

Klaus' eyes narrowed on her and watched the way Maggie turned to actually look at Elena fully for the first time since the meeting started. Her eyes passed over Elena unimpressed before sneering in her direction, "I quite frankly don't owe her the kindness."

It would be a waste in her eyes too, Maggie thought. With the Salvatores in her life, how long would it be before there would be another unfortunate accident or one of them turned her?

Elena jerked her head back as if she had just been slapped. She had been dangled the idea of being human again literally in front of her and now Maggie's poisonous emerald stare was slamming it shut on her. "And who are you to decide who deserves it?" Elena huffed.

Maggie chose to ignore her with one more dismissive glance before looking back to Klaus. She could tell that his patience was being to wear thin. "Kol tells me that you're an artist, are you not?" She asked of him pointedly with a smirk, ignoring the way the Damon was whispering something in Elena's ear, no doubt trying to get her to calm down.

"I like to believe so," Klaus replied shortly while Maggie stepped up to him, putting her back to the younger vampires in the room.

"Then I think you would appreciate the poetic justice," or karma as Maggie liked to think of it. "Of getting the one that got away… say, five hundred years ago," Maggie grinned at the way she saw his blue eyes lit up.

The slight scowl on his face morphed into something wicked as he murmured the name, "Katerina Petrova."

Maggie stepped away from Klaus to look about the room. There wasn't a single person that hadn't been crossed by the first doppelganger in one form or another. Caroline, killed in a hospital beneath a pillow by her. Stefan and Damon, manipulated and turned. Elena, the reasons being obvious. Elijah, manipulated and betrayed to spare her own life. Klaus, deceived and escaped. Kol and Rebekah, witnesses to their family being torn apart by the Petrova line.

"Find Katherine and I'll cure her… I doubt there is any love lost for her here," Maggie smirked before looking back to Klaus finally. "Do what you want with her, compel her, kill her, bled her dry… I really don't care, but that's the deal."

The lack of immediate protest from anyone attested to hatred for the doppelganger. Maggie could see the serious consideration of the generations, for different personal reasons. Damon and Stefan exchanged a few quiet words between them while the Originals rolled around the gravity of the proposition.

In the end, Klaus certainly wasn't going to turn down his hybrids and the idea of organizing a hunt to finally get Katherine he found highly appealing.

"Well, we all know of Katerina's elusive abilities," Klaus drawled out and turned to his oldest brother pointedly with the question in his tone. He wouldn't be able to track her down on his own, as time as proven. The eldest Original didn't say anything. He just gave him a cool stare and a simple nod to let him know he was with him.

Klaus grinned triumphantly and then turned to Kol, knowing he would need his tracking abilities. "And how about a little brotherly bonding, Kol? Just like old times," Klaus inquired, struggling to remember much time the three brothers spent together since the 12th century. His words were borderline mocking from the nature of his personality.

Kol stared back at him with an impassive gaze before responding slowly, "No thanks, _brother_." He looked towards Maggie, his gaze shifting into one of hungry admiration with his smirk. "You have your beloved doppelganger to chase after and I have mine."

Maggie bit her lower lip to suppress the smile and her eyes dropped, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks.

Behind her, Damon's face scrunched in tight distaste, but he held his tongue. He didn't like the way Kol looked at Maggie, but he couldn't see how she was reacting directly to it.

"I'll go," Stefan blurted out, causing several heads to turn in his direction.

"Seriously?" Even Damon was surprised as he regarded his brother incredulously.

"Stefan…" Elena protested, simply using his name with the weight of her concern in it. She reached out to touch his arm, but he stepped forward before he could, keeping his eyes trained on Klaus and the Originals.

"Let's be honest, if Katherine even catches the scent of you two," Stefan's eyes darted between Elijah and Klaus. "She'll take off… You're going to need me."

* * *

_Author's Note: Grab the pitchforks and torches for the witchhunt! I mean, Katherine hunt._

_There's the meeting, I hope I did it justice! It's hard writing a scene with eight characters and considering all their reactions. The next chapter will have the second half of the ball!_

_So yay for make-up sex, right? I hope the scene really captured how all over the place Kol's emotions were (going from angry to sad to horny basically). OH! And let me know what you think of Rebekah, especially with the dance, and Klaus' talk with Damon (Yes, I purposely made it similar to the one in 4x12 as my own take on that scene). And a pretty important Malijah scene (I think that's my second favorite ship name, it sounds like something from Aladdin) that'll be one of many, which will carry over into the sequel._

_Anyway, there wasn't very many reviews last chapter, so PLEASE PLEASE take the time to review this chapter. They really do brighten my day and make spending the hours on the chapters worth it._

_Review responses –_

_Eby Mikaelson: You got it, but she's going to be turning Abby human for more reason than that. (Hinthint, think of Abby's storyline in the show.)_

_Guest: Thank you! I hope the party (so far) is living up to those expectations. xD;_

_M: So was this what you were expecting? ;D And of course Kol came around! I'm curious what you think about the mentions of Mikael. (I always wondered why they never explored the impact of Mikael on the other siblings on the show, especially for Elijah and Kol) Let me know if your suspicions were correct! Thank you._

_Nynaeve55: Thank you for the amazing review! I've reread it probably more than I should, but it was truly awesome to read! It really touches me that I can portray the emotions that I'm trying to channel into these characters. _

_I'm glad you like the Kolie dynamic. It's fun to write because it's a little dark and twisted, they don't try to be good, so they could crash and burn the things/people around them brilliantly. And when I wrote the airport scene, I thought of all the times I've been just chatting on a cell phone and ignoring the people around me… it just seemed really simple, normal and human, which made it perfect for that moment I thought._

_And yeah, Damon isn't catching a break. I think of anyone doesn't feel bad for him after this chapter, it's hopeless haha. The dance scene basically tears his heart out and serves it up on a silver platter._

_Oh Rebekah in the last couple of episodes… don't even get me started. I'm greatly disappointed in all the Originals for how callous they are about the deaths of their family members. (Finn's I could almost excuse because the guy tried to kill them and he was locked up for 900 years) But Kol's death, the complete lack of action, promises of vengeance and everything accumulating to nothing is just ridiculous. The writers really are making these characters hypocritical and I wanted to bash Rebekah's head against the table when she claimed that Klaus hated Kol. So yeah, I'm greatly against her in cahoots with Elena._

_L: Thank you! And you're not the only one, I think! Haha_


	55. Chapter 55

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_Nero – Promises_

_Scene: Mikaelson Ball – particularly Damon and Maggie talking_

_Leona Lewis – Happy_

_Scene: Paris_

_Norah Jones – Come Away with Me_

_Scene: Morning Confessions_

_Chapter Fifty-five_

"Seriously?" Even Damon was surprised as he regarded his brother incredulously.

"Stefan…" Elena protested, simply using his name with the weight of her concern in it. She reached out to touch his arm, but he stepped forward before he could, keeping his eyes trained on Klaus and the Originals.

"Let's be honest, if Katherine even catches the scent of you two," Stefan's eyes darted between Elijah and Klaus. "She'll take off… You're going to need me."

* * *

"Not interested," Kol chirped out, but adding on afterwards in a knowing tone. "But I do hear that Nashua is wonderful this time of year." It really wasn't in his mind, but his contacts begged to differ.

"Oh, come now, Kol. Don't pretend you don't enjoy the thrill of the hunt," Klaus coaxed with one of his knowing smirks. The meeting adjourned rather quickly after Stefan Salvatore's volunteering. Admittedly, Klaus didn't bother hiding his excitement at having to not compel the youngest Ripper to join him on a road trip for a change.

At the moment, he was following Kol down the hallway on the second floor, where the music and hum of the party was only a faint murmur. Kol excused himself from Maggie, knowing there was quite a bit he would have to discuss with his brothers after the meeting. The Salvatore's were no doubt preoccupied with Elena and Caroline, consulting or hatching their latest ill prepared plot in light of the recent revelations.

"You forget I have no interest in your tainted Petrova women, Niklaus," Kol drawled out in a bored tone, hiding the real agitation behind his eyes. Seriously, first there was Tatia with her bastard child and that didn't stop either of his brothers. Then Katerina with her stowaway babe in Bulgaria. It's a wonder Elena wasn't featured on that trashy MTV show he caught Bekah watching that one time. What was it called? Oh, that's right _16 and Pregnant_.

"What's there to lose, Kol?" Klaus chose to ignore the slant of his, rather annoying, younger brother. "It's not like you can be harmed… seeing as you absconded my set of daggers recently," The edge was clear in his tone despite the façade. His eyes glowered darkly with the annoyance of the stunt.

"Oh, how enticing, _bro_ther!" Kol's voice rose mockingly before turning his head in his direction as they walked down the hallway. "The best you have to offer is the promise of _not _being locked inside of a box."

"I'm staying," Kol added on a serious and affirmation tone.

"Well," Klaus huffed out, his lip curling slightly in irritation. "I see that doppelganger has made you grown soft and weak in my absence." While he had pushed for the doppelganger's feelings, he hadn't been expecting them to be recuperated nearly as much. Seeing Kol rub it in the face of Damon Salvatore was worthwhile. However, now Kol choosing to stay in Mystic Falls was not.

At that, Kol stopped in his steps and spun to face Klaus. He stepped up, nearly going nose to nose with the hybrid. Any humor or lightheartedness disappeared into a formidable glare. "Touch her," Kol growled out warningly, "And I will make Mikael's shadow seem like _mere_ paranoia."

Klaus' nostrils flared as he pressed his lips together and stared back at his brother unflinchingly. He refused to back down, even with the way Kol was notably taller than him. "Do you really value _her _over your own flesh and blood?" Klaus asked in a low tone after taking a long moment to inhale and exhale, controlling himself.

Kol held his fists tightly together at his brother had the audacity to ask him. He wasn't asking to make a life and death decision, but Klaus was making it sound that way. He was just telling him to leave her be, but he was pinning him to make a choice and one he didn't want to make.

"The only reason you and I are related," Kol hissed out harshly, "are because _my_ mother couldn't keep her legs closed for another –"

"Kol!" Elijah's voice cut into the conversation.

Neither brother had heard the eldest Original approach the two. Klaus was reluctant to break the stare down, letting it linger before looking to Elijah as he stopped short of them.

Elijah frowned deeply at the sight before him, his two rather hotheaded brothers about ready to go at each other's throats. He could tell Klaus was nearly two seconds away from trying to rip Kol's heart out. His failure would not be for a lack of trying. Kol's words hadn't exactly endeared Elijah either.

"I think we have a lot to discuss, _as a family_," Elijah declared, his gaze remaining mostly on Kol.

The youngest Original plastered a smirk on his face, acting as if he hadn't just been antagonizing his brother just a moment ago. Their arguments were largely ordinary and frequent. "Figured out the bloodlines now, have you 'Lijah?" Kol taunted knowingly.

Elijah's cool stare was the only confirmation that he got.

* * *

Maggie caught up with her little sister out on the patio, the one she had sat with Elijah when she told him about Kol. Paper lanterns lit the way for the few guests that wandered out into the warm summer evening. From her vantage point, she could see firelights flickering amongst the bushes and gardens that wandered away into their intoxicating pathway. It would be easy to chase after that light, like a child cupping their hands together but never quite close enough before they spot anew light several yards away.

"Beth! What in the world are you doing here?" Maggie had to keep her voice low as she stalked up to the young couple. Beth wore a light blue baby doll style dress with her hair tucked up, curled delicately.

She turned in the direction of her older sister, her eye's widening at the aggressive stance of the vampire.

Jeremy was quicker to act. He stepped up to Beth and wrapped an arm around her waist pointedly. "Hey, she's my plus one," He defending, trying to keep his tone lightly.

That caused Maggie's head to jerk in his direction, her eyes narrowing sharply. "You brought my little sister as your _plus one_ to a house full of murderous vampires?" She growled out. Was the gene pool in the Gilbert family shallow or something?

"Whoa there, pot," Beth piped up, frowning at Maggie's overprotectiveness.

Jeremy threw his free hand up the air, the Gilbert family ring flickering briefly in the lantern light. "Hey, you invited me, remember?" He pleaded, having gotten an invitation just like Elena and Matt.

Maggie grinded her teeth together briefly. Next time she would consider her words more carefully when she tells Rebekah to invite everyone. Beth's contribution caught her attention more there.

"I'm aware of what I am, Beth. But the difference between me and them is that you're my little sister and I love you," Maggie turned to Beth hotly. The ferocity of her words almost caused the young blonde to step back, Jeremy's arm kept her in place. "But that doesn't apply to them nor will it stop them, now _go home_."

She understood a little sibling's urge to be involved, but why couldn't she do that in a normal and non-life threatening way like working at the Grill?

"Oh come now, Maggie –" Jeremy started to protest.

"_Don'_t start with me, little Gilbert," Maggie cut him off, holding up a finger to emphasis your point. "Special ring or not, you are seriously trying my nerves right now. Go home."

"Seriously?" Beth exclaimed, just short of stomping her foot.

"Go!" Maggie barked, using the finger to point towards the back door in the direction of the front of the house.

"Hey, Mags," Jeremy tried to coax her to relax with the nickname. "At least tell me what tonight was about," He stopped her by placing a hand on her forearm, his expression reading that she owed him at least that much after being so ambiguous all week.

Maggie sighed and took a controlled deep inhale through her nose before realizing she owed him at least one legitimate response. "We're organizing a manhunt for Katerina," Maggie opted for the title the Originals used for her without really putting any thought into it. "Elijah, Klaus and Stefan are going to find her," She added on.

"Really?" Jeremy's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn't hide the excitement in his tone. It was about time in his mind, but he was definitely thrown to hear that was the three who were going. He opened his mouth to say more, but Maggie beat him to the punch.

"Take her home, Jer," Maggie repeated forcefully, the look in her eyes clearly suggesting him to do so before she found an alternative that would likely involve a vampire with an unpleasant means.

Beth had her arms folded over her chest, glowering at her sister. She was peeved to be treated like she needed a chaperone again. But as far as Maggie was concerned, she would get over it. That was what siblings did. They got annoyed, threw their fits with each other, but still had each other's backs at the end of the day.

"Alright, fine," Jeremy conceded. While he could get away with ignoring Elena and slamming doors on her face, he knew that Maggie didn't have an inkling of the same passive aggressive attitude. If anything, hanging around Damon and Kol would be a highly volatile influence.

Maggie tried not to let out too much of a sigh of relief at seeing Jeremy coaxing Beth to follow her wish and lead the youngest Greene back inside. Once they were out of sight, Maggie let that sigh out and she ran a hand through her hair, tucking it back behind her ear. For a brief moment, she let herself have a moment of peace, but she knew she was not alone. There was no such thing as being alone at such a large party and she sensed his presence before he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Believe me, after a century and a half they don't get any less annoying," Damon smirked as he stepped up behind Maggie with a drink in each hand.

"Younger siblings that is," He clarified as she turned around to him. He held a glass out in her direction.

Maggie stiffened right away at the sight of the Salvatore. He did look really good in the suit, but she was worried about the masked expression. The way his lips were pulled up at the corner with decades of practiced ease and the piercing hue of those blues that you knew he was up to more than he let onto. She glanced down to the glass being offered out to her.

"Thanks," She murmured and took it carefully, it was tumbler full of an amber liquid. She wouldn't even ask where he found the whiskey, but she was grateful for it. "I don't suppose she'll grow out of it?" She asked, mostly to fill the awkward silence between them.

"Not a chance in hell," Damon replied quickly, shaking his head and briefly flickering his eyes in the direction the couple disappeared to.

Maggie tried to force a grin, but hid it behind taking a sip of her drink. Admittedly, she was nervous to be alone with him for the first time since their talk.

"So, Klaus…" Damon cleared his throat, gazing aimlessly towards the dark horizon of the night as he stood next to Maggie. His thoughts wandered back to the rather tense meeting. "Giving him Katherine to leave Mystic Falls, that seems rather… diplomatic," He gave vaguely, thinking it was something appeasing and nonviolent that he would expect to see from Elena more than anyone.

Maggie nodded and couldn't help but smirk. Despite their falling out, Damon still knew her a little better than most people in Mystic Falls did. "I honestly don't care if they find Katerina or not," She declared bluntly. It would be an added bonus to get rid of one malicious Petrova doppelganger, but not a necessary one in the long run.

Damon quirked an eyebrow at that, not being able to hide his curiosity.

Seeing that look, Maggie gave a noncommittal half shrug of her shoulders. Briefly, she glanced around them to affirm they were alone and kept her voice low. "Klaus may honor his word, but I do not," She pointed out frankly.

"_You_? Lie and manipulate? You don't say..." Damon muttered sarcastically with faux shock. As if anyone had to preach to him about how deceptive Maggie could be, intentional or not.

Maggie pressed her lips tightly together, but let it slide. She deserved that and then some, she recognized, after everything. Instead she looked to Damon seriously to request of him, "Can I trust you?"

The tone of her voice caused Damon's attitude to sober up momentarily before she added on, "I can't afford to have Stefan or Elena's morality mess this up." Last thing she wanted was a guilty conscious nagging at her or undermining her plans.

"Have you met me?" Damon retorted with cheeky offense, "Secret, self-serving agendas is kind of my thing."

Maggie gave a small genuine smile that, appreciating the classic Damon attitude she had missed lately. She took a moment to enjoy that behind another sip of her drink before answering his curiosity. "While Klaus is hunting Katerina, I will get my three witches ready to desiccate and entomb him indefinitely," She stated proudly.

Damon's expression deadpanned while he processed that and tried to wrap his head around it. When did Maggie get three witches together? What stuck out most in his mind was the last five words that rung with such vindictive promise to them. They created a highly appealing visual in his mind that was not unlike something he had heard before.

"Just like Esther and Mikael," He realized, muttering his thoughts with a small sense of awe in his voice. He could already envision it in his mind. Klaus looking grey and wrinkled with those protruding black veins, the only sign of life being that unblinking stare of his as his body is trapped by heavy chains wrapped around him tightly before closing the casket lid and spelling it shut. Damon wasn't going to lie, that was an idea that made this evening seem remarkably less bleak for him.

"You are absolutely _con_niving," Damon complimented in an almost darkly gleeful tone, enjoying the irony of the situation.

Maggie grinned and held her glass out to him. "Cheers," She offered, allowing herself to briefly appreciate his company minus the tensions of their relationship.

Damon clinked his glass against her before knocking back half of his in one deep gulp.

Of course, as soon as the back of her mind thought of what was going on between them, it crept to the forefront of her mind like a poison.

"So is this our thing now?" Maggie went with his choice of words before gesturing between them. "This pretending I didn't just rip your heart out and served it on a cold dish?" It was easy to trade snarky words with him because they were so insincere and superficial.

"Compared to brooding and weeping into a diary?" Damon's gaze didn't mean Maggie's fully and she could tell he was still licking his wounds and trying to keep his pride. "Yeah, this seems better while I wait for the day you wake up and realize just how awful Kol is for you."

Maggie gave a humorless snort. Don't sugarcoat your opinion now, she thought sarcastically. "Well that's good," She threw back just as sarcastically, "I rather not be the angsty shoulder to pour your emotions on while I wait for you to finally get over Elena."

She doubted he would actually get over Elena, just like she would ever believe that Kol was awful for her and that's what it made it okay in her mind to throw those words at him. Because in the end, they were just meaningless words of impossible futures.

Damon's delayed response caused Maggie to look up from her now empty tumbler. She frowned slightly seeing the humored mask fade away into something contemplative. Damon Salvatore didn't become soberly thoughtful often.

"Yeah, about that… could take a little longer than I thought," He admitted honestly, regardless of knowing that Maggie was just itching under his skin.

"What?" The word slipped out of Maggie's mouth immediately. Yes, she had treated him terribly lately, but she still cared.

"Elena and Stefan broke up," Damon announced, staring down at the glass. Idly, he ran a fingertip around the rim in a small display of anxiety.

There was a small crack in the air. The noise came from the jagged seam that appeared in Maggie's glass. She caught herself before her grasp caused the entire thing to shatter. Her eyes didn't leave Damon the entire though, almost waiting to see if he would take the words back.

He wasn't joking around, she realized. Elena and Stefan broke up… Her mind went back to cornering the doppelganger at the Lockwood party. If she was leaving Stefan, then that meant she was going after Damon. No, it wasn't supposed to work like that. Maggie's shoulders tensed immediately, she would have to have a special word with the doppelganger.

Maggie blinked and shook her head slightly, trying to clear her head of those thoughts and focus on Damon. "And are you thinking of…?" She asked, not quite sure how to phrase the obvious question in the air. The opportunity that was being dangled in front of him now.

Damon gave a shrug of his shoulders. He didn't really know, he wasn't feeling too sure of anything lately. There was the right thing to do and there was the impulsive thing to do, and lately the two were starting to blur together. "Self-serving, remember?" He gave a smirk that didn't quite reach his eyes.

With that he took the last sip of his drink and turned to walk back inside to the party. Maggie could have stopped him, but she didn't really know what to say.

* * *

Maggie found Kol coming down from the main stair case shortly after her talk with Damon. She was glad to find him, having started to get concerned with how long he was gone with his brothers. Plus, she didn't want to dwell too much on Damon. It was sad in a way how the Salvatore's seemed to be constantly stuck in the web of the Petrova women's toying.

Those thoughts disappeared immediately when she spotted Kol trotting down the last of the stairs. He wasn't actually looking up as his hands were adjusting his undershirt around his waist, properly tucking it into place and shrugging the jacket more comfortably.

"Kol!" Maggie called to him softly, moving to meet him at the bottom of the stairs and ignoring the people around them. To the average person, he didn't seem to be that much different, but she knew that shirt wasn't the same one he was wearing earlier.

He looked up at the sound of his name and the tensed furrowed brow eased up immediately. If anything, he looked just as relieved to see her before he threw on a grin.

"How did it go?" Her voice was filled with concern, not needing to really specific what she was referring to.

Kol just shrugged casually and stepped close enough to Maggie to lower his voice so the normal human wouldn't hear them amongst the chatter. It went better than he expected, merely because he was still conscious and not daggered at the moment. "Oh not so bad, 'Lijah just made a point," Kol gave vaguely with a cheeky smirk.

Maggie raised an eyebrow at that, reading between the lines. Her eyes darted down to his change in wardrobe once more and then it dawned on her. "Did he stake you?" She gasped.

"I believe impale would be a more fitting term," Kol corrected her lightly while his eyes wandered around them, thinking he could use a drink after that. Normally Elijah wasn't the one to take out such open aggressions, but given the circumstances, he wasn't terribly surprised.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Kol," Klaus' voice interrupted them, coming from behind Maggie.

Maggie spun on her heel and instinctively took a step closer to Kol in surprise. The humor slipped off from Kol's expression as he smoothly wrapped a protective arm around her waist, pulling her into his side.

"It was only a small sword," Klaus moved his eyes off his brother and to Maggie with a smirk.

"Either way, I don't take too kindly to a blade being run through my chest," Kol snapped back lowly. He didn't appreciate it from Mikael and he certainly hasn't appreciated it all the daggering by Niklaus.

"And I don't take kindly to those who try to undermine me," Klaus replied quickly, leaving his gaze pointedly on his brother, thinking of how it was his sire that hindered him breaking the curse. With the last of his words, his eyes shifted over to Maggie as well. The doppelganger stiffened but refused to flinch under the cold stare.

"Don't think what you've done here tonight has gone unnoticed, sweetheart," Klaus warned her. He was anything but pleased to see Carol alive and human. It defeated the point he had made when he first kidnapped the Atlanta survivors.

"Hurt her or anyone from my group and the deal is off," Maggie glared, refraining from growling out each word. That look from him was the reason why she had Carol's life linked as a precaution and Daryl take her home as soon as her appearance was no longer necessary.

"And just for sport, I'll kill your doppelgangers," Kol added onto her words with a malicious smile. His hand on Maggie's hip tightened just a little bit.

* * *

Gravel crunched under the tires as the SUV rolled up the driveway. The headlights illuminated the trees hanging over the poorly manicured route, casting twisted and gnarly shadows behind them. Maggie let out a deep breath when the headlights lit up the white stained front of the formidable home. The white columns left black shadows along the front like the bars of a jail cell.

"Well, I see they've done quite a bit with the place," Kol commented with a smirk next to her. The house hadn't been there the last time he was here, but at least they were living up to their creepy stereotype splendidly.

"You've been here before?" Maggie asked, trying not to show how nervous as she was. She noted the two other vehicles in the driveway that gleamed from the lights. A couple of the first floor windows glowed from within the house.

"Of course, a hundred witches were burned here. The misconception is they were rounded all together, but it started in 1692 and carried through the first half of the eighteenth century," Kol recalled easily how it made a better legacy if they were all burned at once. Only a few living, or rather undead, creatures knew the actuality of it.

Maggie slowed the vehicle down to a stop, barely taking her eyes off Kol. She wasn't sure she really believed what he was implying.

"What?" Kol snickered at her expression. "You didn't think the Council and the Fumbling Families could overpower and massacre so many witches by themselves?"

"You helped them?" Maggie blinked, not bothering to hide her astonishment. She tried to focus on that part instead of the visual of Kol having a hand in burning so many people. "Why?"

Kol pressed his lips tightly together in thought while his eyes wandered to the front of the house. He briefly remembered how angry he had been when he was undaggered, waking up in the company of Niklaus and on a completely different continent before he switched it off completely. "I was bored," Kol shrugged, reiterating the excuse he used constantly during that dark period of time.

Maggie just nodded disbelievingly and cut the engine. Not knowing what to say to that, she just climbed out the vehicle and Kol followed shortly after her.

It had been three days since the ball at the Mikaelson mansion. Klaus left the next day with Elijah and Stefan. Hearing about the breakup, Maggie didn't really fault Stefan for wanting to get away from Mystic Falls for a while. It made sense what he was talking about the day she ran into him and Kol playing football in the ballroom then.

Since then she fed directly from Kol two more times. At first she had her misgivings about it with the reaction of the venom, but he insisted on seeing if he could build an immunity and wanting to know more about it. That was how they figured out the extremities went numb first. But otherwise, she kept to drinking indirectly and working on her control with him.

Earlier in the day, Maggie and Matt were surprised at the Grill by the sight of Tyler Lockwood walking in. Maggie knew he was on his way and she was happy, mostly because it meant he wasn't alone. She exchanged a few short words with the hybrid, but they weren't nearly as hostile as last time. It was like he was still trying to trust her, but surprised she held up her half the deal so far.

Maggie was walking up to the old witch's house when she was stopped half way by Kol. He grasped at her forearm, tugging on her to turn and face him. Despite knowing why they were there and what he had said only moments ago, he still carried himself with a confident ease.

His pale complexion contrasted the darkness sharply and Maggie was struck by the way he was looking at her. Before she could ask him about it, he reached up with his other hand to cup her cheek and stroke his thumb reassuringly. "Relax, darling," He coaxed gently, having sensed her anxiety in the vehicle and seen it with the way she tapped on the steering wheel and compulsively tucked her hair behind her ear.

He could feel that tension when he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Naturally, she closed her eyes at the gesture. Kol kissed her slowly until she wasn't as focused on the sound of chirping insects coming from the forest night and the faint chatter of voices within the house. She eased up from the slight chill on her skin from her nerves and the worrying about what would happen next. When it was just the feel of his lips, the movement of them and how it affected her, he pulled away gently.

He grinned triumphantly at the smoothing out of her expression when she looked at him again. "Much better," He decided and Maggie gave him a small grateful grin. He eased up on her forearm and dropped his other hand, to let her continue walking. Instead of letting his hand get away completely, she slipped hers up to intertwine with it. He gave it a small squeeze and let it go while they walked up to the front door.

Maggie only then dropped her hand so she could knock on the door loudly. Kol stood just behind Maggie as the front door opened to reveal the young chocolate toned witch. Her hair was pin straight like a curtain of ebony with the feathered side bangs.

Bonnie didn't smile or immediately greet the vampires on her doorstep. Instead, she stiffened at the additional one she wasn't expecting. Maggie wore a simple pair of jeans and a light v-neck sweater. She wasn't nearly as intimidating as the Original, wearing his signature black pea coat and impassive stare.

"What is he doing here?" Bonnie nodded towards Kol without taking her eyes off of Maggie. This wasn't part of the agreement. Nothing was mentioned about Originals coming to the house.

"Protection," Maggie stated simply and vaguely while Kol didn't react in the slightest from Bonnie's accusing tone, which unnerved the witch even further.

Maggie noticed the way the witch stood in the doorway, one hand on the door and the other on the frame. A clearly unwelcoming pose.

"Protection from what?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"From you," Maggie replied frankly and then shrugged before adding on ambiguously, "From me. Now are you going to invite us in or not?"

"No, I'm not inviting both of you in," Bonnie held her chin up a little higher in stubborn determination.

"If he doesn't come in, neither will I," Maggie frowned, getting impatient with the witch's attitude.

Bonnie locked her jaw, but didn't back down.

When the silence carried on longer than Maggie cared for, she gave casually and began to turn away. "Very well then." She exchanged a brief look with Kol before starting to walk away from the door.

She didn't make it to the edge of the porch before Bonnie's voice stopped her, "Wait!"

Maggie buried her smirk before looking back at the witch. She saw the way she shifted on her feet in agitation and her gaze faltered in resignation, darting between the two vampires.

"You may come in," Bonnie extended the invitation begrudgingly to them.

Being closer, Kol stepped inside the house first with Maggie after him. He let Bonnie lead the way into the main hallway briefly before they turned into the living room. He noted how the house seemed to be under a state of renovated. Some of the walls were being plastered and he could smell the paint fumes in the air, which were probably too faint for the humans.

He tried to ignore the faint whispering of voices that stirred as soon as he entered the house. A quick glance and lack of response from Maggie told him that he was the only one hearing it. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but it was angry.

_Traitor…_

They walked into the living room that most of the research on Maggie's curse had been conducted in. Kol mentally noted the bookcases of old texts and the stereo system in the corner of the room. The coffee table in the center of the room was cleared off. There were three other people in the room already.

The first sitting down and furthest away from the newcomers was a young Asian man. It took Kol a moment to remember his name, Glenn. Maggie stepped out from behind Kol as they walked into the room. He sensed the way she stiffened immediately at the sight of Glenn. He didn't bother to overanalyze the look they were exchanging while his eyes wandered to the witches.

"Lucy, you look wonderful. It's been too long," Kol flashed a grin, pulling out the charm for his favorite Bennett witch.

The witch in question just shook her head, grinning in despite herself at the cheeky Original. "Or not long enough," She retorted without much actual hostility in her voice. She remained lounging on the couch with her arm across the back and her legs crossed.

This caused Maggie to break her uncomfortable stare with Glenn, wondering when it was that Lucy and Kol ran into each other. She tried to push out the sad and resigned expression of Glenn from her mind. The human remained rooted to his spot, hating the way Maggie seemed to gravitate towards Kol.

"Abigail," Kol moved onto the next Bennett witch, now vampire. She was standing in the center of the room with her arms folded over her chest. He could see the similarities between the older woman and Bonnie. Her skin complexion was a little lighter, but she had the same hair that was left to its natural curls.

Unlike Lucy, Abby just gave the Original a tight nod, being familiar with the family but not nearly as welcoming.

Kol moved onto the last witch, the youngest. His eyes flickered over her appearance, she wore a simple pair of skinny jeans and a baggy cardigan over a lightly pattern top that matched her eyes. "And this must be the little sphinx of Mystic Falls, Bonnie Bennett," Kol concluded in a light tone with a smirk.

He reached forward and held his hand out for her. "I don't believe we've properly met," He greeted her, ignoring the way all the eyes were on them.

Bonnie stiffly regarded his hand and Maggie wondered if she was going to blow him off before she reluctantly placed hers in it.

He raised her hand towards him and Maggie had to staunch a sour look at realizing what he was doing. Sure it was only a polite gesture, but it was still the principle. But she did take consolation in Bonnie's expression, looking like she wanted him to do anything but touch her.

"Kol Mikaelson," He introduced himself formally with confidence, bowing his head a little.

Before his lips could even touch her skin, Kol let out a sudden gasp and jerked his head back, dropping her hand immediately. His eyes clenched shut and his hands grasped at his temples, the gasp morphing into a cry of pain that startled everyone in the room. His features grew grotesque with the pain and force.

Maggie stepped closer to him immediately, recognizing the reaction and looking to Bonnie. She expected the witch to have a cold unfeeling stare fixated on him, much like she did to her outside of the Grill. But what instead, Bonnie's eyes were wide and frantic, seeming just as surprised as her.

"Stop it!" Maggie had to shout over Kol's cry as he stumbled back a step blindly, trying to get away from the invisible assailant. Maggie didn't even want to stop and think just how much pain would be needed to cause an Original to react like that.

"I'm not doing anything!" Bonnie exclaimed in confusion, staring in horror at the way Kol's fangs slipped out and the veins moved around his eyes, unable to control his bodily reaction or move anywhere.

"It must be the spirits," Abby chimed in, almost in a sense of awe. Maggie looked over to see all the witches and Glenn on their feet, but no one dared approach the Original.

"Well, stop them!" Maggie shouted, beginning to panic with the sound of Kol's anguish carrying through the room. He was blind to them, unable to shake away the voices in his head. He didn't hear any of the conversation between the Bennett witches and Maggie. Instead he heard the past voices.

_Murderer…_

_Traitor to your own kind…_

_Unworthy of living…_

"There's nothing we can do," Lucy agreed with Abby. She was the only one to look regretful towards Kol. No matter what he had done, there was something inhumane about the noises coming from him.

Maggie shook her head disbelieving and went back to Bonnie, but she just remained frozen and unable to look away from Kol.

There was a sickening crack in the air and Kol's knee gave way. He hunched, favoring the opposite side of the leg that had just been broken momentarily before there was a second crack. He fell to his knees and Maggie was by his side in an instant.

"Stop this! Stop it!" She began shouting over and over, pleading to the witches with them and the ones of the past. Tears began to form in her eyes as she felt helpless, breaking at seeing the agony that Kol was in.

There were several more cracks as he pulled one hand away from his head. Maggie winced, seeing the way the carpals were crushed at unnatural angles. His other hand was short to follow as if there was a person standing either side of him and holding out his arms.

Bonnie covered her mouth as she remained a stunned spectator to the torturing and the way Maggie cowered over him, in vain attempt full of tears.

"Stop it!" Her voice slipped into a beg while Kol felt a weight being pressed down against his sternum. He could feel the way his ribs were protesting and pain moved through his veins like a burning acid to his core.

The lights in the room began to flicker, growing brighter with each passing moment to a dangerous level. A fire ignited in the fire place and threatened to spew flames into the room. The few candles in the room that had been unlit before suddenly flickered to life. Maggie could feel the dangerous static charge in the air that caused some of the hairs of the females to rise.

Desperation growing to a peak, Maggie blurred up from her kneeling position across the room to the coffee table. Only half the eyes followed her, torn between watching the doppelganger and the Original, as she broke off one of the wooden legs.

Instead of going back to Kol, Maggie blurred towards Abby, ending up directly behind her. By the time the witch realized what was going on, she was too slow to stop her because of the Original blood going through Maggie's veins.

Maggie wrapped her left arm around Abby's torso, forcefully pinning her arms to her sides in the process with her back against Maggie's chest. More importantly, she pressed the tip of the splintered against her skin, holding the improvised stake out just above her heart.

"Stop this! Stop or the deal is off and I will stake her!" Maggie yelled, her eyes darting from the stunned witches to the invisible attackers, almost like she was suffering a severe bout of paranoia. To emphasize, her point, Maggie pressed the tip of the wood down, earning a fearful gasp from the young vampire. Abby struggled against her, but it was useless with her iron-like strength.

"Mom!" Bonnie cried out, stirring to life but helpless to the frantic determination beneath the tears running down Maggie's face.

Almost as soon as the threat passed Maggie's lips, the lights of the candles went out and the electricity returned to a normal level.

Kol's screams ceased, fading into a shuddering gasps as he dropped to a muddle form, like someone cut the invisible hands holding him up. The spirits still whispered angrily, but reluctantly began to fade away, not willing to risk permanently losing the Bennett witch to the Other Side as a vampire.

The room remained frozen for a moment, like if they were seeing if the storm really passed over. The static in the air dissipated immediately.

Maggie only waited to let out a shaky exhale before she dropped the stake and shoved Abby roughly to the side, out of her way. The Bennett vampire stumbled several feet while a hand reached up to clutch at her heart, struggling to keep herself from hyperventilating at the sheer fear.

Maggie didn't even look back as she immediately blurred to Kol's side. Bonnie moved in the opposite direction to her mother while Lucy gravitated towards her as well. Glenn remained standing in his spot, but watched the way Maggie sank down to her knees carefully in front of Kol.

Maggie cringed when she heard the bones snapping back into place. It was even worse seeing them doing so. Kol's palms were flat against the floor as he held himself up on all fours. She could see the way his shoulders heaved, in a rare moment of weakness. It scared her even further to see him of all people like this. She couldn't see his face directly with the way his hair hung down, but she could hear his gasps and the way he tried to get his breathing under control.

"Kol?" Maggie whispered gently and reached a hand out gently to his face. Her fingers brushed against his cheek and he lifted his head slowly to meet hers. As he did, he picked up one hand and placed against her shoulder, the grip tightening for support.

The veins and fangs were gone, but the confidence and other emotions were stripped from his face. His eyes remained on the floor in a stunned daze as to what happened. He looked ragged. But despite that, he started to force himself up and Maggie rose to mirror his movements, letting her hand slid down from his face to his shoulder.

Seeing how rattled he was, Maggie pulled up the sleeve of her other wrist without giving it much thought. All that pain and broken bones must have taken its toll. With her wrist exposed she offered it up to him, ignoring the murmur of voices behind them and not caring who was watching. "Here," She urged.

Kol stopped, staring down at the pale flesh and the blue veins running underneath it. He couldn't lie and ignore the way his fangs pushed at the gums, feeling the immediate temptation of the willing offering. He caught her wrist and pulled it up to his mouth.

Maggie braced herself, expecting to feel the piercing of fangs against her skin. Instead, Kol placed a gentle kiss before shaking his head. "Not like this," He murmured, mostly to himself, but Maggie heard him. He couldn't deny he wanted to know what it was like to drink from her, but not the first time under these circumstances.

Maggie swallowed thickly and just nodded as he let her wrist go.

Kol pushed himself up to his feet, keeping his grasp on her shoulder in the process. With a few deep breaths, Kol regained most of his composure. He really noticed the shine of Maggie's cheeks then, stained by tears and the radiating concern from him.

Wordlessly, he reached up to her face to brush away those tears. The gesture told Maggie that he was okay, especially with the way he was choosing to focus on her instead. Maggie out a low relieved sigh and she heard a throat clearing behind her. He didn't drop his hand until he was satisfied each tear was gone.

"What was that all about?" Glenn was the one to break the silence while trying to push away the flare of jealousy in his chest. It made his gut twist to see the way Maggie fussed over Kol, being reduced to tears for him. Such care and devotion had once been directed towards him.

"It appears I've underestimated the witches' ability to hold a grudge," Kol announced and just like that, his tone shifted into something threatening and ominous. The moment between him and Maggie was over.

His comment drew several confused looks, except from Maggie. She kept herself planted in front of him, placing herself between the very vulnerable humans in the room. She recognized that murderous glint creeping into his gaze. He definitely wasn't impressed with the spirit whamming he was just handed.

"Don't," Maggie ordered firmly in a meaningful tone. Her voice drew his eyes back to her sharply. The hand placed against his sternum emphasized her point further. She could see the impatient agitation, knowing he wanted to pay them in kind back. But he did start it after all.

"Let's just get this over with, okay?" Maggie suggested, trying to keep her voice calm and not dwell on the fact she thought Kol was dying a moment ago.

* * *

Tension ran high in the room ever since Kol's entrance. It remained even while four were gathered around the collapsed figure on the couch. Her head was turned to the side, looking even paler than she did before. There were the remnants of a bite mark on her neck, but it ceased to bleed.

"What now?" Glenn was the one to ask the question the other Bennett witches were afraid of asking. Maggie and Kol stood back away from the couch. Bonnie was kneeling beside her mother's form, looking unnervingly lifelessly. Concern was etched in the young witch's brow as she held onto her mother's hand in both of hers. Even Lucy seemed rather subdued, remaining close to her cousin and aunt's side.

"She should wake up in a bit soon," Maggie shrugged casually. She tried to hide the way her fingers fidgeted anxiously, mostly from the energy humming through her body. It felt so odd to be thrumming and thriving off of a draining someone dry.

As if sensing her energy, Maggie felt a hand at the back of her neck, grasping it firmly. It was reassuring, but there was something slightly dominant about it. Her eyes flickered to Kol, but he kept his steady on the witches. He remained rather quiet through the process, she couldn't blame him.

"She _should_ wake up?" Bonnie snapped out, still in disbelief that she just stood by and watched Maggie drain her mother. But Abby insisted upon it and Bonnie wanted to know what it was that Tyler said to convince her to come back to Mystic Falls. "I thought you said you've done this before?"

"I have," Maggie defended herself simply. _Just once… and not with a witch_, she added on mentally, but figured it was probably best if she didn't say that.

Kol smirked at Maggie's tone, thinking alone the same lines, but he held his tongue.

"What do we do when she wakes?" Lucy chose to be the voice of reason, leaving the contempt to Bonnie. She was more concerned with dealing the problem at hand now they were facing it.

"She'll be thirsty, but she can't have blood no matter how much she begs for it in the beginning," Maggie explained. If she drank blood it would ruin the process and they would have to start all over again, but it would be incredibly painful for the witch.

"She'll need water and a lot of it," Maggie stated, remembering Damon's experience and having not realized at the time how significant his thirst was.

"Water?" Bonnie questioned, thrown by how simple it seemed.

Kol nodded with Maggie, having witnessed Carol's transition. "Vampire blood gives immortality and Maggie takes it away. Blood is the life source of vampires whereas water is the life source of humans," Kol rephrased it more eloquently than Maggie. It was oddly poetic now that he thought about it.

* * *

Maggie checked up on the Bennett's the next day to see how Abby was recovering. She didn't bother bringing Kol that time, not wanting to tempt the spirits for another round of vengeance. Instead of going back to her apartment immediately after work, Maggie opted to make a detour trip while Kol was out hunting.

She pulled the SUV down the right street, but parked it several houses away from the one she was heading towards, not wanting to the engine to give away her arrival. She knew Jeremy wouldn't be far behind so she only had a small window of opportunity.

The glow of the house windows illuminated the front yard while Maggie stalked up the walkway. She placed her footsteps carefully on the porch so her boots wouldn't echo. Stepping up to the front door, Maggie paused and listened. She could make out one person moving around the upstairs, but otherwise it was quiet.

She smirked, she knew that Alaric wasn't around since his new vehicle wasn't in sight. Matt was out with Tyler, catching up on the lost time between the two of them since Klaus chased him out of town.

Elena would regret extending that invitation to Maggie.

The Leavey doppelganger turned the doorknob of the front door to slip into the house, keeping the advice and training from Kol in mind. She quickly assessed the first floor of the house. It was mostly empty, the hallway light was on, leading into the deserted kitchen. There wasn't much she could do about the creak of the door as she shut it behind her.

"Jer? Is that you?" Elena's voice called out from the second floor. The younger vampire walked out of her bedroom tying her hair back into a pony tail, wearing a pair of boy shorts and a tank. She was in the midst of getting ready for bed when she thought she heard Jeremy coming home.

She stepped out of her room and was about to look down from the top of the stairs before her back was slammed up against the wall. The hand around her throat choked the gasp from escaping her lips.

"What do you think you're doing?" Maggie snarled out at her, the emerald of her eyes churning venomously.

"What?" Elena forced out weakly, trying to wrap her mind around how fast everything happened. Her hands shot up to Maggie's wrist, trying to pull it away from her neck.

"Why did you break up with Stefan?" Maggie growled, only loosening her fingers fractionally to stop crushing her airway. The shorter doppelganger was up on her toes as she was held against the wall.

Instead of answering Maggie's question, Elena was alarmed by the sudden vulnerable position. One that she couldn't get her way out of it. That completely baffled her and she began to panic as well. "How are you so strong?" Elena gasped out.

Maggie grasped her neck firmly and pulled her head forward, only to slam it back roughly against the wall to get her attention. "What are you playing at?" she asked for the last time. She wasn't here to explain herself to Elena.

Elena winced from the impact, squeezing her eyes shut reflexively. "I made my choice, like you told me to!" She cried out before opening her eyes with determination. "I love Damon," She declared, trying not to let herself seem too intimidated by the other vampire.

"It was supposed to be Stefan!" Maggie nearly shouted in frustration and she let go of Elena roughly, as if the very touch of her skin disgusted her. She stomped a few steps away from her, hissing profanities under her breath and shaking her head.

Elena gasped, her hand clutching her throat immediately, feeling sore and raw from the abuse. "I made my choice, I don't have to justify myself to you," Elena defended herself, glaring at the back of Maggie's head.

Maggie grinded her teeth together and clenched her fists. At that moment, she didn't care that she heard the front door open or someone calling out Elena's name. Instead, in a snap decision, she reached down to the stairwell railing and snapped off one of the wooden spindles.

Elena barely saw what she did before Maggie blurred towards her and she was thrown against the wall. This time Elena let out a loud cry of pain, but her shoulders went rigid and her muscles contracted reflexively throughout her body. She was barely able to look down and see the dark stained spindle sticking out of her abdomen.

"I will never understand what it is the Salvatore's can possibly see in you," Maggie vowed viciously and gave the spindle a harsh twist before leaving it lodged, pinning Elena to the wall. The doppelganger winced from the pain, gasping out short panicked breaths and trying not to think about just how close the wood was to her heart.

Maggie's glare bore coldly into Elena, unmoved by the tears forming in her eyes and the child-like innocence those brown eyes carried, hiding the manipulative vain creature underneath.

"But you're right, I did give you a choice and you better stick to it. Mark my words, Elena, if I catch you so much as even looking at Stefan too long… I will not miss next time," She growled, glancing down to the spindle. The Salvatore's were better off without Elena in their lives at all she believed, but she could see in Elena's eyes that she wasn't going to stay away from Damon. Maybe, at least Stefan could get away then.

Elena opened her mouth to protest, but Maggie didn't care to hear what she said to say. Her hands tried to push the wood away from her body, but Maggie held it there tightly.

Maggie reached up with both hands and gave her head a rough twist. Her neck snapped with a sickening noise before her body went slacken against the wall. Her head hung forward, her brown hair acting as a final curtain closing on her. If only it was permanent, Maggie thought as she turned away from her motionless form.

Maggie let her hands fall back down to her sides, taking a few deep breaths to ease the adrenaline going through her. Looking at the limp doppelganger now, she wished it would have been a little more satisfying than it was. Maybe that would come from a day when she knew that Elena wouldn't recover from it.

Maggie turned her gaze down to the middle landing of the staircase. She knew he was there the entire time and heard each word. She didn't know why he stopped there. The shock written across his face was understandable, just like one of Alaric's stakes he held in his hand. But she didn't know why he didn't move from that spot.

She walked around the banister and descending the first set of stairs swiftly, stopping just in front of him with a stoic expression. "Don't confuse what I did for mercy," Maggie said to Jeremy, "The only reason she's alive is because of you." And because of Damon, she thought, but mostly because no matter how much she hated her, she was Jeremy's sister and Jeremy was important to Maggie and Beth. You don't get to pick your family after all.

Jeremy was torn between looking at Maggie and back to his sister. Even though he knew that she would be okay, it was completely unnerving to see her impaled against the wall and looking so dead. He never thought he would be comforted at the fact of not seeing ashy grey skin and black veins.

At the same time, he was trying to wrap his mind around what happened. He clenched the stake tightly in his hand, having come barreling up the stairs when it sounded like someone was attacking Elena. He just wasn't expecting that someone to be Maggie or the words she said to be something he had often reiterated himself. This was a side of Maggie that he had never seen before.

Now Maggie stood before him expectantly. He was blocking her path out of the house and at the same time, she was waiting to see what he would do with that stake. She wouldn't blame him if he tried to attack her. Family loyalty came before anything else.

She could tell that was exactly what he was thinking about when he looked down at the stake, letting out a deep exhale. He tossed it lightly in his hand several times before meeting Maggie's gaze and holding it out, flipping it so it was the blunt end first.

"You overpowered me, there wasn't much I could do," Jeremy stated pointedly, keeping his voice even. It wasn't particularly pleased or welcoming, but Maggie took it for what it was.

She nodded and took the stake from his hand gently. Once she did, Jeremy took a step to the side to let her pass down the rest of the stairs and out of the house.

* * *

Kol was opening the door to his and Maggie's apartment when he could make out the distinct notes of Tchaikovsky's _1812 Overture_ coming from within. It sounded a little distorted to his ears though and he looked around curiously for the source when he stepped inside. Sure enough, the television was flickering and being the source of it. What confused me more was the song playing while a bunch of people wearing Guy Fawkes' masks were watching the British Parliament blow up.

Kol shook his head briefly, some things about the modern era he didn't quite understand.

What concerned him more was the way Maggie sat on the couch, staring blankly at the movie. She had her legs curled up against her chest and she was hugging a bottle of red wine. He quirked a brow, she must be really upset to be pulling out the stuff good. He didn't say anything, even though he knew that she heard him come in. Instead, he dropped his jacket on the back of one of the dinette chairs before moving to join her on the couch.

"I find destruction of public property very moving too," Kol announced sarcastically, glancing over at Maggie noting how puffy her eyes were. The obvious evidence she had been crying before he came home.

That caused her to wipe at her cheeks to get rid of the tears that were already gone again with the back of her hand. "Jerk," She muttered halfheartedly before taking a sip from the wine. It wasn't anything expensive, but it was better than the shaky homebrew stuff they normally drink.

She felt Kol's gaze still on her, regardless of the slight smirk on his lips. The unspoken question was clear in the air.

Letting out a sigh, Maggie leaned forward to put the wine glass down on the table. "When I told Damon I couldn't be with him, I thought he was getting over Elena…" Maggie shook her head, knowing maybe what she was saying didn't make a lot of sense. But now, she was having her doubts. "I just don't know after seeing him at the party," She murmured her thoughts aloud.

Kol narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at that, the smirk slipping off his face. He remained eerily still, but kept silent to let her get it off her chest.

"And that bitch," Maggie hissed out the word thinking to Elena. "I don't get what either of them see in her." She hated to admit it, but whether she approved or not, Damon was in love with her. She just thought both of the Salvatore's would be better off without her.

With a huff, Maggie reached back forward for her wine glass. "I snapped her neck and told her to stay away from Stefan," Maggie explained briefly where she was all night. That caused Kol's eyebrows to rise, feeling rather impressed and put out that he missed it.

The hand he had on the back of the couch reached up to ruffle up his hair slightly while he rolled Maggie's words around in his mind. He couldn't help but fixate a little on the first thing she said.

"For not being with him, you seem awfully concerned with who is," Kol pointed out with an edge in his tone. She wasn't exactly instilling a lot of confidence in him with the way she was pouring tears into that wine glass over the Salvatore.

Maggie raised the glass towards her lips and snapped out quickly, "Just because I'm not in love with him, doesn't mean I don't care about him."

She stopped, staring down at the maroon liquid when she realized how swiftly and easily the words fell from her lips.

They weren't false. It was just then she realized the simple reality of the situation. She wasn't in love with him and she never would be. With that thought, she took her sip of wine and noticed that she hadn't heard a snarky remark from Kol.

She looked over to him, lounging back on the couch and staring blankly at the credits rolling up on the television. He wore what she could only describe as the biggest shit-eating grin she had ever seen from him.

"You could be at least a little gracious about it," She grumbled sourly, not being able to smile as easily as he could in the moment.

"Oh, I'm sorry, darling," He drawled out, not exactly sympathetic with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "What exactly do I have to be gracious about?"

Maggie opened her mouth and almost blurted out that he knew exactly what, but she caught herself. She just said she wasn't in love with Damon, she didn't say anything about Kol. Ha, she wasn't going to fall into that one so easily.

She shot him a rueful look but didn't say anything.

Sensing his attitude wasn't exactly appreciated, Kol reached forward to pluck the wine glass out of her hand. "Come here," He coaxed moving his arm on the back of the couch to wrap around her, pulling Maggie into his chest while he set the glass aside. "Why don't you tell me what this is really all about?" He suggested instead.

Maggie didn't bother fighting against him, she leaned into his side, tucking her head against his shoulder. Immediately, his hand went to her hip and the other stroked soothingly up and down her arm. She was almost tempted to point out how comforting he was being. But it was Kol, if she pointed that out, she knew it would clam up and knock it off at the accusation.

She shook her head slightly against his shoulder, trying to formulate why exactly she was upset. "It's just, I thought he was moving on… and seeing Glenn the other day," Maggie bit her lip slightly, recalling the longing looks that he had given her the entire time. It was obvious he had his regrets when it came to how things ended. "I just hope there will be a day that I won't feel so guilty," Maggie concluded, whether it was towards Damon or Glenn.

It was hard seeing how they felt while she had Kol. The truth was what she had with them was only pale memory of what she felt with Kol. Just being able to have this conversation she knew wasn't a possibility with them. Granted, Kol had his temper and he would get physical, but he listened to reason. Glenn was too suspicious and mistrustful. Damon was too hot-tempered and headstrong.

Kol was silent for a long time and Maggie didn't lift her head to see his expression. She took consolation he was still mentally with her with the way his hand continued to slowly move up and down her arm. She held onto him tightly and tried to focus more on the subtle and gradual rise and fall of his chest.

"I think there's something about me I should show you," Kol declared in an oddly calm and decisive tone.

Maggie lifted her head, gazing at him curiously. The hand on her arm stopped to reach up and cup her cheek gently. His fingertips brushed against her temple lightly and she realized he was referring to a dream or memory. "Close your eyes," He ordered in a soft whisper.

* * *

Maggie felt like she barely closed her eyes before the world was pulled away from her. Kol was able to do it easily partly because of his age and experience, but how open and trusting she was of him too. When she opened her eyes, she was standing outside and Maggie was immediately taken back by the bustle of life around her. It immediately felt claustrophobic to have so many people moving around her, a couple even bumping into her. There was still something jarring about being around so many people after living in isolated countryside for so long.

None of them murmured any apologies, or even seemed to notice her modern dress. She was immediately taken back by their period fashion though, something she had only seen in museum reenactments. To top it off, she didn't understand even the slightest word, but their accents were unmistakable. Even further, she spotted a familiar and ionic structure in the skyline, where everyone was slowly filtering towards.

Maggie spun around on her heels, feeling alone in the crowd and trying to not to panic, knowing that Kol was around here somewhere. What struck her still was when she spotted the painted canvas signs hung everywhere.

_Exposition Universelle de Paris._

She didn't understand French, but she could take a pretty good guess to what those words meant. More importantly, she was struck by the year on all of the banners.

_1889._

She felt a rush of air escape her lungs. For all her visions of Kol's memories, this was the most vibrant and vivid of them all. It really did feel like she stepped into a different world, and long ceased past apparently. That year, it was humbling to think of what has happened already and what was to come. That meant Katherine already came and went to Mystic Falls, turning the Salvatore's, which also meant that Kol was on the run from Klaus. It was only a few decades before he would be daggered for the next century.

"There you are, love."

Kol's voice caused Maggie to spin around and briefly she was worried she would run into his past self, the one that wouldn't see or hear her. But she relaxed upon the sight of him approaching her, dressed in his modern clothes with that ever present lazy smirk on his lips.

He stepped up to her swiftly and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. Maggie was pleasantly surprised by the gesture and thrown by how much lighter she felt. She figured that was his mood projected through the memory. The anxiety and emotional turmoil she was experiencing back at the apartment felt like it had literally been left on the other side of the world.

"What are we doing here, Kol?" Maggie had to ask. She didn't bother asking where they were, she was able to put that together on her own along with the when.

Kol half shrugged his shoulders while he slipped an arm around her waist, turning his body to face the entrance to the World's Fair that the crowd was moving through. "Every century or so I have a moment of nostalgia, I thought you would like to see it," His eyes passed over the black structure, which only had recently completely enough of its construction for the debut.

Maggie followed his gaze and winced slightly. "Oh, Kol. Please tell me you're not a closet romantic sap," She grumbled, looking at the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower. She would almost prefer him to have his emotions shut off than be that gag worthy.

"Pfffhh, no," Kol scrunched his expression up as if she suggested the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"I came here for the Galerie des Machines, especially the engines and the trains," He recalled, always having a fascination with the technology and things that could take him far and fast.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow, turning her head back to Kol and trying to fight a grin off her face. "You came here for the train?" She questioned dubiously, thinking he had the curiosity of a child at times.

"It was very big choo-choo," Kol defended in a mock serious tone, causing Maggie to let out a laugh.

Kol grinned down at her and began to lead her through the crowd. He pointed aspects about the fair as they moved, like how the Tower was used as the grand entrance for the whole thing. He rattled off stories of people that attended, ones that would become famous in her time. Maggie was struck how real everything seemed, from the details of everyone's dress and features to the scents in the air, the mixture of scents and city life drifting in from being in the heart of Paris. Music carried through the air over the clattering of voices.

Kol eventually led her towards the Galerie des Machines. She was struck by the massive size of the exposition hall, being made of steel arches on a scale she had never seen before. The hall itself was over four football fields long and rose almost 150 feet into the air with the arches. Stained glass, colorful mosaics and paintings offset the start steel supports, adding a bustling life to the event. More importantly were the array of displays throughout the structure, ranging from engines to machines of unnatural proportions.

He walked with Maggie through some of the displays before leading her up to an elevated walkway that was on a circular track on the inside of the hall, allowing for guests to peer down at the displays. There were even carriages moving about the walkway and Kol snickered at Maggie when he had to pull her out of the way to dodge a persistent one.

She didn't know how long they were there, but she didn't find herself caring. Instead, she was hanging onto each story that Kol told, for once not being held down by whatever conflict was going on in Mystic Falls and allowing herself to just simply be with him. At one point, she made a comment he had permanently ruined the experience of going to the movies for with these dreams.

"Here, come quickly," Kol perked up and pulled her by her hand over to the railing of the elevated walkway, near where some of the locomotive engines were on display. Steam rose high into the hall and Maggie picked up the notes of grease and other lubricants in the air amongst the people. The hunger of being around the people never bothered her, but she figured that was because it was a dream.

She couldn't deny his excitement to show her whatever it was, so she followed him over to the railing. She leaned her elbows against it, mirroring his body positioning while he pointed down towards one of the displays. It was a large locomotive engine, which steam rose out of it. Many people were gathered around it, walking around it from the roped distance and marveling.

"This was where I was standing when it happened. Look closely, or you'll miss it," Kol murmured into her ear, knowing this was_ the_ moment he got nostalgic over.

"Okay," Maggie conceded, fighting off the smile and following his pointed finger. He dropped the hand to place it lightly on her lower back and watch her reaction.

A couple of men were milling about the engine, pointing out various parts in their discussions. She noticed one come around the corner, from the angle that her and Kol were standing. He was a handsome man with gentle features and a slightly scruff look to his beard. He turned back to say something to his companion before they stepped around into their view.

The woman with round cheeks and blonde curls pulled up into a high bun smiled at what her companion said. Maggie didn't bother hiding her gasp or the way her jaw fell open a little.

"Alexia?!" Maggie stood upright, her eyes darting back and forth between her and Kol in disbelief. She thought he had never seen her again after being daggered by Klaus.

Kol gave a broad smile and just nodded.

Maggie wasn't sure if she was more excited from Kol's emotions being projected in the memory or being excited for him. "What did she say? What did you do? How is that possible?" The questions spilled out of her mouth, having to know what happened next. Her eyes went back to the blonde vampire, who remained standing beside her companion in front of the engine. They carried on some conversation that Maggie couldn't hear, but it didn't matter.

"She didn't say anything," Kol explained lightly without taking his eyes off of Alexia. A lazy content smile worked its way up on his lips at seeing his golubka, even if just in a memory. "And I didn't say anything either," He added.

This caused Maggie's brows to furrow and she turned to him. "You didn't talk to her?" She couldn't imagine that making any sense.

Kol shook his head briefly, unaffected by Maggie's growing confusion. He watched the way the man next to Alexia, Lee was his name, leaned in and whispered something in her ear. A laugh fell from her lips and Kol smiled fondly at the sight.

"I don't believe she actually saw me," Kol informed Maggie simply. From their vantage point, the average human would have to squint quite a bit to identify Alexia and Lee. It would be easy to walk right past without giving the elevated walkway a second glance, never mind spot someone specifically up there.

"I don't understand," Maggie fumbled with the words, glancing back to Alexia and seeing the couple starting to move onto the next display. "She was right there, why didn't you go to her?" She had seen and felt how distraught Kol was when he was daggered. He had spent all that time searching for her after he woke too. There was no denying how he felt at the waterfall just reliving those memories.

The smile slipped from his face as he rolled his lips over his teeth, formulating his thoughts carefully. It was hard for him to describe that feeling he got seeing her again. It was an alleviated high with a bittersweet mix.

"Maybe it was selfish," Kol concluded. "But for her, I had been dead for almost two centuries." Seeing ghosts never boded well for anyone, especially one from his family. "And I was being chased Mikael and Klaus. I didn't want to bring her into the troubles of my family… And just look at her," He gestured a proud hand out towards with an exasperated sigh. "She just looks so…" His voice trailed.

He didn't need to say it for Maggie to understand. Alexia's smile was broad and wide, this was the human turned vampire that Kol had lost the competition of her affections to. And looking at her now, there was no way it really could have been much of a competition at all.

So Kol had tipped his hat from a distance and watched the couple disappear into the crowd of the World Fair.

Maggie turned her body to face Kol when it dawned on her. Her throat tightened a little with emotion when it hit her. "You let her go, didn't you?" Maggie asked with a sense of awe, not referring to just physically letting her walk away.

Kol cocked his head slightly, thinking that was one of way of putting it and letting the idea wash over him. Looking at the back of Alexia's silhouette, he wouldn't deny that he would enjoy the chance of seeing her again. But now, she wasn't the object of his affection anymore and maybe if it wasn't for her he wouldn't know what that feeling was like.

"Yeah, I did," He agreed casually with a smile gracing his face and looking back to Maggie.

Seeing that content expression lacking any doubts, caused Maggie's chest to tighten and she reached out her hand to take his.

* * *

Maggie stirred with a deep inhale, coming up for air for the first time in her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open to find she was still leaning against Kol's shoulder. Except now she was definitely in their bed with Kol leaning up against the headboard. He must have moved her during the dream, seeing as his shoes were kicked off and she was sprawled across his lap. Her hand smoothed out along his chest as she began to stir.

Maggie felt a soft kiss pressed into her hairline, similar to the one in her dream. The grin from the experience seemed ever present as she thought about how calm she felt now. She felt rested and rejuvenated from the sleep and most importantly lighter and more hopeful. Kol always knew how to keep her grounded and turn her around.

She thought briefly about what she just witnessed. He loved Alexia, but he had let her go. The fact he could let her go, brought a smile to her lips. It was something her previous loves couldn't do. She supposed he wasn't lying when he said he wasn't some jaded fool, at least not a lovesick one.

She lifted her head up slowly to look at Kol, seeing that he had been watching her closely the entire time. "Hi," He greeted in a quiet whisper with a faint smirk.

Maggie responded to him by leaning in and pressing her lips to his. It wasn't a shy kiss and earned a surprised, but approving hum from Kol. He responded immediately to her ministrations, but let her set the pace. It was a slow burning pace that built up in the demand, particularly the way Maggie turned her body to face him and her knees sank into the mattress on either side of his hips.

She ran a hand up along his cheek and back into his hair, knotting in her favorite way that drew a growl against her lips. Kol's hands went her hips, running up briefly along her lower back before sliding down to her ear. While her tongue explored his mouth, he gave it playful nip before grasping her rear firmly and eliciting a throaty moan from her.

Feeling her hands moving down to the hem of his shirt, Kol pulled back reluctantly from the kiss with the obvious question in his eyes.

Maggie used her hands to cup his cheeks, framing his face and stroking her thumbs just under his eyes. "I _want _you, Kol," Maggie demanded, never feeling surer about it than ever before.

An animalistic growl came from Kol's chest and in the next moment Maggie was flipped over on her back with Kol looming over her. He settled his body down between her legs, leaning into her neck while one hand slid up along her stomach to her breast boldly.

Maggie shuddered from the squeeze and feeling his hot breath on her neck as he nipped at the skin just underneath her ear.

"You have no idea how badly I want to make you mine," Kol whispered in a lustful tone and Maggie had an impression of how badly from the pressure she felt on her hip from him.

Maggie grinned broadly, unable to hide the way her body began thrum with the anticipation and the wanton words. She waved the red flag at the bull instead.

"So then do it," She challenged him in an equal whisper.

That caused Kol to pull back from her neck abruptly and regarded her in a dark stare. For a moment, he almost thought he misheard her, but the want to be claimed by him was written all over her face. There was no telling what would happen with her doppelganger status and it was a risk, but he didn't need to be told twice.

He pressed his lips down against hers with a bruising and demanding force. It only broke away a few moments later to let her pull his shirt up over his head before he was rolled over onto his back. Kol smirked up at her, letting her take control of the situation as she shucked her tank top shortly after. He tugged on her short hair while he pulled her into a kiss, bucking his hips against hers tauntingly.

She moved her lips down along his jawline while his hands went to her jeans, loosening up the button and zipper quickly. Her lips were on his neck when she let out a loud whimper and her hips quivered from his fingers. Maggie pulled away from his neck, gasping and he could tell she was fighting with herself on which way to go.

"Go ahead, darling," Kol coaxed her with his wicked charm.

Maggie gave the faintest nod before her eyes dropped down to his neck. Before she could help it, the fangs slipped out from her gums. The bloodlust didn't seem nearly as overwhelming though while his fingers played her body like an instrument. With more confidence than she was expecting, she leaned down into him and Kol tilted his head to the side, in an act of trust he rarely showed.

Her fangs pierced his skin and Maggie moaned loudly as the first taste of blood entered her mouth. She kept her hands against the blankets on either side of his shoulders, curling into tight fists there where they wouldn't crush him.

He could feel the effect of the venom immediately, it slowed him down and weakened him, but it didn't seem to matter as much in this high. Especially with the way Maggie rubbed herself against him and arched her back into his body. When he reached his limit, he pulled one hand up to tug at the back of her neck and Maggie broke free from his skin with red still on her lips.

The black and red barely faded from her eyes before she was flipped around onto her back. Kol made quick work of kicking her jeans down past her knees before getting rid of them completely. The smell of arousal and blood in the air tempted his features to show themselves. Her hands daftly went to his belt and there was a zip of fabric being tugged before she tossed it carelessly across the room. His jeans were the next thing to fall with a heavy thud against the bedroom floor.

Kol only paused when his eyes focused on her pulse point. He had Maggie's hands pinned by the wrists above her head without a trace of fear in her eyes as her tongue darted out to lick the remaining blood away.

She gave him the barest of nods before the fangs slipped out into sight. There was only a brief moment her rationale mind shuddered, realizing he was about to bite her. It didn't terrify her nearly as much as she thought it would.

She barely felt the prick against her skin before the area went pleasantly numb. Her fingers unclenched themselves while she arched her hips, feeling the pull of blood from her neck and rolling her eyes shut to the sensation.

"K-_Kol_!" Maggie moaned loudly from the feeling of him drinking from her and slamming almost roughly into her.

Getting his taste, Kol eased up from her neck, licking the last of her blood away from his lips in the process. He felt invigorated with her blood going through him, the weakness of the venom being cured almost immediately. His hips began rolling into her as he stared down this woman, looking back at him with such a mixture of adoration, devotion and want.

* * *

An overcast morning offered muted light through the bedroom windows as Maggie started to wake. What really stirred her was the light sensation going up and down her spine.

Kol's fingers trailed almost idly along her spine, taking in the contours of her skin and the way her back arched up into her shoulder blades. A lazy smile remained on his lips as he lay on his side, his head propped up by one hand. His eyes took in the way Maggie laid on her stomach, the blankets pooled down by her lower back with her arms tucked under the pillow she was practically hugging.

He marveled in the sparking sensation he got from the touch of her skin. It was like there was a drawing static that could only be appeasing with each touch. It was unnerving, but oddly soothing at the same time. Whatever it was, he didn't particularly feel like stopping even though she was asleep.

Maggie let out a soft rumble before her head turned on the pillow to find the source of her disturbance. She opened her sleepy eyes to see Kol grinning at her. Unlike most times, there was no shred of cheek or hidden sarcastic attitude to it. There was something youthful and genuinely happy about it, which was infectious and causing Maggie to smile back at him lazily.

There was something unhurried about the way he touched her and Maggie didn't feel the urge to move. She drank in the details of him, passing over his face and down his body slowly unashamedly. She couldn't help but think of them, how far they have come and what has happened between them. She realized there were some things he never did even for Alexia, like opening up and listening to her, especially about his past and family.

The list of things he was willing to do for her was ever growing, defying his brother, turning on his emotions, challenge longstanding beliefs. Any time she needed him, he had been there without question so far.

"You're in love with me," Maggie said in a statement that was a borderline awed question. He had never come out and said before, but he just had to be.

The hand on her back paused and Kol's eyes widened at the frankness of those words. His eyebrows raised a little and he blinked a few times while Maggie kept the pillow hugged to her cheek. If anyone said that to him a couple of months ago, he would have mocked them straight out of the room and ripped their heart out in the parking lot.

A lot could change and this woman seemed to be the source of most of it. He let out a breathless chuckle before smirking at her slowly, "You just figured that out now?"

Maggie pressed her lips into a small smile. He didn't come out and directly say it, but that's just the way it was with Kol. At least he confirmed it that way. She felt the hand starting to move along her back once more and she closed her eyes contently, just enjoying the sensation.

"Mm, don't stop that," She murmured approvingly, relaxing into the bed.

Her words caused his movements to halt however. His brows furrowed thoughtfully and he asked, "You can feel that, too?"

Maggie opened her eyes at the odd question and glanced down briefly over her shoulder. She didn't know how to describe how or why she knew what he was referring to right away. She just nodded shortly, "What is it?" While she had been soothed by his touch before, this was much more magnified than before and it was so simple.

Kol was barely listening to her though. His eyes didn't move from his hand on her back and an odd sense of wonder came over him. "She was right," He muttered under his breath.

Maggie frowned slightly and lifted her head up from the pillow to look at him more fully. The completely slack jaw expression on Kol was starting to concern her. The movement caused his eyes to snap back up to her and he recovered quickly.

"The claiming has started," He explained shortly while leaving out his suspicions that more than just that had started. A devious grin began to form on his lips.

Maggie nodded and bit her lower lip lightly, remembering that meant it would take a few more exchanges for it to set in completely. Before she could dwell on it, Maggie was flipped over onto her back. Her eyes widened and her heart began to pick up from the sudden movement, but she wasn't entirely surprised or unwelcomed to the way that Kol hovered above her. His hands were over hers and she shifted her fingers to lace with his.

Kol leaned down, nearly brushing his nose against hers while he inhaled her scent deeply, which was mixed with lingering sweat and arousal. It was untainted by over fragranced shampoos and soaps, the animal within him appreciated it much more.

"Say it," He demanded in a soft tone, wanting to hear from her lips consciously what he wasn't meant to hear earlier. "I can see the way you want to," Kol opened his eyes to be mostly consumed by the emeralds mixed with flecks of gold and silver.

Maggie briefly thought of taunting him, but she didn't with the way his tone lacked the normal overconfidence and smugness.

"I love you, Kol," She whispered up to him tenderly. She barely finished the single syllable of his name before he pressed a kiss against her lips. It was slow and sweet, moving with the content pace unhindered by anxiety or urgency.

When he pulled away, he grazed his nose lightly along her skin, down her neck to her collarbone and finally nuzzling his face into her bosom. She shivered from the feeling of several feathery kisses against her skin before a sudden sharp prickle at the top of her breast.

Maggie began to breathe faster, her fingers tightening around his while she shifted her hips and legs around him. "Kol?" She made the question evident in her tone. In almost sober senses, the drawing of the blood and sucking was even more intense, borderline unnerving with how she could feel the blood being taken from her veins.

Kol pulled his lips away, dark red with a bead starting to escape the corner of his mouth before he licked away. "I've never claimed to be a patient man, love," He stated darkly. It took more than one bite to claim a vampire.

And she wasn't going to leave this bed until she was his.

* * *

_Author's Note: …_

_So I'm not sure what the appropriate way to start an AN after that is, but here goes!_

_So it's Kolie official now! The next chapter will have the aftermath of the claiming (Anyone have thoughts on what Kol meant by "She was right"?) What did you think of the Lexi moment?_

_And yay for witches, right? Well not really for torturing Kol, which I'm sure that scene will bring up many questions. If you ask a question that I don't respond to next chapter, that's because it'll be answered in the sequel. And yes, I did take a liberty with the history on the massacre of the 100 witches, but we've seen how helpless the Council was with just 27 vampires in the tomb… I can't wrap my head around 100 witches, so that's my solution._

_And Maggie finally got to snap Elena's neck! Whoo! I thought it would be fitting that she impaled her in the same manner Kol did with Jeremy witnessing from the same spot. _

_Hopefully the second half of the ball was just as awesome as the first half! Thoughts on Maggie's plans to backstab Klaus regardless of if he finds Katherine or not? Justified or do you think she should stick to her deal?_

_That being said, the "canon" couples for this story are Kol/Maggie, Damon/Elena, Jeremy/Beth. Hint for next chapter, there'll be a pretty big NON-canon kiss that we haven't seen before between one canon character and one non-canon character. Speculations on who?_

_PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I've noticed there haven't been as many responses lately, I hope I'm not losing interest in readers so close to the end. _

_Review responses –_

_M: Thank you! I think I've actually watched one too many TLC shows for my ideas when it comes to envisioning parties because there's so many extravagant wedding receptions they feature a couple of their shows. If there was a scene that I would love to see filmed with the actors for the character reactions, it would be that dance scene. The prison group will be relatively whole. This chapter was mostly about the Kolie love (obviously) but next chapter we'll see more about the Atlanta group and MFG, especially the Petrova hunt._

_ElithaAndWest: Aww, thank you! That really means a lot that my writing can brighten someone's day. And I agree, Elena has a classic face for someone looking like they just witnessed a puppy getting shot or something. Thanks again, I hope to hear from you again!_

_Guest: Thank you so much! I have to admit, I love the season three Original family. I'm not happy with what they've done in season four to them. So when I write and consider the dynamics of the family, I try to keep season three relations in mind. (I'll start to explore some of the season four ones in the sequel but only certain aspects) As far as Maggie telling Kol, I think the two have become so comfortable being around each other physically now and trusting, it's really easy for Maggie to let things slip like she did with her talk with Damon and now she's realizing she doesn't have to be afraid of sharing those things. I love long reviews, don't be shy haha!_

_Nynaeve55: Yeah I find Elena's character very annoying since she embodies the typical self-absorbed high school student, so I think sometimes in my writing I tend to really fixate on that part of her personality but oh well… it's my story after all I guess haha. I'm glad you loved the Kolie scenes, those two were on my list of three favorites from that chapter next to the line about Kol chasing his doppelganger. _

_Yeah, that was a low blow from Klaus. I'm making him the villain he's meant to be in this story, there will be no redemption arc and CERTAINLY not through some hoochie werewolf pregnancy. As far as Damon and Maggie go, this chapter kinda shows how they may be able to work towards being civil to each other, but it's going to be hard to expect anything more than that._

_The Original episode… yikes. It would have been awesome if they just left Hayley out completely. I would have had a lot more respect for Elijah if he was just there to help protect his brother, but running around like the creepy uncle is blegh. (I'm still confused how Klaus has only NOW knocked someone up, I doubt it's the first time he's slept with a werewolf or human… Magic suppressed his werewolf side and turned him into a vampire, using the logic of the witches, he should've been able to procreate all along right?) Anyway, I'm ranting._

_There may or may not be Stefan-Klaus bonding in the sequel, but we will see a few glimpses into the Petrova hunt soon._


	56. Chapter 56

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_Saving Abel – Addicted _

_Scene: Post-Claiming_

_Jason Walker – Kiss Me_

_Scene: Surprise Guest at Maggie's apartment_

_Chapter Fifty-six_

Kol pulled his lips away, dark red with a bead starting to escape the corner of his mouth before he licked away. "I've never claimed to be a patient man, love," He stated darkly. It took more than one bite to claim a vampire.

And she wasn't going to leave this bed until she was his.

* * *

Maggie bit her lower lip lightly as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was thoroughly frizzy, still a wild mess even after she ran a brush through it. She had a white bed sheet gathered around her, clutching the fabric to her chest with both hands. In a way she felt exposed, having been uninhibited and completely vulnerable only a moment ago.

There was something humbling about giving herself completely to someone and that's what it felt like with Kol. She was practically blushing thinking about what they had been doing, caught in the moment. Out of the corner of her eye, through the open doorway, she could see Kol slipping his belt through the loops of his jeans with his back half turned to her.

She couldn't help but think that he was right when he said she didn't know what she started. She wouldn't have been ready to let someone hurt her, but trusting they wouldn't harm her. She wouldn't have been ready to let someone consume her and possess her without controlling her.

"I thought the whole point of being a vampire was so I wouldn't feel sore and tired," Maggie muttered to herself with a slight pout while she turned in the mirror to look over her shoulder. Truthfully, her muscles were screaming, particularly in her thighs and hips. Even her throat was a little raw from making noises she would be too embarrassed to ever admit to.

"Yes, but you probably need to properly feed, darling," Kol answered her with a smirk, stepping into the bathroom. With the way that Maggie stood there biting her lip, gazing at her own reflection and covering herself up with the sheet, a less confident man would assume she was having doubts.

Maggie watched through the mirror the way he came up behind her, or rather her front with the way she was turned, and naturally placed his hands on her hips. A soft sigh passed through her reflexively, acutely aware of the touch and the goose bumps that were still coursing through her. She was still getting used to the pull she felt and her hyperawareness of Kol.

At the mention of feeding, she tightened her grip on the bed sheet thinking of how her vampire form had slipped out during the course of it. That was the first time she had lost herself to it not for the blood. At first she had tried to staunch it, but Kol coaxed her to let it go and it wasn't long before he joined her.

Staring in the mirror, Maggie fixated on her right shoulder and the mark that was now there. With one hand, she reached behind over her shoulder to brush her fingertips against it. "So this isn't going to heal?" She asked Kol while staring at the clear and pronounced bite mark. She nearly blushed from thinking about how she had been on all fours when he bit down into her shoulder. It wasn't the first bite either, she could still feel the ghost memory of the ones on her breasts, her hip and inner thigh.

The bite on her shoulder was different though. When it healed, instead of disappearing to unblemished skin, there was a white scar with a slight shine to it depending on the light. It was raised, very distinct to even where the canine teeth were.

Kol shook his head, the smirk growing into a prideful grin despite Maggie's apprehensive stare.

His hands moved up to her upper arms, running up and down them in a soothing manner. Maggie's stomach still fluttered with nerves, partly from the touch and partly from reality sinking in. This mark would be on her for eternity. That was a surreal thought. In a way it was like tattoo, but Maggie nearly shook her head as soon as that thought came, this was a lot more serious than that.

"No," Kol explained, moving his gaze to study the profile of Maggie's face instead of the mirror. "This is my way of showing the world that you are mine. I've claimed you. No other man will touch you." He didn't bother hiding the way that it thrilled him, knowing she was made for him. Granted, he wasn't exactly telling the whole truth, but he didn't want to frighten her, especially with the way a small grin broke out on her lips at his words.

She turned her head so that she was looking directly at him. She reached one hand forward to brush along his chest while his arms naturally moved to loop around her loosely. "I'm pretty sure that works both ways now," Maggie smirked at him while her fingers ran over his left pectoral. There was now a scar of a bite mark there, symbolically over his heart.

Her bite was the one that took first and it seemed to surprise Kol just as much as it did her. He had encouraged her to give into the desire, mixing the pleasure of the blood and sex with the pain it also brought. Maggie had been barely aware of sinking her fangs down into his flesh, which turned into a full on bite. Kol figured that her bite took first because she had already been drinking his blood for a while, but he had honestly been completely stunned to see the skin heal the way it did. It made him eager to mark her.

Now that it was done, Maggie couldn't hide the part of her that reveled in knowing she had been able to mark this man, this millennial creature. It was an empowering and humbling sensation.

"Yes, it does, supruga," Kol agreed quietly before leaning down to catch her lips in a light and gentle kiss. Maggie had heard him call her that name several times, but she hadn't stopped to ask him what it meant yet. The emotion behind it though caused her heart to swell.

* * *

Maggie rushed through the back service door of the Grill, pulling the light zip-up hoodie on her shoulder as she did. It was a little loose and baggy, but she grabbed the first pair of clean clothes she could after showering with Kol. The Original wasn't doing great things for sticking to her work schedule. She dropped her keys and bag on the kitchen serving counter before stepping out to the front of the house.

"Hey, Jer," Maggie huffed out from rushing over, even though she wasn't actually tired from the exertion.

The teen looked up from the serving trays of the morning rations and nodded towards her. He gave her a tight, forced polite grin while she went to wash up her hands and get ready to help him with the clean-up.

Maggie didn't think much of the silence from him as she went to help carry some of the trays into the back. Admittedly, her mind was in other places, still thinking of the bite mark now on her shoulder. Every now and then, she caught herself tugging on the hoodie just to make sure that it was covered up. This wasn't the type of world she wanted to be walking around with a human looking bite mark on her shoulder.

"Elena's fine by the way," Jeremy snapped out in a faux light tone and Maggie then realized she had been there twenty minutes already with barely a word between them. She stopped with the soap in one hand and cleaning the trays other while he walked into the kitchen. "But, I had to wait until Alaric got back to help pull her off the wall," Jeremy added on the passive irritation clear in his tone.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow and refrained from commenting her arm was stronger than she realized. The look on Jeremy's face said such humor wouldn't be appreciated. "You know she had it coming," Maggie muttered out instead, looking back down at the dishes and resuming her work.

Jeremy dropped the trays on the stainless steel counter, causing a loud clash of metal that made Maggie visibly jump. The noise absolutely grated her extra sensitive vampire ears and she clenched her jaw.

"She's still my sister," Jeremy reaffirmed forcefully. Regardless of whether or not he agreed with Maggie, he had principles to stick to. Maggie looked up at him through her black eyelashes carefully, her hand remaining frozen under the soapy water. "Don't put me in that position again," Jeremy demanded. He had lost enough sleep, tossing and turning, wondering if letting Maggie walk away like that was really the right thing to do.

"Fine," Maggie clipped out shortly and dropped her gaze, refusing to look up from the steel wool she was using to scrub the trays. She heard the way Jeremy let out a deep aggravated breath, feeling his gaze on her.

The teen was turning away from her and about to disappear from sight when his ears caught something that he almost asked her to repeat.

"I'm sorry," Maggie apologized in a quiet tone. She wasn't sorry for snapping Elena's neck and impaling her with a piece of her own house. But she was sorry for doing that to Jeremy.

Jeremy stopped and furrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Maggie. Slowly he nodded in appreciation, recognizing he didn't get apologies like that from her often, if ever.

He eased up gradually and moved back into the room. Maggie could almost feel the tension slipping off of his shoulders with each passing moment.

"So where were you this weekend?" He asked, surprised he didn't see her around town at all.

"Oh, I stayed in," Maggie answered him vaguely, in a rather lame tone. She kept her gaze away from him by swapping out the trays in the sink for the ones that he just brought in.

"Huh," Jeremy nodded and bit his tongue lightly. It was clear Maggie wasn't going to say much more, causing him to shrug a bit. "Well, I'll admit we could have used your help moving some of Carol's stuff," He teased lightly. It wasn't like Carol was a vampire anymore. It could have been a lot easier with the supernatural strength and speed.

At the mention of Carol's name, Maggie felt her stomach do a flip and her heart skip a beat. Carol's stuff… Carol and Daryl were moving back into the Greene house and she had totally forgotten about it.

"Oh, shit," Maggie cursed before she could stop herself, instantly feeling guilty. She wanted to be there for when Carol was finally reunited with everyone and able to have a human, normal life again. "I'm really sorry, Jer," She apologized, looking up at him more sincerely.

Jeremy tossed his hands lightly in the air. "Its fine," He gave casually, not thinking it was the end of the world or anything. He cocked his head at her a little, "But I'm curious, what had you so distracted?"

Maggie stopped. She opened her mouth and closed it twice over, feeling like a gaping fish before she could form any words. "I… stayed in," She repeated her words, earning a perplexed look from Jeremy at her behavior. "With Kol," She added sheepishly.

"Whoa! Say no more!" Jeremy's voice rose almost to a shout, as if to drown out the possibility of her saying anything else. He shot his hands up to his ears, acting like earmuffs. He turned away from her quickly, although being playful, and made a quick retreat.

"I do not need to hear about _that,_" He whined. He wasn't a prude, but it was with _Kol_. "How am I supposed to protect my innocence around here?"

Maggie scrunched her nose up at him sourly, trying not to laugh at his antics. Jeremy caught a wet, soapy dishcloth to the back of the head.

* * *

Maggie was sitting on the couch in the apartment when she felt the pang in her chest. The first time it scared her thoroughly. She was moving one of the boxes in the Grill, it was full of canned goods from a supply run, when it hit. It surprised her so badly that she dropped the heavy box, sending the cans scattering along the floor. She was barely aware it hit her foot, which made her grateful she was a vampire or it probably would've been fractured.

She was more concerned by the sudden contraction of her muscles of her chest and the alarming spasms. There was a brief stabbing pain that lasted about ten seconds, leaving her clutching to her chest and calling out to Jeremy. By the time Jeremy reached her, it was already beginning to pass and she had no explanation for it.

Just like she had no explanation for the slight tug she had been feeling, almost in her gut all morning and afternoon. It was drawing her east and she couldn't place her finger on why she knew, but she just knew that was the direction Kol took off to go hunting.

The second round caused her to book to slip from her fingers. The spine fell open when it fell to the floor with a thud, losing the page. Maggie didn't watch it though. Her hand went over her heart, feeling the way it was beating erratically. Her nerves were sent on edge and she nearly jumped up from the couch then and there to take off. The only reason she didn't was the pure confusion as to why she was suddenly feeling this way.

East was calling to her and it was starting to make her think there was something very wrong with her.

A knock came at the apartment door, snapping her out of the spell. She felt the tug drawing closer as she rose to her feet. She still wore the same clothes from the Grill, the hoodie drooped on her shoulders with a light tank top underneath. Going to the door, Maggie frowned, wondering who would bother to knock around here. She peered through the peephole and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

Not bothering to hesitate further, Maggie opened the door widely and exclaimed in a soft gasp, "Elijah?"

The eldest Original stood there with a light hand on the door frame and the other hand in his pocket. Compared to his usual attire, he was actually wearing a light pair of a slacks and a dark casual button up shirt. It was rolled up at the sleeves to his elbows. It seemed remarkably more comfortable than what he normally wore, which he selected for the purpose of the traveling he had been doing over the last couple of days since the ball.

"Hello Maggie," He greeted her with a small smile, his lips tugging in an amusement at her appearance. The doppelganger naturally took a step aside, holding the door open to let him inside. "Is Kol here?" He asked as he crossed the threshold, peering inside the apartment for his brother.

"Umm, no. He's out hunting, but he's on his way back," Maggie explained lamely and paused at the end. She frowned a bit to herself, where did she get that idea from? She didn't bother dwelling at it while she watched Elijah take in the sight of her apartment.

"I see," He nodded lightly with a gentle sigh. Of course the mansion had been empty when he returned. He knew that Kol was spending most of his time with Maggie and with Klaus gone, Rebekah wasn't going to hang around the massive home by herself. She was the type to crave the company of others, regardless of the circumstances.

"Not to be rude or anything," Maggie cleared her throat, stepping up to Elijah who had paused in the middle of the studio apartment. "But I thought you were looking for Katerina with Klaus and Stefan?"

"I was," Elijah's gaze lingered briefly on the abandoned book on the floor before looking to Maggie. "I followed a lead in Tennessee…" He inclined his head slightly as if to shrug, "It was a dead end. But Niklaus and Stefan caught a trail of her in New Hampshire, as Kol had suggested, so I'm going to try to intercept them in Pennsylvania."

Understanding passed through Maggie and she relaxed, dropping her folded arms from her chest. "And you want me to let Kol and Rebekah know?" She figured he didn't want to waste too much time in Mystic Falls if he was going to catch up with the others in Pennsylvania.

"I would appreciate that," Elijah nodded, stepping back to face Maggie fully. Now that he mentioned it, Maggie could see the slightly ruffled appearance to him. There were a few wrinkles going through his shirt from sitting in the car, but they were only noticeable if you were looking for them. His hair was a bit ruffled up, probably from absent mindedly running a hand through it while aimlessly driving back to Mystic Falls.

As she noticed this, she realized Elijah was studying her just as closely and his gaze bore a deeper contemplative hue to it. "Elijah?" She said his name softly in concern, "Is something bothering you?" Maybe it wasn't her place to ask, but he had been receptive the last time they spoke.

"Not as much as bother, but there is something I am intrigued by," Elijah admitted, bowing his head a little before looking back up at her.

"Okay," Maggie gave him permission to proceed, pressing her lips together tightly with curiosity.

"At the ball," Elijah cleared his throat, trapping her with his penetrating gaze. "You spoke of Lysander, but it didn't seem like you were thinking of Shakespeare… were you?" He worded the question carefully, having been haunted by her vision as she said those words.

Maggie's exhale was stolen from her quickly at the eloquent way he just called her out. She looked down at the floor boards, only absently aware of how little space he left between them. Between Damon and Kol, she was used to vampires crowding her personal space. She shrugged her shoulders up carefully, almost in a turtle-like manner to protect herself. "No, I used to be that girl," Maggie admittedly shyly.

Elijah tilted his head slightly with the unspoken question in eyes.

"I used to be afraid to let people close," Maggie murmured, avoiding looking at him as she thought back to how she acted when her father remarried and her relationships after that. "Because I fell so easily," Glenn was prime example there, "and I would be the one that got hurt when they left or something happened. I thought love makes you weak. It gives that other person a power over you. They could build you up and crush you so easily."

Elijah softened for the young woman in front of him, the one that tried to pass herself as stronger than she felt. The corner of his lip tugged upwards ironically at her choice of words. He recalled a time he claimed love to be a weakness, especially for vampires. Despite her past tense of words, he could still see a memory of that girl she spoke of.

"I understand," Elijah agreed meaningfully.

Maggie felt a finger under her chin, prompting her to look up at him. Tensing in surprise at the contact, she followed her gaze up from his hand to his expression.

"And you were right," He didn't need more than to whisper for her to hear and his hand didn't fall away from her chin. "I have to carry that hope because I can't let myself believe that there is nothing left for me."

Maggie parted her lips to question what he meant by that, but she didn't get a word out. The hand on her chin slide to the back of her head with a swift grace and the next moment she felt his lips on hers.

Maggie's eyes widened and her body tensed up immediately, her hands rising up in front of her in rigid surrender. Her rational mind barely wrapped around how they had gone from talking one moment to this.

Elijah moved with the confidence that a thousand years of existence exuded. He was a man that shouldn't have harbor his affections and shoulder them like a masochistic teenager. He kissed her slowly and carefully, easing in the way he had begun to see her differently since their first walk through the gardens at the mansion. His concern for her had grown prior to that, at the Lockwood party with those goodnight words.

Maggie closed her eyes tightly, her mind a warring conflict, wondering when she had missed the signs of this. At the same time, she had to admit the kiss wasn't repulsive. There wasn't anything unpleasant about the precise feeling of his soft lips and the gentleness radiating from them.

But it was wrong. It was all wrong and it wasn't for her.

It set her nerves screaming on edge and Maggie's lips didn't move in respond. Kol screamed to mind and the fact that this was his brother. She felt a scorching heat against her shoulder, like a hot cloth, but she just subconsciously rolled her shoulder to get rid of it.

Maggie pressed her hands to his chest and stepped away from him abruptly. The Original didn't do anything to stop her as her eyes shot open, a glisten in their corners. "Elijah, I…" She choked out his name and began shaking her head back and forth.

She could see that glimmer of a hope almost die out instantly in his eyes as he recovered his composure.

"I'm sorry, but I _love_ Kol," She stated firmly, taking her hands away from his chest to break all physical contact between them.

His hand that had caressed her fell to his side slowly. He blinked several times, as if erecting a bitter, but resigned mask in its place. "I know," He sighed, but secretly had hoped she wasn't as enamored with his brother as she was.

"I'm sorry, Elijah," Maggie apologized again, not sure if she was apologizing more for hurting him or the sickening way her stomach was turning in the moment with guilt. "Maybe if we had met first it would have been a little different," She murmured and let her voice trail, refusing to look him directly in the eye. She had thought about what life would have been like without the outbreak and how the Originals would have entered her life.

"But it still would be Kol," Elijah finished her words for her when he picked up on her tone of voice. Even if they had become further acquainted before she met his brother, he would have eclipsed any other feelings. Much like how he did to Damon for Maggie. "I understand," Elijah gave softly.

Maggie nodded, willing herself to look him in the eye again while she wrapped her arms around herself.

A short tense silence fell upon them with that revelation in the air.

"I think you should go," Maggie ordered, but not as confident as she would have liked her voice to be. She didn't want anyone to witness the way she wanted to pull her hair and scream. The tugging in her stomach lurched from everything. It was drawing closer and faster now.

Maggie turned to head towards the door with the intentions of showing him out, almost impolitely.

When she turned her body, that's when Elijah caught the way that sweater fell off her shoulder and particularly the evidence of some sort of scarring. His hand shot out, grasping her upper arm rather tightly before he could help himself.

Maggie tensed, her eyes widening in a fresh bout of alarm. She froze, unsure how to handle Elijah acting in this manner. He had never raised a physical hand to her before and she assumed it stemmed from the rejection.

Before she could protest, Elijah's other hand went to her shoulder to push the rest of the fabric of the way. "Maggie, what is this?" He questioned, his expression growing unusually somber. His fingertips brushed briefly over the scar in the process.

Maggie let out an unexpected hiss between her teeth in pain. She tried to shrink away from the contact, but Elijah kept a firm grip on her arm. It felt like he had just prodded an open wound.

Seeing her reaction, Elijah frowned deeply and pulled his fingers away, but still held the fabric while he inspected the mark closely.

"It's nothing," Maggie denied immediately, wishing she could cover it up but he wouldn't let that with the way he was holding her. "It's just from Kol claiming me," She added on, knowing her denial wouldn't qualify for an explanation.

"_Kol _did this?" Elijah's eyebrows rose, pausing briefly to look up at her expression for truthful clarification. How had he missed this? He had only seen her a few days ago at the ball. She wore a strapless dress then. It must be very recent.

Maggie frowned at the sudden shift of Elijah's demeanor. Isn't that what she just said? Why was he staring at her so shocked?

"Maggie," Elijah's voice broke with a mixture of emotion, some of it was dawning realization with awe and added hues of selfish sadness. "He didn't just claim you," He murmured while he studied the bite mark, sure enough he could make out the distinguishing features that made it vampire. "This is a Mate's Mark… a sign of present mating bond."

Maggie jerked her head back incredulously. "I don't know what you're talking about," Maggie denied, "Please let me go." She winced a little from his tight grip, feeling her heart beginning to pound faster. She didn't know what to make of these terms he threw out. Mates? Bonds? It sounded purely animalistic and ritualistic.

Elijah dropped one hand, but kept the one on her arm. He knew that if he let her go now, she would bolt out the door before listening to him. It was ironic the way she was looking at him like a cornered animal now.

"Are you sure?" He asked her calmly with reason, even though he knew the answer already. "You don't feel any different lately?"

Maggie's eyes narrowed at him sharply, but didn't say anything. Feeling differently could mean any number of things.

"You don't feel perhaps a little more emotional lately?" Elijah questioned slowly, knowing he had to be careful with how he said that around women generally. "Like perhaps more in tune with other's emotions, particularly Kol's, since you've been drinking his blood?"

The tug against his grip eased a bit at that. Maggie remained tense, but she was clearly listening to him as her brow furrowed. Of course she was aware of Kol's emotions, but that was because she loved him. Was he trying to say she felt that way because of the blood? Or was it one in the same?

"I bet there's a connection you can feel there… you would know if he was hurt or in distress," Elijah continued on, analyzing her micro facial expressions closely. He kept his tone even and not accusing, but it was firm.

Maggie's eyes widened a little. Was that what she felt earlier? Was Kol hurt? He said he was going out hunting and he did that outside of Mystic Falls. There wasn't anything out there that could really harm an Original vampire or any vampire…

Except for the county line! Which he would have to briefly pass through once each way.

Elijah cocked his head slightly, seeing the way the gears were turning in Maggie's mind despite not vocalizing her thoughts. "And if you had to find him now, you would feel drawn to him," Elijah continued on knowingly.

Before she could help herself, Maggie's eyes flickered to the east. Was that him that she felt getting closer and closer?

Elijah asked her finally in a low tone, "He's the only one that can touch that mark without it hurting, isn't he?"

Maggie's eyes snapped back to him, subdued into unnerved silence by the way he so easily picked apart everything she had been feeling in the last twelve hours. The pre-sprinting tension eased out of her shoulders and her legs.

"How do you know this?" Maggie countered in a guarded tone. She didn't need to confirm that he was right on all accounts. Something in the way that he looked at her told her that he already knew all the answers.

The hand on her arm eased up gently, sensing that she wasn't going run out at this point.

"Because while mating bonds are rare, Kol would be the second member of my family to form one," Elijah announced while taking a step back, putting an appropriate distance between them.

Maggie gave a perplexed frown while his hands went to the buttons of his shirt. He loosened up the first few buttons and Maggie gave an uncertain step back further between them. Her eyes darted briefly to the door, really not wanting Kol to walk in when Elijah was apparently undressing.

Elijah loosened enough buttons to slip his right arm out of its sleeve and he turned his shoulder towards. It was then she caught a sight of his deltoid and her mouth fell open. There in the light was a dull white bite mark, similar to hers, in the place of where many fickle minded males would get a tacky tribal tattoo.

"You?" Maggie questioned, having never guessed the most closed off and impersonal Original would form such an intimate bond. Elijah simply nodded to her gasp.

Before she could resist, Maggie began to reach out towards the mark with fascination.

"I wouldn't," Elijah stopped her short and her hand remained in the air. "Touching even a dormant mark of another vampire would be painful for you," He cautioned her.

She dropped her hand and stepped back away from him immediately. She bit her lip while trying to wrap her mind around his, but was caught on his wording. Dormant, it didn't seem like something you could just switch on and off… So that must have been something else was involved.

"What happened to her?" Maggie asked curiously, thinking this was the first she heard of any companion for Elijah and if the pull was even a fraction of what she felt all the time there was no way she could imagine her staying away.

Elijah began shrugging his arm back into the sleeve while he took a moment to gather his composure and the memory. "There was a group of hunters in the twelfth century. They daggered my family and Niklaus was able to save us," Elijah explained in a controlled tone. "But the vampires that were in our company, they were not as fortunate."

Maggie's stomach knotted with sad horror. She didn't even want to begin fathoming what it would feel like to have Kol torn away from her in such a cruel manner or at all. He was imprinted upon her in a way that no one else would be.

She opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't really have words. In a disheartening way, many things about him suddenly made sense. After experiencing such pain, she could only imagine how closed off she would be to the rest of the world. In a way, it made sense now why he held onto that hope he had to find something more because he couldn't let himself believe his only shot died nine centuries ago. Even if it meant looking for love in all of the wrong places.

Before she could say anything, the apartment door opened in a burst.

Kol stepped inside, a hard set glare on his face masking the alarm at the turmoil of emotional signals he had been experiencing. He stopped short at the sight of his brother buttoning up his shirt and Maggie with her arms wrapped around her torso, looking on the verge of tears.

"Brother," Kol acknowledged tersely while he was mentally trying to put together what was going on. He left the door open wide behind him in an obvious sign. "I wasn't expecting you," Whatever was going on, he didn't like what he felt radiating off of Maggie.

"Clearly," Elijah stated in a dry tone, but took the opportunity to step closer to Kol. He was still trying to come to terms with his discovery. He skipped the _un_-pleasantries.

"Did you mark this woman?" Elijah questioned, still in disbelief himself, as he gestured a hand behind him towards Maggie.

Kol's eyes narrowed on Elijah, not liking his tone and the vulnerability that oozed off Maggie's shoulders as a result. He mentally noted the way Elijah had been buttoning his shirt. He knew about Elijah's old love bite. He looked over to Maggie, noticing her hoodie was slouched on one side, the shoulder where her mark was. It clicked in his mind.

"What is this? Some sort of show and tell?" Kol retorted with a cheek that carried a darker and threatening tone in it.

"Kol," Elijah warned almost impatiently. The youngest brother had been trying his nerves enough lately.

Kol glared back at him coldly with such intensity Maggie would almost swear she felt the temperature in the room drop.

Without breaking his stare, Kol reached up to his light blue polo. The buttons were already loose and he tugged on the collar enough so Elijah could get a glimpse of the top of his mark. He unflinchingly waited while Elijah's gaze dropped and his mouth fell open a little shortly afterwards. He could see reality smacking him a slimy one. "Satisfied?" Kol snapped sarcastically, not bothering to wait for a response before adjusting his shirt appropriately.

At the final confirmation, Elijah looked back and forth between the couple, momentarily at a loss for words. Now knowing this, he felt entirely out of place for what he had done. At the same time, it was surreal to imagine his little brother being that emotionally connected to anyone.

"One of history's most homicidal vampires has become a mated pair with the cure for vampirism," Elijah murmured his thoughts aloud with a hollow sense of awe. He stopped, staring ahead blankly at nothing before adding on, "Somewhere, Lady Irony should be given an Emmy."

Kol clenched his jaw, mostly from seeing the way Maggie flinched a bit from Elijah's words, even if he didn't understand the reference. The way he spoke of Maggie just cheapened the act and he wouldn't stand for that.

"Your support is positively overwhelming, Elijah," Kol drawled out sarcastically before continuing on in an unusually serious tone for him. "But I suggest you take your leave, before I decide to act on just how uncomfortable you're making my mate."

Elijah turned to look at Maggie, realizing how crass his words may have been then. She wouldn't look up at him from the floor, nearly drawing blood from biting her own lip.

"Now!" Kol growled out impatiently.

Elijah sighed and nodded, realizing his time had run out a while ago. He would have to carry the regret of his actions until he could find the time to apologize for his behavior. Without another word, the eldest Original swiftly stepped around his brother and disappeared through the doorway.

Kol wanted to go after him immediately, but he turned his attention to Maggie once the door was closed. He barely took two steps forward before he caught her in his arms. He wrapped an arm around her waist while the other hand went to caress the back of her head. He could feel against the way she inhaled deeply, the first sob bubbling to the surface.

Kol frowned as he held her, dropping the hand from the back of her head to run up and down her back slowly. Her fingers clutched to the fabric of his shirt while she took a deep inhale, catching the scent of his clothes mixed in with his natural husk. Kol wasn't sure what to make of the mixed signals he had been receiving during his run back into Mystic Falls. He could feel panic and distress that didn't belong to him.

"What happened?" Kol whispered into her ear, unable to control the part of him that felt relieved to have her close again. These feelings were going to drive him insane if he felt like he was coming up for air for the first time every time he touched her.

Maggie didn't answer him immediately. She took a few moments to get her breathing under control and staunch the tears.

Carefully, she pulled her face away from his shoulder to look him in the eye. The worry was clear on his face, which was still something she was getting used to. It was alarming how quickly he could go from being nasty to others and softening up for her.

"I…" Maggie struggled, she didn't even know where to start. It was all wrong. Should she start with how she may have been misleading Elijah in some way? Even after Kol had warned her about staying away from his brother. And the kiss, it wasn't right at all. She got why Elijah did it, but it shouldn't be her. She was still wrapping her head around the idea of mating bonds too.

Maggie pulled a hand back to touch her fingertips to her temple, an idea coming to mind suddenly. "Can I show you?" She asked instead. There was just no way she could describe it without making things worse.

Kol cocked his head slightly at her open suggestion, but he nodded. Wordlessly, he pulled her back against his chest. She needed to be calmer for it to really work, he told himself, and not because he didn't want to see anymore tears fall.

* * *

Admittedly, it was rough reliving those moments again. It was like a sick movie playing on repeat in Maggie's mind. She recalled the exact way that the book fell from her fingers and the knock came at the door. She could feel her thoughts and feelings again, but there was an intrusion this time, even as she followed through the memories in her perspective. She could feel the ghost of a voyeur to Elijah's words, describing the manhunt for Katerina.

The watchful presence became more intrusive with the increasing intimacy of Elijah's words before kiss. There was a darker ominous cloud, but Maggie was still consumed by how wrong it felt. She relived the tender way his lips moved against hers in those brief moments. The memory didn't stop there, she felt the presence all through Maggie pushing Elijah back and the explanation of the mating bonds before Kol arrived.

Maggie blinked, shaking her head and snapping back to reality.

Kol was gripping her arms rather tightly. She wasn't sure if it was to keep him standing there or to keep her. His expression was pulled together darkly with a tight clenched jaw. Seeing his brother kissing Maggie made him want to tear something apart, ripping into infinite shreds right then and there. His shoulders tensed, fighting the urge to take after his brother right then.

But he was torn with the emotions coursing through him. He wasn't used to feeling such uninhibited jealously. The audacity of his brother! And Maggie, she had fallen into it so easily. Frustration boiled up him like a vicious acid. He was also overwhelmed with feeling what she felt in that moment. How is it he could feel jealous and guilty at the same time?

He felt her before she pushed Elijah away. Something prideful built up in him in watching the way she denied him then and there, staying loyal to Kol. Only to have it squashed by Elijah noticing the mark and interrogating her about it.

He was angry. He wanted to be angry at her for letting this happen, but it was a blurry mess. He was angrier at Elijah.

"Kol?" Maggie broke him from his thoughts, wincing a little from the pressure on her arms.

"This bond certainly puts things into a different perspective," Kol murmured in a controlled and forced tone. Maggie could see him taking a deep breath, trying to calm the warring emotions while loosening up his hands.

Maggie was briefly worried about him taking off. But Kol raised his hands up to her face, letting them frame her face carefully as he stared into the glistening emeralds of the woman that was apparently his mate. They grew tense with worry while wrapping her hands gently around his wrists, holding onto him.

"It's true then?" Maggie questioned with wide eyes.

Kol eased at the way she looked him hopefully, searching for answers. He nodded simply.

Maggie bit her lip, rolling that revelation around in her mind. This went beyond just a simple claiming, which only influenced their scent and intensified intimacy. This was eternal, as Elijah showed her even after death.

"So what does that make us? Soul mates or something?" Maggie found it hard to believe she was even asking it, but that was the only way she could rationalize it. She thought he had been speaking figuratively when he said that she was his now, but now after seeing what happened with the mark…

"Essentially," Kol agreed, his voice beginning to calm. His eyes dropped down to her hands, feeling the way her thumbs stroked against his skin. He gave a half shrug, adding on almost casually, "If you believe in such things."

Maggie swallowed thickly and didn't move, almost waiting to see if he was kidding or not. This wasn't some Disney movie fairytale ending. She never even thought of using such a term with, as Elijah put it, one of the most homicidal vampires in history. But she never really saw him that way, she saw the Kol that she got to know since coming to Mystic Falls. Yes, he was murderous, but generally not without reason and usually when provoked.

But as he stood there, searching for her reaction, he remained quiet. He didn't go into some gushy long declaration of his feelings. He didn't get down on one knee and claim to how he had been waiting for her for a thousand years. Truthfully, he hadn't been looking for anything like this at all, but it happened anyway.

And the fact he wasn't turning into an insufferable romantic mess attested to the man she had fallen for.

"Okay," Maggie sighed, accepting it for what it was. "I don't know if it's because of the bond or not, but I don't care," She decided. Maybe Elijah was right about her drinking his blood, but she knew what she felt and she didn't want to give it up. "I love you, Kol."

A smirk broke out on Kol's lips, beginning to look more like the over confident Original she was used to. He stepped closer, reclaiming the space between them he had given up while going through her memories. "I'm pretty sure that has to come first for the bond to even happen, darling," He teased her lightly before leaning down to claim her lips.

Maggie's nerves subsided while she gave into the kiss. It felt like he was trying to erase the memory of Elijah ever being on them. Just like she was trying to alleviate the anger she could still feel in his frame.

After he pulled away, Kol let his hands drop from her face, but Maggie didn't let them go. She slid hers down from his wrists to hold them between their bodies. He grinned at her lightly and gave her hands a brief squeeze.

It was only temporary before the lingering threatening look came back into his eyes. "I'm still going to kill him," Kol growled out, thinking Elijah had no right to touch his mate or even Maggie at all. He had made it very clear from the beginning she was off limits.

Maggie stiffened slightly, knowing there wasn't a clear cut meaning to killing a vampire, especially based on a threat made from a sibling. She couldn't deny Kol's reaction, he was justified to feel that way. "Just… wait until they find Katerina first, okay?" Maggie gave in, knowing there wasn't much she could do to stop Kol anyway. But Elijah had been on his way out to meet up with Klaus and Stefan.

Kol pressed his lips together tightly, glancing away from Maggie, clearly weighing his options. "Fine," He conceded, unable to argue her valid point. The sooner they found Katerina, they could get Klaus out of their lives and one less brother to deal with.

"And no daggers," Maggie stipulated, seeing that look in Kol's eyes. He was obviously plotting something. Just because Elijah crossed the line didn't mean she wanted to see him locked in a coffin.

"You're seriously limiting me here, darling," Kol grumbled out in what seemed like a pout on his face. Not even one little dagger to get the point across?

At least it gave him time to plan his payback.

* * *

Kol remained tense the rest of the day. She didn't need to ask why. Even though they spoke about it more, Maggie knew he wouldn't be okay with it until he's able to do something about it. He wasn't closed off about it. There was just still that edge she could sense in him. She especially felt it when he was playing one of his video games that night while she was in the shower. After she came out in fresh pajamas, she spotted Kol sitting on the couch with the controller in hand.

She stepped up behind the couch and lithely threw her legs over the back on either side of Kol's shoulders, sitting on the backrest. Kol didn't say anything or respond much, focused on his game, but she saw the slight turn of his head in her direction and the curiosity at her actions. Her hands naturally went to his shoulders, there she could feel the tautness of his muscles, almost knotting painfully.

Tucking her chin gently against the top of his head, Maggie reached around to the front of his shirt and gingerly undid the first couple of buttons. If she hadn't been a vampire, she wouldn't have caught the way Kol's fingers faltered on the controller and he sat up a little straighter. With the collar loose, Maggie slipped her hands underneath the shirt and back to his shoulders, starting to gently work her fingers against the tense muscles.

Kol eased back into his seat and Maggie could feel the effect immediately. A rumble rose up in his chest, echoing with contentment and approval. Maggie grinned to herself before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. After several minutes, he seemed to mellow out, but Maggie noticed there was different tension building.

She moved her hands around to his collarbone before sliding down his chest. Her hand brushed over his mark before stopping at his abdomen. The rumble in his chest rose to a growl at the touch.

The game was paused and in a blur Maggie had her back pressed against the cushions of the couch.

She gasped feeling his lips on her neck and his teeth grazing against her skin. She buried one hand into the locks of his hair while clutching to him, a shiver running through her body. He ran a hand up and down her thigh greedily before stopping at the back of her knee. He used that to hitch her leg up around his waist.

He didn't get a new high score that night.

* * *

Damon strolled through the front doors of the Grill with his usual attitude of sauntering in like he owned the place. He could hear several of the voices and heartbeats of the humans already inside. Two of them that stood out were Sheriff Forbes and Carol Lockwood. His eyes passed through the room. A good number of the Council members were already there. Some were standing in small circles while a few sat down at the large long table, which had been formed from several tables being pushed together, for the meeting.

He was almost looking forward to having a normal, admittedly boring, meeting with Mystic Falls favorite traveling circus act, the Council. At least it gave him a break from his brother and Elena, or rather the lack of either being anywhere near each other while he was in the middle trying to figure out which way to go.

That idea burst as soon as he spotted who was talking to Carol Lockwood. His face scrunched up into a confused scowl while he watched the two females.

"Surprised you too, huh?" Alaric's voice cut into his observing as the history teacher approached Damon. "I figured you might need this," He added on, gesturing down to his hands, which had a cup in each hand. He held out one to Damon, hoping the whiskey would take some of the edge of and help avoid a possibly ugly confrontation.

Damon tore his eyes away from the women and looked down at the glass. "Its 9am, Ric, where's your sobriety?" He taunted, but reached for the glass anyway as he spoke.

He raised the glass to his lips, his eyes darting back to see a glance being casted his way out of the corner of her eye, but she kept talking.

"So, is it true that Kol is living with her now?" Alaric asked, having heard the information secondhand from Matt and Jeremy. Granted, he had given Maggie the keys to the apartment, but he wasn't expecting to hear anyone else living with her.

"Yep," Damon popped the 'p' in a bitter tone. "And if you can figure out a way to evict an Original, by all means," He added on while Carol finished up her conversation and moved onto some of the other attending Council members.

"Teacher, not a landlord," Alaric pleaded quickly and pointing to his chest, thinking he didn't have a death wish.

Having heard him the moment he walked in the door and especially dropping Kol's name, Maggie crossed the room towards the two males while folding her arms over her chest.

"Damon, Alaric," Maggie acknowledged, putting on a forced polite grin. It was clear how surprised they were to see her at the meeting. At least one of them tried to hide it.

"How are you?" Alaric asked in what sounded like a sincere tone.

"What are you doing here?" Damon chimed in at the same time, making it interesting contrasting chorus of the two voices.

"Nice to see you, too," Maggie clipped out shortly with a subtle smirk at their reactions. She turned her attention to Damon, choosing to address his question. "I'm here to represent the Mikaelson's," She announced simply.

Damon cocked his head slightly, almost squinting. Alaric's eyebrows rose, not bothering to hide his surprise.

"Normally Elijah does…" Alaric recovered first, in a careful tone. "When he's here," He amended, knowing the Originals only sparingly showed up at the Council meeting as part of the supernatural agreement.

"True, and obviously he's away looking for Katerina, but he felt I could stand in his place," Maggie explained frankly. "Especially since I've been around Mystic Falls lately more than he has."

In truth, the topic of the meeting attendance was brought up by Carol Lockwood at the ball. Elijah had expressed supposed regrets for not being informed of Mystic Falls' on goings lately and suggested Maggie going in his place in front of the Mayor. The idea of being associated so openly with the Originals threw her too much to object. There was the most subtle of smirks was the only clue that Elijah enjoyed an opportunity to get out of the meeting.

Well played, Elijah, well played.

"How nice of you," Damon muttered dryly. He took a deep gulp of his whiskey to keep himself from shaking his head. The last time she had been at a Council meeting was her first day in Mystic Falls, ending with her choking on vervain and little Gilbert going all Van Helsing on her. And now she was here as a quasi-Original.

Maggie didn't get a chance to say much further before the meeting began. The Mayor called everyone together and they filtered into the seats around the long table. Unsurprisingly, the supernatural creatures took the seats at the furthest end. Sheriff Forbes and Carol Lockwood were at one end, heading the meeting. Maggie ended up next to Damon at the other end with Alaric on the other side of Damon. She caught an eye of Meredith Fell, who gave her a careful glance before becoming suddenly very interested in her notes. She would have to ask her about that supposed research with Elijah later.

Maggie leaned back in her seat casually with her arms over her chest while she paid half attention to the Council proceedings. She caught bits and pieces about power lines being fixed and construction projects. The phone lines installed in the Founding homes and city buildings would be tested in the next few days. She tuned out at the discussion of the turbines, not really able to follow the engineer technicalities.

The whole time she was aware of Damon sitting next to her, occasionally taking a sip from his glass. After the third time, she reached out across the table to swipe the glass without taking her gaze off of the mayor.

"Hey!" Damon hissed under his breath at her, but she didn't flinch as she downed what was left before dropping the glass on the table.

Damon glared at the profile of her face, she didn't even turn towards him. If the others heard his hiss, they didn't react. Maggie figured they were probably pretty used to Damon's distracting antics by now though. He pressed his lips together sourly, looking at the empty glass. Why did the liquor always have to disappear around this woman?

"You know, I heard the most peculiar thing from Klaus the other night," Damon muttered, quiet enough for Maggie to hear but not most of the humans. Alaric looked at the two, with a quirked eyebrow. With the way Damon leaned towards Maggie to whisper and her swiping his drink, an outsider wouldn't have guessed how tense things were between them.

Maggie let out a drawn out sigh, closing her eyes momentarily in the process. Of course he would want to do this now, she thought, and not with a mature message requesting to meet her somewhere and talk about it like adults. "Do you realize what's inherently wrong with starting _any_ story like that?" Maggie countered.

"Nice try," Damon called quickly the bluff of her deflection. She almost smirked before he continued on. "So you wouldn't happen to anything about Kol murdering your ancestors?" He challenged bluntly.

The reaction from her was instantaneous. She inhaled sharply and her shoulders stiffened while she clenched her jaw. She kept her gaze forward, but she wasn't following the humans' conversations.

"Given what you just found out about me," Maggie began in a quiet and agitated tone, not openly declaring it even though it didn't look like the others were listening. "Do you really find it that surprising the Originals were hunting my family?" She threw back at him.

Damon's eyes narrowed at her, remaining silent almost a full minute while he rolled that around. He could picture Klaus calling in the younger Original for a manhunt of a doppelganger rumored to be used as a weapon against him. "So you knew," Damon pointed out, noticing there were many things passing through Maggie's expression, but not surprise.

Maggie just gave a curt nod, not bothering to grace him with words.

"And you're just okay with that? Doesn't that bother you?" Damon struggled to keep his tone down, filled with disbelief.

Maggie couldn't help but frown, nearly shaking her head. How could he even ask her that? Who would be okay with open slaughter? Frustration flared up within her and it snapped when it came to her where this was really coming from.

She dropped her arms and spun in her seat to face Damon fully. "Are you fucking kidding me, Damon?" She hissed threateningly between her teeth. His piercing blue eyes didn't flinch, despite how in his face she got, but they were frozen on her. "How can you ask that? Of course I'm not okay with someone murdering my family, even ones too long ago for me to know they even existed. But that's not what it's about, is it?"

Damon didn't get a chance to open his mouth and protest. Maggie jabbed a finger into his shoulder as she kept going, "It's because I still choose to be with Kol and not you knowing that, isn't it? And yes, I've forgiven him for it because I'm not going to hold something he did centuries ago before I was even remotely close to being alive against him, Damon."

"But you can't forgive me?" Damon got an edge in, ignoring the people around them.

Maggie had to fight from pulling her hair out and letting out a frustrated growl. "Damon, that's not nearly the same. You saw me, you knew who I was and you still made the conscious decision to do that," Her anger started to peter out when she saw the obviously guilty look pass through his eyes.

"And I get you regret doing that," Maggie gestured with her hands for emphasis. "But forgiving you doesn't change anything, Damon. You're infuriating and being around you is toxic for me," Maybe later she would regret how blunt she was being, but he always brought out the most intense and usually ugliest feelings in her. "And the truth is, I love Kol," She gestured towards her chest and ran out of breath with a huff.

Damon leaned back in his seat, away from Maggie at that. His gaze faltered, dropping to the table. He knew how to throw some scathing words, but Maggie skipped the anesthetic and went straight for the incision. He wasn't sure which one was worse, hearing her call his presence toxic or openly admitting she was in love with Kol. Especially after how long it took for him to pry those words from her and finding out it wasn't true.

"A-hem," A throat cleared from the other end of the table.

Damon and Maggie snapped their heads up, realizing that the rest of the table had grown quiet and all eyes were on the pair. Alaric had his head bowed in embarrassment, shielding his eyes with his hands. While the humans hadn't been able to make out their words, the angry whispering and hissing was enough to distract from the meeting's agenda.

"Anything you want to add, Damon?" Carol Lockwood asked with a mock polite smile, those commercial perfected teeth almost daring him to be any ruder.

Damon lip curled up a little and he shook his head. "I'm good," He mumbled sourly, normally he would come up with a better retort, but his mind was rather distracted at the moment.

"Right," Carol nodded and gave a pointed look down at her papers to get back on track. Maggie leaned back in her seat as well, but her shoulders were still tense. Briefly, the back of her mind wondered if Kol would feel how riled up she got in that moment. She tried to listen to the rest of the meeting, but she couldn't shake the look on Damon's face and the way she could still feel his eyes on her.

After a few moments, he whispered again to her in a low tone. "So about that Cure…" He began, his tone wasn't hostile, if anything clearly fishing for information.

"Seriously, again?" Maggie grumbled with an eye roll. She swept her foot out under the table to give Damon a kick in the shins. Now she understood why Elijah didn't want to come to these things.

"Ow!" Alaric yelped suddenly in his seat, a hand disappearing under the table.

"Sorry, Ric," Maggie threw out quickly. Damn, it was always hard to judge who you were kicking under a table.

Damon frowned while looking back and forth between the two of them, wondering what Alaric was wincing about.

Without missing a beat, Maggie brought her foot down forcefully again, sure of her target this time. She was answered with a crunch of bones and a rather audible swear through Damon's teeth. His hand on the table curled into a fist while he grimaced. He ducked his head down, getting a look at his foot while the bones snapped back into place.

The trio at the end of the table earned another scathing look from Carol Lockwood and Sheriff Forbes.

* * *

With Elijah out of town, Maggie found herself perusing through some of his library while Kol was up in the shower at the mansion. Since Klaus was also gone, they moved the training lessons back into the ballroom. The hot summer days were starting to get unpleasant, even for a vampire, at least the mansion had running air conditioning in it.

She had been really tempted to join him, his offering was hard to turn down. But she opted to feed and recover from the workout. She could hear the water running through the pipes of the house. It was still surreal feeling how much stronger and more aware an Original was than the average vampire.

Her fingers were flipping through one of Elijah's books when she sensed someone coming down the hallway. She could hear the heels clicking against the wood and she knew right away it was Rebekah. Maggie was half minded to borrow a couple of books from the library. But given what happened with Elijah, she wasn't sure when she would feel comfortable enough to approach him again.

"Hello Bekah," Maggie greeted the blonde while sliding the book reluctantly back in place.

"We need to talk," Rebekah stated, stopping in the entryway of the room and leaning against the frame casually.

"Has anyone ever told you you're about as subtle as a freight train?" Maggie mused out loud with a grin on her lips.

Rebekah smirked at her friend. Even though there was something different about her, certainly with inseparable she's been from Kol lately, she still had a level of sass that kept things interesting. "Let me try again," Rebekah drawled out sarcastically before stepping into the room.

"I know my brothers have been squabbling like little children about how it happened and I don't really care, but I want to talk to you about the Cure," Rebekah's tone was still a little condescending, but not directed towards Maggie. She paused briefly before adding on, "Better?"

Maggie snorted and shrugged her shoulders, "Getting there." She pulled her expression together seriously before nodding, "What about it?"

What Rebekah said next Maggie hadn't really been expecting at all.

"I want it," Rebekah declared, lifting her chin confidently. "I want the Cure."

* * *

_Author's Note: To cure or not to cure?_

_Tacky, I know, but next chapter we'll see if Maggie listens to Rebekah or not._

_And oh my Malijah! _

_Please review, I wanna hear your thoughts and reactions to this chapter!_

_If you haven't picked up on it, chapter 55 and 56 were the back door introductions for major plot points in the sequel and pairings – which will be Kol/Maggie/Elijah, with slight Kennett._

_So Kol's a freak in the bed, apparently. ;D Kind of a lot of sex this chapter, but hey, after 55 chapters they're long overdue. _

_And what do you think of the mating bond? _

_I know the claiming and mating bond might be confusing, but think of it this way, claiming is like vampire version of dating, and the mating bond would be like the vampire version of marriage. (Which is kinda sneaky of Kol to do that with Maggie without telling her what exactly was going on)_

_Short version of how the bond works – they can sense each other's emotions, track each other, the mark identifies their mate and physically deters intimate contact from others._

_PLEASE PLEASE review! Only four more chapters left! – Next chapter – the Petrova hunt, Rebekah making her case and other past secrets being revealed._

_Review responses:_

_Z: Thank you! I can't see Damon/Caroline though, especially not after what he did to her as a human._

_M: Awww, I'm glad I can give you warm and fuzzy feelings! :D And yes, we haven't seen it yet, but there will be a transition from start to finish before the end of the story. I'm glad you love the build up! I probably spend way too much time fussing over the little details and trying to draw connections between character's relationships (like Kol admitting to admiring both Lexi and Maggie and nicknaming them as part of the first step to turning his humanity back on). I try to draw a lot of comparisons between Damon and Kol, one with a violent first confrontation and the other non-violent, being able to forgive one and not the other, etc. We'll see who Kol was referring to next chapter. ;) And that's amazing to hear I can inspire someone like that! Thank you so much. If you ever upload any of those doodles, I would love to see them!_

_Eby Mikaelson: Close with the guess for the non-canon kiss. And yes, that's the last time we see Lexi from the past – BUT that's not to say there isn't a chance of seeing her in the present day/ghost Lexi. ;) I don't believe witches can hurt normal humans._

_Kellie: Thank you so much. __ That really made my day to read that review. And I hope I can stay true to his character through all of this, especially with this chapter. I know it's a little gushier than he normally is, but I hope it still retains that edge that makes Kol awesome._

_Guest: Thank you so much for the lovely review! And yes, what Kol said to Klaus was pretty harsh, but what siblings don't say nasty things to each other in the heat of the moment? I think you bring up some interesting points about the witches, but I can't confirm or deny anything since it relates directly to the sequel. ;) In regards to his emotions, I would consider the fact he woke up after being daggered (this time by Klaus on the docks) and he was taken away from Lexi, so he did turn them off and went on a spiral. That spiral will be revisited in the sequel. _

_As far as New Orleans goes, I can't accommodate that in this story. When I wrote the plot for this story, it was before I heard any rumor of The Originals and given the direction/dynamic of the familial relationships, it just wouldn't be realistic to follow that timeline and have all the siblings living together. So no, for the sake of my story, they did not live in New Orleans together._

_L: thank you so much!_

_Nynaeve55: Awww, you're too awesome. __ Thank you so much! I'm glad you loved those scenes and I hope this chapter kept that feeling going…. Or at least drew you in enough to make you want to pull your hair out when Elijah kissed her, haha! (Because if I can get a strong emotional reaction from readers, I'm doing something right, right?) _

_I'm glad you loved that Lexi scene! I thought it was really important for Maggie especially, to see someone being able to let go of their past love (unlike Damon or Glenn – though in their defense, Kol had centuries to get over Lexi haha) and really help reinforce that she made the right decision. And I totally agree, I don't like the treatment of Lexi this season. I lost a lot of respect for her character with the New York episode, she was supposed to hate Damon and be the one female immune to his charm – so much for that._

_You're analysis of The Originals episode gave me a flash of Lestat! Oh if only he could come into the show and shake things up. He would make Damon seem as maniacal as a box of kittens, it would amazing. Your point about Elijah just about sums up my frustrations for the treatment of the idea of family. I feel like the season three Originals aren't even the same people as the season four ones. I like Marcel so far, but I don't really care much for Camille yet. She's just a pretty face, I haven't seen enough of her personality yet, and just seems to be the blonde that actually will give Klaus the time of day – for now._

_Thanks again for the amazing comments, I look forward to reading more. __ If I could be a writer, that would be amazing! Haha, but I think once I finish up my coursework and international travel, I'll find the time to start working on an original novel after the sequel. Irish Rose has really given me the confidence boost to pick it up again._


	57. Chapter 57

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_James Morrison – You Give Me Something_

_Scene: Greene House – Kol and Hershel_

_A Fine Frenzy – Almost Lover_

_Scene: Damon and Maggie talking_

_DIDO – White Flags_

_Scene: Damon, Kol and Maggie and the ride home_

_Chapter Fifty-seven_

Maggie snorted and shrugged her shoulders, "Getting there." She pulled her expression together seriously before nodding, "What about it?"

What Rebekah said next Maggie hadn't really been expecting at all.

"I want it," Rebekah declared, lifting her chin confidently. "I want the Cure."

* * *

"What? Why?" Maggie blurted out in disbelief. She couldn't fathom it. The Originals were amongst the strongest, perhaps possibly the strongest creatures to roam the earth. She didn't have to worry about dying, growing old, or feeling inferior. For all of Maggie's qualms about becoming a vampire, she couldn't deny allure of the power that Kol's blood brought her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Rebekah retorted while moving to take a seat in one of the study chairs. "I want to be human."

Maggie shook her head, mirroring Rebekah's movements to sit opposite from her. "No, I get that. But _why_?"

Rebekah took a deep breath, raising her shoulders with the movement. For once she lacked the normal fiery attitude that Maggie was used to seeing from her. "Because I want a family, I want to have children… and to grow old and die," A small idealistic smile tugged at her lips, just thinking of the prospect.

Maggie didn't mirror her sentiments though. Her brow furrowed thoughtfully and she frowned, trying to look at it realistically. This was what she was afraid would happen when the truth got out about the Cure. People would come to her, looking for it, and now she would have to be judge and jury. The truth was she knew little about it, she only turned two people so far.

"But what about your bloodline, Bekah?" Maggie pointed out. If a bloodline died when an Original died, what would happen with the Cure? "There's no way of knowing what could happen to your bloodline."

Those words caused Rebekah's expression to freeze momentarily. Her mouth parted with words on the edge of her lips, hesitating between a sharp retort and telling the truth.

Maggie wasn't being accusing and Rebekah had to recognize the legitimate concern that she brought up. Her apprehension stemmed from the need for reasoning.

Rebekah blinked several times, staunching the slight shine her eyes before finally admitting in a quiet whisper, "I don't have a bloodline."

"What?" Maggie found herself leaning forward with her elbows against her knees. "You've never…?"

Rebekah sat up stiffly. "I've turned people before," She declared quickly, "But no one that is left today…" Her gaze fell, thinking of how she had been daggered for almost a century and any companions she had turned along the way had fallen to a similar fate. They didn't come back from it.

Maggie remained quiet while she thought about that new piece of information. On a superficial level, she could see it being unlikely for Rebekah to turn people as casually as her brothers did. For one, it seemed to be the type of vengeance her brothers participated in. She was more cutthroat, if she wanted someone dead, they would be dead.

At the same time, no matter how many centuries she lived, she was still the insecure, slightly vapid teenager she had been when she turned. Maggie doubted she would turn any females remotely beautiful partly out of spite.

But then there was the last part of her to consider, one she had only begun to see when Rebekah was cooing over Judith. She wanted a family and being a vampire took that option away. Her brothers wouldn't appreciate that nearly the same as she could. At the same time, it would be harder for her to take that option away from someone else.

Maggie sighed, looking back up at Rebekah. She couldn't help but feel a little sad for her. She saw a young tormented woman, who had constantly been surrounded by her overbearing brothers. She lacked the things she desired most because of what she had become and her brothers made it harder to form her own family.

There was just something completely and utterly lonely about her.

"I'll do it," Maggie decided. Instantly, she saw Rebekah's eyes brighten and Maggie held up one firm finger, quickly adding, "But under one condition."

"Anything, name it," Rebekah replied, clearly trying to contain herself in her seat.

Maggie tried not to cringe at how hopeful she looked, but someone had to be level-headed about this. "What you're asking for, being turned human is not the answer to," Maggie began carefully, thinking Rebekah really desired unconditional love and companionship. "But it'll make you mortal, susceptible to disease and ultimately put a time limit to finding what you really want."

Rebekah opened her mouth to protest, but Maggie held that finger up firmly. She knew what being human meant, she didn't need Maggie to lecture her on it.

"You'll get your family when you find the man to have it with. Find someone who'll accept you as you are now, fangs and all," Maggie tried to offer her a smile, which was only returned halfheartedly from Rebekah. The way she saw it, if there was a man that could put with Rebekah as she was now, all volatile and borderline insane Original tendencies, then she deserved that chance with him. "You do that and I'll turn you."

Rebekah rose to her feet slowly, causing Maggie to rise as well. She looked torn between snapping at her, but also hopeful that she got an agreement from Maggie. Maggie carefully watched the emotions war across her expression, fighting for dominance. Essentially, she was getting what she wanted, but with one lofty condition and no promise of when exactly it could be fulfilled.

"Don't I suppose compulsion would be allowed?" Rebekah asked the rhetorical question with an empty smirk.

Maggie snorted a little and shook her head. That would be cheating.

Rebekah nodded numbly, still processing. She wasn't alone in that sentiment. Maggie wasn't sure who was more stunned, finding these desires about Rebekah or Maggie's condition.

"I will turn you, Bekah," Maggie tried to reassure the evident uncertainty. "But, what good would it be now without knowing when or where your Prince Charming is?"

Rebekah gave a small smile at Maggie's choice of words. Just when Maggie couldn't tell if she was going to scream or cry, Rebekah surprised her by pulling her in for an appreciative hug.

* * *

The pickup truck rumbled in its idle position while it sat in the middle of the Pennsylvania road. Trees covered most of the country hills. The heat was suffocating here, but at least it wasn't as humid as it was in Virginia and the rest of the South. Two humans sat in the front seat of the truck, one with a shotgun laid across their lap.

They each stared blankly out in front of them, ignoring the stray walker that shuffled in confusion on the shoulder of the road. It heard the rumble of the car engine, but couldn't pick up the scent of anything living around it.

That was because of the two supernatural creatures standing by the driver's side of the cab. The one remained a few feet behind the leader with his hands tucked behind his back. The other leaned casually against the doorframe, the window rolled down between him and the female driving.

"Tell me, Erin, isn't it?" Klaus drawled out without much regard for the brunette's actual name. He was more concerned with the little settlement of surviving humans a few miles down the road, holed up in a couple of quaint downtown streets.

"Have there been any newcomers to your town? A little brunette thing going by the name of Katherine or Katerina?" Klaus asked with a level of fake charm, but obviously compelling the human. It had been too easy to get the supply runners to stop by standing in the middle of the road. The rest led them to this.

The girl, who appeared to be in her mid-thirties, regarded him with a blank hazel stare. "No, we haven't seen anyone new in months," She answered in a monotonous tone.

Klaus pressed his lips together, clenching his teeth in irritation. He leaned up from the door, dropping any pleasant pretense.

Meanwhile behind him, Stefan rolled his eyes. Either the girl was speaking the truth, or she had been compelled to not say anything. Knowing Katherine, he was willing to go with the latter.

"Klaus," Stefan called his name to get his attention. The hybrid looked over and Stefan gave a pointed head jerk for him to move out of the way.

The hybrid begrudgingly stepped out of the way for the Salvatore, not really believing he could do much better. As he stepped forward, Stefan reached into his jean pocket and pulled out an old photograph.

He held it out for Erin to see it. "Have you seen Elena?" He asked, taking his shot compulsion while showing the human an image of Elena in her cheerleading uniform from her sophomore year.

Before everything went to hell in a hand basket.

The human studied the photograph briefly, almost going to dismiss it, but the name Elena seemed to take on a different meaning to her. "Oh yeah, I think I saw her come in late last night," Erin answered him, earning an interested surprised expression from Klaus and Stefan pausing to quirk an eyebrow back at him before continuing.

"How is she? Did she seem sick or odd?" Stefan asked her further, using the compulsion again. At least with Stefan's compulsion, it seemed he was being genuine and concerned while openly manipulating the girl.

"Well," The woman hesitated, seemingly to honestly considering his question. "She's been lying in most of the day. She had been running all through the night from walkers. She looked completely exhausted, poor thing nearly collapsed on her feet."

Stefan couldn't help but roll his eyes while he tucked the photograph away. More like Katherine was hungry and staying inside because of the daylight ring Klaus had tucked away.

"Well, that answers which one of us she saw Nashua," Klaus announced, almost in a cheery tone with the realization they were close to her. Clearly she had compelled anyone to forget she was Katherine, but didn't consider the fact she looked like Elena because she hadn't seen Stefan.

"And she's still without a daylight ring," Stefan added on after adding a compulsion for the couple to forget ever seeing him and Klaus. The engine shifted back into drive and Stefan backed away from the vehicle as it continued on down the road.

"Elijah better get here soon if we want to get her before the sun goes down," Stefan declared frankly. For a moment, his hand patted the photograph in his pocket. Maybe in a different time he would have felt the urge to take out, longing to get back to Mystic Falls. But now, he wasn't so sure.

"So eager to back to Mystic Falls, Stefan?" Klaus couldn't help but taunt a little, even though he agreed that Elijah needed to hurry up. A trapped vampire in the daylight was much easier to track.

"More like to get away from it," Stefan grumbled under his breath before he could help it. Of course the Hybrid heard it too. He had forgotten that Klaus hadn't been around for most of the recent drama in Mystic Falls.

He shifted uncomfortably from Klaus' piercing gaze. He turned away from him in aggravation while declaring, "The sooner we find Katherine and get her back to Mystic Falls to turn her, the sooner I can get her and Elena out of my life for good." He was so sick and tired of it all, him and his brother's life revolving around these women. Everything was just repeating and he needed to get away to form his own life for once.

Klaus' eyebrows rose briefly at the strong reaction, but he didn't really let it bother him. "Oh come on now, Stefan," He drawled out. "It can be that bad. On the bright side, _I _think we've gotten along rather splendidly this time and I didn't even have to compel you," He added on with a devilish smirk.

Stefan just shook his head and held his tongue. While he wanted to retort, he knew a thinly disguised threat on Klaus' face. He began walking away, back to their makeshift campsite.

* * *

Maggie shivered and let out a groan at the hand that was wandering along her waistline. It was even harder to concentrate with the lips moving along her shoulder, particularly along the extra sensitive scar. It was like a soothing cool touch to a fire that left her wanting more.

"Kol," Maggie growled out in a warning tone while the couple stood in the bathroom of their apartment. She tried to shove his hands out of the way by pulling down the hem of the tank top she just threw on. In the mirror, she could see him smirk briefly before moving his lips up to her neck, teasing her with the light butterfly kisses.

"You can't distract me every time I have to go somewhere," She whined, almost halfheartedly. She could feel just what he had on his mind, not just from pressed behind her but through the bond as well.

"I beg to differ," Kol retorted tauntingly with a devious grin before his teeth grazed against her earlobe. Maggie shivered from the way he sucked on the flesh afterwards and she felt along with heard his hot breath.

His hands were threateningly to take away that cotton coverage and Maggie wouldn't necessarily object. But she had to keep her wits about her and Maggie caught herself leaning her head to the side. "No!" She refused, and stubbornly spun around in his arms before placing her hand against his chest firmly, putting some distance between them.

"I need to go, I put it off long enough already," Maggie reaffirmed, fighting a smile off of her lips at the way Kol promptly began to pout at her, like if she had just taken his favorite toy away. Well, maybe she had.

Living with him since the bond, she found his appetite tended to be… rather insatiable and she wasn't entirely innocent either. Maybe it wasn't healthy, but she figured it was overwhelming nature of adjusting to the bond. She was still getting used to the idea in her mind, but knew what she felt and sometimes it was extreme with Kol's added emotions. She felt his anger, his despair, and especially his arousal, which tended to mix in together with her own.

She figured out things were even more overwhelming for Kol. He had only just recently let his emotions back in, when he spent most of his existence with them at bay. To add to that, he was experiencing the bond for the first time just as much as she was. Often times, it overtook him and she quickly figured out what was his best and quickest way of releasing all that pent up energy.

"Fine," Kol conceded, recognizing that he couldn't keep her, no matter how much the animalistic nature of him wanted to. He dropped his arms, no longer trapping her between his body and the counter.

Maggie rose up on her toes to place a light kiss on his cheek. He grinned at the gesture and watched her as she turned back to the counter to grab her sweatshirt. The action caused his eyes to narrow on the extra layer of clothing while she shrugged it on.

It wasn't that he found that particular piece of fabric to be offensive, but it was another instance. He noticed lately since Maggie got the mark she continued to wear jackets, shirts, and other long sleeves when she went out. It was the peak of the summer heat and even for a vampire that couldn't be comfortable. This left him to only conclude that she was trying to hide the mark on her shoulder.

"Where exactly is it you're going, darling?" Kol asked while following Maggie out of the bathroom. He tucked his hands in his jean pockets, trying to seem more at ease than he was and get his mind back to more pure thoughts.

"I'm heading over to my family's house," Maggie answered him while pulling on her boots. Truthfully, she hadn't seen any of the Atlanta group since the ball and Jeremy pointing out she missed Carol moving back in. Now, she definitely needed to go over and see them.

Kol's brow furrowed and the teasing smirk he had on earlier disappeared completely in contemplation. "And you didn't think to mention that to me?"

Maggie's hand stopped, hovering over the dinette table where she left her SUV keys. His words sounded rather possessive at first, causing Maggie to halt and look back at him. However, his head was cocked slightly and his stance didn't seem to be aggressive in the least bit.

"Kol, I know you promised to protect them, but I don't expect you to hang around them too," Maggie said honestly, remembering what he said about being nice to Damon and expecting him to change. She figured the same applied to her family.

Kol just nodded shortly, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Maggie bit her tongue at his thoughtful silence, but went back to the car keys. She picked them up, rolling the metal over in her fingers a few times before heading for the door. When she looked up, she let out a slight gasp of surprise to see Kol blocking her path.

His expression shifted into a hard gaze.

"You're ashamed, aren't you?" His question came out more like a statement. It was the only logical reason he could think of for the way she covered her mark or didn't think to mention seeing her family to him. She didn't give him the option of going nor even made it clear to her family what was going on between them. She decided for him.

Maggie's eyes widened immediately, "What? No!" The need to get out the door disappeared instantly.

"Enlighten me, then," Kol clipped out. For her denial, he could see a level of insecurity and doubt in her eyes anyway.

Maggie shifted on her feet, shoving the keys into her pocket and taking a moment to conceptualize how she felt. "I'm not ashamed of us," She stated firstly and confidently. She reached a hand up to his chest, touching where his mark was beneath his shirt. Kol's eyes followed the action carefully. "_This_ feels right, I love you. I don't doubt that for a moment," She continued and Kol had to stifle the urge to pull her into him, choosing to remain silent.

"I just don't know how to explain this bond or what we are to other people," Maggie admitted without meeting Kol's gaze, her eyes remained her fingers as her hand remained over his heart. "Normally I wouldn't care what they think, but with my family… My father is barely accepting what I am, but _this _I don't even know where to begin…"

Kol's expression eased up while he took her words for truth, seeing how shy she was about admitting them. His hands went out naturally to her hips, unable to resist the urge to pull her closer to him. The action caused her to meet his gaze and Maggie relaxed a little when she saw the harshness was gone.

His thumbs moved lightly while he thought about her dilemma. When she put it like that, he supposed he wasn't necessarily _him_ that she was doubtful of. It certainly left him a lot to think about.

"The human term of 'boyfriend' does seem rather lacking given the circumstance," Kol mused aloud. When it came down to it, he realized she was looking for some sort of label to rationalize it for others. Even he had to recognize their necessity at times.

The corner of Maggie's lip tugged up a little while she nodded quietly. It amused her how his choice of words showed his time displacement once again.

"And," His tone picked up into a lighter and gentler one. "I suppose that is the one we'll have to go with for now," He suggested with a grin pulling on his lips. If that was enough to appease the human curiosity, he would go with it.

"But, no more hiding, supruga," Kol's hands rose up to the collar of Maggie's sweatshirt, to prompt removal of the fabric. He wasn't going to hide them and he didn't want her to hide her mark.

Maggie couldn't hide the smile at the tender nickname and let him remove the sweatshirt before he tossed it aside. She glanced briefly over her shoulder, at the mark he was referring to. "And if anyone asks, then explain exactly it means," He commanded confidently.

Maggie let out a deep breath, nodding along to his request easily. He could see the way she was relieved to have the uncertainty cleared from the air. She pulled him into an embrace and felt his arms wrap around her closely, one hand brushing over her shoulder in the process.

After a minute of silence, Maggie mumbled into his neck playfully, "It's no fair your mark isn't as visible."

"Well, I could walk around shirtless if you're really that put out," Kol suggested cheekily, earning him a light smack on the shoulder.

* * *

Ultimately, Kol ended up going with her to the Greene house. For all the supernatural drama and how different her life had gone, it was oddly welcoming to do something normal like bringing a home a boy to her father. While Kol and Rebekah had attended the family picnic earlier, she never really openly declared what was going on between her and Kol. This time when they pulled up to the house, Kol had his arm wrapped around her waist.

They found most of the Atlanta group in the back yard, which was fine by Maggie. That avoided the awkward situation of Kol not being invited into the house.

Rick Grimes was the only one not around, since he was on duty with Sheriff Forbes. At one picnic table, Carl had out a textbook and a notebook. He wore his father's hat as he was begrudgingly working on English homework. Daryl sat the other end, fidgeting with his crossbow and chewing on a twig in the corner of his mouth.

The others were moving in and out of the house, talking while Kol strolled up to the table. He peered at Carl's textbook, turning his head slightly to catch the title of what he was working on.

"Ah, Poe," His voice rose at recognizing the name with a smirk. "He was ghastly paranoid mess of depression." Kol vaguely recalled the man still mourning the loss of his wife, who was Carl's age while Poe had been in his late twenties. Different times they were.

Carl pen stopped on his paper and he looked up at Kol dubiously. "You knew Edgar Allen Poe?" The teen's tone was rather reserved.

"Briefly," Kol shrugged and moved to sit down across from Carl. Daryl stopped what he was doing, quietly watching the two from the corner of his eyes. "I suppose you could say I inspired one of his stories, the one about the beating heart," Kol's eyes light up a morbid sense of fascination.

Carl's blue eyes gave him a stony stare, as if he was still deciding what to make of the new addition to the table. He set the pen down carefully before flipping through the pages of his book. Kol watched him pass by a few iconic short stories before settling on _A Tell-Tale Heart_. Apparently the textbook showcased a few his more famous works.

"Oh yeah, the man with the guilty conscience," Carl nodded, glancing at the page and remembering covering that story last week. He picked up his pen to keep writing in his notebook.

"That depends on how you look at it," Kol corrected in a light knowing tone.

Carl froze again, looking up from the page to Kol slowly. The increasing tension around his eyes gave the unspoken question while Daryl apprehensively rolled the twig over his teeth.

Kol cleared his throat before nodding towards the book, "The narrator is described as being hyper aware of his surroundings. His hypersensitivity comes from a _disease_. Meticulous, noticing even the small details needed to hide a body. So aware he can hear the sound of another's heartbeat, even amongst chatter," Kol explained in a low tone, ignoring the way Daryl stopped moving as well. The ballpoint of Carl's pen remained still on the page.

He cocked his head slightly as he continued, "And let's not forget the motive." Kol began to quote the story without looking at the page or breaking eye contact from Carl, "He had never wronged me! He had never given me insult! Object there was none. For gold I had no desire." The words of a man killed not for possession or offensive, but perhaps the very blood that flowed through his veins.

Kol finished with a pointed question, "So tell me, does that sound like the musings of a guilty conscious or perhaps something a little more supernatural?"

Daryl squinted slightly as he thought about it before going back to his bow. He didn't know the story word for word, but the way Kol put the obvious answer came to mind.

Carl remained still as he glared at Kol thoughtfully. Kol noticed it was hard to read what exactly was going through the boy's mind, just like his father. While Kol could hear his heart pounding, he didn't seem to be afraid. He at least put on a good brave face.

After a tense moment of silence, the boy rolled the pen between his fingers before stating, "My English teacher said he died in Baltimore mysteriously." He paused before asking Kol bluntly, "Did you kill him?"

Kol quirked an eyebrow while an amused grin grew on his face.

Either the child was perceptive or exceptionally mistrustful of vampires. Given his father and the influence of the Council, Kol was willing to bet it was a combination of both.

Before Kol could answer him, Maggie called out to him, "Kol!"

Kol turned in his seat to see his mate standing by the sliding glass doors going into the house. Hershel was a few feet behind her, having just stepped out of the house and heading towards one of the lawn chairs. He could hear the others moving about in the kitchen.

"I'm going to step inside a few minutes," Maggie told him gently while her eyes darted around the odd trio at the table.

Kol nodded, his brows furrowing until he realized she was pointing that out because he didn't have an invitation to the house. If something happened, he wouldn't be able to do anything. At the same time, it wasn't lost on him how the men seemed to gravitate outside and the women were inside.

Maggie moved to step inside, but stopped with her hand on the frame. "Oh, and Kol," Maggie called out again, causing the Original to turn around for a second time. She had to stifle the smirk to keep a serious tone as she added on, "Stop creeping out the children."

Kol gave her a cheeky grin while the doppelganger disappeared from sight. At least, until he heard Daryl snort behind him.

The redneck leaned towards Carl with a smirk, taking the twig out of his mouth to tell him, "And that, Carl, is the sound of the whip cracking."

The grin fell from Kol's face and Carl snickered while Kol shot Daryl a sour look.

* * *

Carol let out a low whistle as she held Maggie's arm in the kitchen, standing behind her. "I'll admit, I've heard my share of kinky stories, but that takes the cake right there," The older woman commented bluntly without taking her eyes off the Mate's Mark.

Maggie let out a cough, choking slightly on air in reaction to her words. If her face could be fire engine red, it would be right about now. Maggie was gathered in the kitchen with Carol and Beth standing on the other side of the island, holding Judith against her hip.

Of course Carol had spotted the mark almost immediately, which launched into an explanation while the men remained outside. It was a little awkward trying to explain how it worked without getting into the gory details of it. Carol seemed to be more understanding while Beth remained in a tense silence throughout most of the conversation. Maggie could feel her eyes on her and she wasn't sure it was in a positive way.

"It's not that bad," Maggie mumbled mostly in a halfhearted whine, looking over her shoulder at Carol. "You should see what I did to him," She added on with a smirk.

Carol let out a snort. "Right," She just nodded disbelievingly and let her hands drop from Maggie so the doppelganger could turn around to face them again. Carol heard of love bites before, but quite literally and there was nothing shy about that scar.

"Well, I'm happy for you," Carol declared resolutely and went back over to sink to the pitcher of a mixed fruit juice that had been made up ahead of time to pour herself a glass.

"Thanks, Carol," Maggie murmured with an appreciative smile growing. It was odd being in the same room with her and hearing a heartbeat coming from her. But Maggie could tell right away the difference the transition made. She was smiling more and back to her headstrong self. She wasn't nearly the same woman who was constantly looking over her shoulder for her husband's shadow when Maggie first met her. Nor was she the same woman that was constantly strained and taxed by the urges of the bloodlust. The shadows in her eyes were remarkably lighter.

Maggie looked over to Beth and noticed the young teen was still staring at her shoulder with a worried expression. "Beth?" Maggie asked, breaking her out of her trance.

Beth shook her head slightly, snapping out of it. The tone of Maggie's voice was obviously imploring. "I'm sorry," Beth gave apprehensively, "This just all happened so fast…" It had only been a few months ago when Maggie was with Glenn and for a while she thought Maggie had left Glenn for Damon. Beth personally knew very little about Kol, making it harder to wrap her head around it all.

Maggie's face fell into somber understanding. It was alarming how serious things grew between her and Kol. Perhaps if she had been the only one mark, she would have been more concerned about him taking advantage of her. But he had been marked just as the same and she felt him through the bond, it wasn't something he was taking lightly and if a thousand year old creature was taking something serious, that was enough for her. "I know," Maggie nodded.

Carol sipped her drink quietly while she watched the sisters regard each other closely, taking in the silent exchange pass before her eyes.

"So he's it for you?" Beth was concerned, but trying to understand more than anything. She didn't need to point out how happy and at ease she noticed her sister had been lately. She shifted Judith in her arms, feeling the young infant pulling at some of her hair, trying to get it in her mouth.

Maggie's expression pulled up into a small grin. It was such a simple question, but had an unrivaled finality to it. Even if she thought about it, her feelings for Glenn long passed. She had feelings for Damon, but she knew now they would be underwhelming compared to what she's felt with Kol.

"He is," Maggie agreed confidently. It might seem rushed to other people, but she figured time took on a different and peculiar meaning for vampires and it was more about the experience.

* * *

Kol did his best to try not to listen to what was going on inside the house after Maggie disappeared from sight. His attention was distracted by noticing Hershel settle down in one of the lawn chairs. Several chairs were pulled out in a half circle. He wouldn't be surprised if the adults in the house spent many late night hours after the children were in bed just relaxing.

The Original rose from his spot at the picnic table and strolled over carefully towards Hershel. The old man had his crutches shifted to one hand while his other ran through the wiry white beard. At one point his hair had grown out so long on the road, he had pulled it back into a pony tail. Now it had been trimmed back to its normal length the other day and his beard was cleaned up a bit.

Kol casually took a seat in the chair to his right. Hershel's eyes passed over him in silence, still formulating his opinion of the youth or rather ancient vampire.

"How did you lose it?" Kol was the one to break the silence, looking down at Hershel's leg, which the fabric of the pant dangled limply past the knee. His tone was polite and serious.

Hershel looked at him oddly for a moment, partly thrown by the blunt question and his accent. He hadn't really spoken to the vampire the last time him and Maggie were over for the picnic. "Walker bit it," He explained, after taking a moment to realize he had to specific what kind of monster.

"And you cut your own leg off?" Kol had to admit he was a little surprise at that. Not many humans had the survival instincts to react that quickly.

"No," Hershel shook his head, choosing to look away from Kol and gaze absently upon the backyard. "Rick did, he saved my life," He added on, thinking of all the things he had lived to see because of that act. It bought him a little more time with his daughters.

Kol nodded and his brows furrowed. He didn't bother hiding the way he continued to stare, but he wasn't really seeing it as a wound to be sensitive about. "There's a small prosthetic company near Richmond, if I recall," He voiced his thoughts aloud, which of course he could probably find other warehouses easily enough with all the scouting he's done. He leaned forward with his elbows against his knees.

"With the right measurements, I could probably find one that fits you," Kol offered , looking at more as a challenging puzzle, which would be easy to fixate on. It would be especially interesting for him since there are so many different types these days, compared to what he last recalled before being daggered.

"I'm not going to show you my leg," Hershel denied indignantly. Even if he had wanted to, it still needed to heal quite a bit before he could start tinkering around with those. "I just met you."

Kol's lips fell into a small 'o', looking up to Hershel's gaze. He hadn't really meant it like that and he stared at Hershel like a deer caught in headlights.

"You can at least buy me a drink first," Hershel added on.

It was then Kol saw the faint smirk beneath his mustache and beard before the old man barked out a short laugh. A hesitant smirk came over Kol and he leaned back in his seat, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck as he did.

Kol didn't really know what to make of him. He could be cold and indifferent, but then pulled that out of nowhere. Admittedly, Kol was off his game when it came to witty responses too, his mind being thoroughly distracted.

He wasn't really aware that he hadn't responded to Hershel until the old man spoke again.

"So you're the one living with my daughter?" Hershel changed the subject, the question being more of a statement that lacked any humor.

"Yes, sir," Kol kept his response short and simple, sensing the fatherly protective edge coming from the human. Normally, he would have found it humorous, but it was odd for him to be at the receiving end of it.

Hershel let out a noise that sounded like an 'Hmph'. It didn't seem overly impressed, but then again, what father didn't instinctively hate the man seeing their daughter? It didn't matter how old she was, or what she was in this case. It was especially true for the firstborn.

"I assure you my intentions are strictly honorable," Kol couldn't help the bit of arrogance that crept into his tone. It was that spoon fed line he knew that most humans wanted to hear.

Hershel's eyes narrowed on the Original. "Son," He said, lacking any actual affection with the endearment, "I may be crippled, but I am not senile." He wasn't born yesterday, he knew what living together included.

Kol opened his mouth, but promptly clamped it shut.

He heard Daryl snort from over by the picnic table and mumbled under his breath, "Fuckin' idiot."

This was not going how he hoped.

Kol tried to ignore the hunter shaking his head and smirking to himself while thinking of a way to recover from that. He went with a halfhearted, "Yes, sir." There was nothing offensive about that, right?

Hershel regarded him impassively in a tension filled silence. He knew about the reputation surrounding the Original, but he just saw a young cheeky man. It was hard to picture him being the face of the horror stories that Sheriff Forbes had reiterated about the Mikaelson family. Right now, he saw a youth struggling to show the proper respect to an older generation. Inexperienced ignorance with each little smirk and realization that he put his foot in his mouth.

Nonetheless, Maggie saw something in him and that was something Hershel had to recognize. He looked away from Kol aimlessly towards the horizon while his thoughts wandered to his eldest daughter.

"I know what she's become," Hershel declared in a resolute, but rather sad tone. "But every time I look at her, I still my girl that refused to braid her hair or wear her Sunday dress." The image of the creature groveling for entrance into the house during the first nights of her turning wasn't his daughter. Lately she was starting to look more like the daughter he remembered. But he still had to acknowledge the fact she was different and that was the hardest part.

Kol's expression sobered up as he thought about that, trying to place what brought that on. It made him think of his father, but he knew what his father thought of him. That didn't mean it was mutual though. Kol sighed and bit the inside of his cheek before murmuring, "I remember my father taught me how to make and set traps, just for some small game." He remembered Elijah and Niklaus had helped Mikael with the larger hunts.

Hershel turned his head towards Kol curiously.

The Original rubbed his hands together lightly in his lap and he grinned slightly to himself. "I cut myself up pretty good trying to make the first one," He remembered. Of course Esther had healed him afterwards, so there were no scars to show. Even then his family had never been normal. "But I remember when I caught something in my first trap. I was out with my father. I could hear it hissing and scratching before we saw the trap. I was so excited that I actually caught something, I ran ahead of him to go see what it was."

Kol eased up as he recalled the story in his mind, remembering the way he bounded over the roots of the trees in the forest and spotting the ragged mess of a wooden cage style trap he had made. "I thought it was big, like a possum or raccoon. I was eager to bring it home and actually put something on the table instead of Finn or Elijah for once that I just ran right up to the cage to get a good look at it. I was just about nose to nose with it when I thought it was the most peculiar coon I had ever seen. _That _was when it turned around and lifted its tail."

Hershel let out noise that was somewhere between a cough and a chuckle. "It was skunk, wasn't it?" He questioned in a knowing tone.

Kol just nodded, pressing his lips together tightly to keep from grinning too much.

"Did it get you?" A hint of amusement started to creep into Hershel's tone. His hands were much more relaxed upon the crutches at this point.

Kol nodded again and gestured with one hand, spraying towards his face. "Complete bull's eye, I even swallowed some of it," His nose wrinkled from distant, but horrid memory.

He got a laugh out of Hershel at that, which was more of a low rumbling in his chest that his shoulders bobbed from lightly. Kol just grinned and shook his head, remembering how he had tried to wipe the offending liquid off, but the damage was already done.

"The stench was awful," Kol commented. A brief glance towards the picnic table and he could tell that Carl and Daryl were listening as well. "I remember Niklaus and Bekah wanted me to sleep outside that night. In our house, everyone slept in the same room. But while everyone else was covering their nose, my father acted as if he didn't notice anything different. He told my brothers only a weak man would be chased out of his own bed."

"So that night, I went to bed and my father lay where he did every night as if it was no different. Henrik was on my other side. I'm not sure who came in after that, but when I woke up in the morning there was Elijah, Finn and Niklaus were back in their beds," Kol smirked to himself, remembering the sight of Nikalus huddled up under his blankets, vainly trying to cover his nose with a sour look. Even Elijah in all of his composure, wasn't able to hide how much the smell bothered him. Mikael wasn't warm and compassionate, but him practically shaming his brothers into sticking with the family and not ostracizing one wasn't something he would forget.

Even though he could feel the eyes on him, Kol let his voice trail after that as he stared away aimlessly. That was many lifetimes ago and he honestly hadn't put much thought until recently. He didn't bother remembering his father like that until his revelation with Maggie and he certainly hadn't shared stories in a long time. What was it that he told Alexia? Oh that's right, him being human was too long ago to matter.

And now here he was trying to earn the respect of one through a means completely nonconventional for him.

"And where is he now?" Hershel asked Kol, breaking the Original out of his thoughts. "Your father," He clarified curiously.

Kol's lighthearted expression sobered up from his thoughts and especially that question. He shifted to sit more upright in his seat. After a moment of pause, he just shrugged his shoulders casually. "He passed away after he lost his family," He murmured vaguely. That man he remembered as a human wasn't the one that hunted his children down for centuries.

Hershel's brow furrowed thoughtfully and he gave a short nod. Kol's choice of words left wondering what that really meant. It was still bizarre to consider how this young man could have been born centuries ago. But even his little story showed the difference of the times.

It would be easy for Kol to let himself get distracted with memories of the past, but his expression grew serious and he forced himself to remain with the present.

"Sir," Kol cleared his throat and smoothed out his hands anxiously against the top of his jeans before looking Hershel in the eye. "I was hoping we could speak candidly about your daughter. "

Hershel gave a reserved look, not particularly sure how he felt about the meaningful tone from Kol. He shifted the crutches to each respective hand. "I haven't had a chance to stretch my legs today," Hershel declared, almost like if he hadn't heard Kol.

Kol's face scrunched up oddly at his use of the plural word, his eyes flickering down briefly to the stump of his leg while the old man hoisted himself up onto the crutches.

Hershel took one stride away from the chairs before glancing over his shoulder at Kol. "Aren't you going to keep up?" He implored bluntly.

Kol snapped out of it and rose up to his feet quickly. He ignored the snickers he heard from Daryl as he followed Hershel's lead. If it was any other circumstance, he would snap the neck of someone suggesting the Original couldn't keep up with a crippled human.

* * *

When Maggie stepped back outside into the backyard, she was alarmed to find Kol and Hershel gone. Carol and Beth followed after her, the humans not wanting to remain in the stuffy house for too long. Maggie bit her lip lightly while she looked around for Hershel and Kol, she didn't feel anything through the bond to be alarmed about. If anything, there was just a little anxiety she got from Kol, which was actually intriguing in itself. Kol got angry and frustrated, but she rarely ever saw or felt him anxious.

"Where are Kol and Hershel?" Maggie found herself asking Daryl while Carl was finishing up his homework. Those two were right where she had left them before going inside.

"Went for a walk," Daryl grunted out and pointed a finger towards the side of the house, out in the direction of the street.

Maggie's gaze followed his direction and she frowned thoughtfully while Carol got a couple of glasses for the others at the table. Now that she focused on it, she could feel the slight tug. They weren't terribly far away, but definitely out of voice ranging for the vampire.

Odd. She had thought her and Kol were going to talk to her father together.

For a brief moment, she was worried about her father. Any other rational person wouldn't want their crippled and very human father alone with an Original who had a reputation for being a homicidal maniac. But at the same time, she knew that Kol wouldn't hurt him because of his promise to protect her family and because of her.

Which left her to wonder what Hershel could be saying to Kol right about now. He wasn't one to hide his thoughts and feelings.

"What is it?" Carol piped up, seeing the concern filled expression on Maggie that was torn with confusion.

"I'm… not sure who I'm more worried about," Maggie stated honestly as an incredulous grin worked her way up on her face at the conundrum.

Daryl gave a knowing smirk.

"Oh, Kol absolutely," Carol chimed in immediately, earning a quirked eyebrow from Maggie. "If Carl hadn't been shot, Hershel would have thrown all of us off the farm on the spot," She reminded her while Daryl shrugged in agreement.

When Hershel and Kol returned from their talk, Hershel disappeared quietly into the house before Maggie got a chance to talk to him. Which left her looking to Kol to find out what happened, but the Original didn't give away anything. She could still feel the tension radiating off his shoulders behind the masked smirk.

The rest of the visit went relatively well. Hershel remerged from the house, sharing a few short words with Kol, but otherwise acted as if nothing had occurred. It itched at Maggie's curiosity to know what had happened.

She waited until they made their leave and they climbed into the SUV. Kol shut the door behind him, getting behind the wheel. Maggie was quicker to the passenger seat and looked at him with an expectant gaze while Kol ran his hands against the top of his jeans, patting over his pocket in the process before starting the engine. He let out a deep breath and ruffled up his hair a bit with one hand, the relief evident in his actions.

"So," Maggie started when there was nothing but silence between them, "Are you going to tell me what made you so nervous?" She had just about given up at that point figuring out what exactly was said between Kol and her father.

Kol turned his head to her quickly, about to deny that he had been nervous. But then he remembered the bond, oh yeah, she would know. He opened his mouth, hesitating on the words as he thought back to talking with Hershel. He was a quirky human, he decided. He came across as very serious and contemplative, but then had this dry sense of humor that could slap you in the face and run away before you realized what happened.

"I've had an easier time dealing with European aristocrats," Kol stated vaguely and honestly. At least with the snotty nobles, there were expected lines and responses of behaviors. You could smile politely to their face and plot a mutiny against them when they're looking the other way. There were clearly defined codes of behavior and etiquette, which he had practiced and perfected that charming façade over the centuries.

Speaking with Hershel, the old man wasn't impressed with the arrogance or the insincere remarks. He had what the old man referred to as a 'finely tuned bullshit radar'. Kol still wasn't sure what the old man really thought of him after their talk. It certainly hadn't gone as he had hoped it would. The man's personality certainly made it harder for Kol to be a position he had only indifferently witnessed before.

Maggie sat back in her seat, chuckling slightly from that and fell into an equally thoughtful silence as the couple pulled away from the house. Kol couldn't help but pat his hand over his pocket one more time.

* * *

That night, Maggie found herself driving towards the Salvatore boardinghouse. She couldn't shake Beth's questions out of her mind. Considering someone to be the last and only one for her was surreal and a little terrifying, to be honest. Especially she had an eternity ahead of her and the concept of until death do us part took on a whole new meaning.

Kol seemed off the rest of the day after meeting with her family. If anything, Maggie would guess he seemed a little spooked. He took off the evening to go hunting, which Maggie didn't bother stopping him, it seemed like he needed it. Hunting was something that came up when she was talking with Carol and Daryl. Carol said that Sheriff Forbes had mentioned something about finding more survivors lately. More people were drawing into Mystic Falls, the street the Greene house was beginning to fill up with new families.

Maggie briefly wondered if that was because there was less vampire hunting occurring outside the county line. But she wasn't sure.

This evening, she was left thinking about Glenn and Damon. Her feelings for Glenn had long since sailed, it was alarming to realize just how quickly she got over him. But that's the way it always went, the quickest way to get over someone was to find someone new. That still left Damon, while she had made it clear to him that it would be Kol, there was still raw intense feelings left there. Mostly frustration, regret, and guilt for putting him through it all.

She was glad to see only the blue Camaro in the driveway when she pulled up to the house. That likely meant Elena wasn't around and she knew that Stefan was still gone with Klaus and Elijah.

Damon was lounging on the couch in the living room. The fire place was empty, the summer heat was stifling as it was and a fire going would be uncomfortable even for a vampire. The house lights lit up the first floor. He sloshed the clear liquid around in his glass while he was going through some old things they had found in Isobel's apartment a while ago.

He heard the front door open and he looked up from the books. He raised an eyebrow at the sound of the footsteps. "Ric, is that you?" He called out. "I thought you were coming over tomorrow –"

"Oh," Damon cut his words short when Maggie came into view in the hallway. For a brief moment, he remained frozen while his eyes wandered over her appearance. She wore one of her usual casual tank tops and a pair of jeans with those authoritative boots that initially deceived him because of their heavy thuds against the wood.

"Hello Damon," Maggie greeted him in a gentle tone, taking careful steps into the room with her arms folded over her chest.

The initial shock on his expression was immediately pulled into a tense mask of annoyance and snark. "I get you're back for round two, but I heard you loud and clear last time you told me how _toxic_ my presence is," Damon snapped out.

Maggie pressed her lips together tightly to keep her reflexive response quiet. She moved towards the couch while he spoke, noting carefully his dressed down appearance. He wore a dark cotton shirt compared to one of those expensive buttons or the leather jacket. There was a bottle of some clear liquid on the table, just recently opened and the fierce burn of alcohol wafting from it amongst the books.

"That was crossing the line, I shouldn't have said that," Maggie apologized with a regret tone. He just always managed to get on her nerves and the hurtful things slipped out of her mouth before she could help it.

Damon's glass stopped in midair at those words. He regarded her carefully. "But it was still true," He pointed out. Words in the heat of the moment are just thoughts that could no longer be suppressed. He set the glass down a little louder than he should have on the table.

Maggie didn't need to agree with him for him to know. The delay in her response was telling enough.

She gave a sigh before deciding to boldly reach across to place her hand over one of his. Damon stilled at the action, looking down at their hands and unsure how to respond. He knew how he wanted to respond, but hesitated on whether he should. If it was up to him, he would've pulled her close into his room, where it was just them like it had been so briefly before.

"Damon, I still care about you," Maggie choose to remind him firmly instead. Just because she wasn't in love with him, didn't mean he suddenly meant nothing to her. Yes, he had been the one to kidnap her to Mystic Falls, but he was still the one that helped bring her back to life. "And I'm genuinely sorry for hurting you," She added on sincerely.

Damon's gaze shifted up slowly from their hands to Maggie's emerald eyes. Internally, he was cringing because she really was like a poison for him. She could cut him down so easily, but she always came back to heal the wounds until the next time.

He pulled his hand away from hers as he rose to his feet. He needed some real bourbon for this conversation he thought to himself while he walked around the back of the couch to his liquor table. Maggie frowned slightly at the action and followed his movements. At least some of the initial anger seemed to disappear.

Damon gave a sigh while he poured himself a new glass of the honey-amber liquid. What was he supposed to say? He had a problem with going for women that always came back to twist the knife a little further into him. He could forgive her, and maybe a part of him already has, but where would it go from there. Everything in Maggie's demeanor screamed that she wanted to be a friend to him, but he wanted more than that.

Damon was about to voice that last thought when he looked back up at Maggie. She was half turned towards him on the couch and that was when he caught a sight of her shoulders. His hand stilled on the bourbon glass for the second time that night. "Did Kol give you that?" He changed the subject with the simple question, staring at her right shoulder.

Maggie inhaled sharply, bracing herself. She just nodded simply while thinking here we go again. This undoubtedly would launch into another set of explanations and reactions that usually bordered between shock and anger from Damon. At least with her family it had just been shock and concern, but they were largely accepting of it because they figured Maggie had better judgment with the matter than they did. It wasn't like any of them had any experience with it.

Elijah's reaction… That was still something a little sore with her and she hadn't really decided what she was going to say to him when they saw each other next. She had valued the respectful relationship they had, or at least she thought it was. Looking back on it, she realized the little things she had that may have come across wrong and felt foolish for not seeing it sooner.

"Oh," was Damon's simple response. In surprise, Maggie's wandering gaze snapped back to Damon to see a similar, slightly dumbfounded expression as the one he wore when she told him about the breakup with Glenn at the Founder's celebration.

His hand fell a little and there was something resigned about the way he was visibly processing that. Maggie cocked her head slightly when she identified recognition in his eyes.

"You know what this is?" She asked, unable to help reaching over her shoulder and brushing her fingers against the scar in the process.

"Sort-of," Damon replied quickly, his tongue rolled over his teeth with indecision. The curious look from Maggie made up his mind though. "I've seen one of those before," He pointed towards the mark with the hand carrying the glass.

Deciding to push their personal dispute to the back of his mind, like they usually avoided their problems, he moved back around the couch to take his seat next to her again. "Lexi had one and you would not believe where it was," He smirked a little, his eyes flickering in his signature way.

"Ugh," Maggie turned her head away with a disgusted expression, instantly assuming.

"Oh relax, it wasn't like that," Damon chided immediately before taking a sip of the bourbon. Maggie shot him a disbelieving look. "She wouldn't let me or Stefan near her with a ten-foot pole in that way actually," Damon recalled seriously.

Maggie snorted slightly despite herself. If Lexi really did have a Mate's Mark then it didn't surprise her to hear that. Her shoulder felt like someone had burned her just from the brief touch from Elijah.

"What do you know about it?" Maggie questioned, she didn't really need to ask about how Lexi got it. She was surprised, but in a way, it made sense that Lexi had a mate. Maybe that's how she was so close to Stefan, but never in the way.

Damon shrugged before taking another snip. "Not much, to be honest. Just that she got shortly it after meeting her boyfriend around the time she was turned herself when she was traveling with some ripper friend," He answered while leaning back on the couch and draping one arm across the back.

"Some ripper friend?" Maggie's eyebrows with a faint smirk at his choice of words.

"Yep," Damon popped the 'p' a bit before shaking his head casually. "Her vampire mentor – taught her everything she knew. I guess she saw him die or something too," He replied, and paused before a smirk came onto his features. Truthfully, he didn't know much about him because that was a period of Lexi's life she didn't talk about much. His tone shifted into a conspiratorial one, "_Personally_, I suspect her obsessive need to fix everyone came from her inability to save him, but that's just my professional opinion."

Listening to Damon, Maggie frowned at the niggling feeling of déjà vu that crept up in her mind. The story seemed eerie in a way she couldn't fully place. It did sound similar to something she heard before. Could it be? Nah. What are the odds? She dismissed it.

"Wait," Maggie sat up and shifted to turn her body towards Damon, leaning against the back of the couch in a more relaxed position. "How do you know this? You and Lexi hated each other," She recalled reading about some of the confrontations in Stefan's diary, never mind the obvious fact that Damon killed her.

Damon smirked knowingly, "Who do you think she went hunting with while Stefan was getting back on the bunny diet?" It was during those times that Damon found Lexi in a rare mood and she would gush about feelings, like if she was hoping one of them would stick with Damon. "Her blabbing was incessant sometimes, I swear she was trying to get a two-for-one deal," He shook his head, trying to get rid of the pesky memory.

"Huh," Maggie bit her tongue lightly, rolling that around in her mind. She had to admit a part of her wished she could have met this Lexi. "She sounds like a total bleeding heart," Maggie mused, beginning to smirk herself.

"You have no idea," Damon gave with an exasperated sigh, causing Maggie to let out a small laugh.

When Maggie's laugh died out, silence remained between them. She could feel his piercing eyes on her while her gaze dropped to her hands. At least he wasn't yelling and passing judgment on her this time, it was actually unnerving how accepting Damon was of the mark. It gave her the impression he knew a little more about them than he was letting on.

"I should probably go," Maggie decided, starting to feel uncomfortable under the stare. "I just wanted to see how you were doing," She stated while she rose to her feet. She had been worried about him amongst everything that was going on, even though he really annoyed her at the Council meeting.

Damon's fingers ran over the cool glass of the tumbler while Maggie rose to her feet and began to turn away from him.

"Or you could stay," He blurted out the suggestion, causing Maggie to stop in her steps.

He knew what that mark was and what it meant. Any chance he had with her was dashed with it and it explained why she claimed her forgiving him wouldn't change anything. It explained why she smelled differently lately. At this point, he was used to smelling Kol on her, but there was a difference from being around another vampire and how Maggie's scent was different now.

Kol, the bastard, had got the girl and he hated to admit it.

But call him a glutton, he had enjoyed the brief moment he was able to talk to Maggie without either of them throwing hateful words or tears being shed. Even if it did mean he had to talk about_ Lexi_ for that to happen. He tried to tell himself it had more to do with how lonely he was in the house at the time and it wasn't something chronically messed up in his head.

Maggie turned back to him and he could see the indecision in her frame with the way she wrung her fingers in front of her. Her eyes passed over him, he had tried to keep the words in a casual and confident tone, but she didn't see that. There was a little bit of hope and she wondered how much hope she was supposed to dash lately.

Damon filled the awkward silence by nodding towards the handle on the table. "I just got that today and rumor has it that can make a werewolf go cross eyed," He added the challenge on in a light attempt to coax her to stay.

Maggie smirked faintly. What would seem like a womanizer's attempt to weaken a woman's resolve with some liquor Maggie knew was Damon's attempt to reach out to someone in the only real way that he knew how. Who needed to extent an olive branch in hell when you had liquor of questionable origins?

"Just like old times, huh?" Maggie mused aloud while stepping forward to pick up the bottle, inspecting it casually.

Damon began to grin slowly, seeing that Maggie wasn't bolting for the door and even further when he watched her lift the bottle to take a swig. Her nose scrunched up and she made a face. That was foul, even for her standards.

"Hey Ric 2.0, at least use a glass," Damon whined. Her lack of manners and tendency to hog the bottle always peeved his inner alcoholic and germ phobic.

"Oh, you did not just compare me to that history teacher with the style of a lumberjack," Maggie chastised while moving to plop down back on her end of the couch.

* * *

Damon swirled the last of the clear liquid around in his glass casually. He had switched off the bourbon to drink the shine with Maggie. The handle sat on the coffee table, almost empty at this point. He relaxed back on the couch, feeling thoroughly numb to most emotions. The burn of bloodlust was very faint at the moment. The house was mostly silently with one arm draped back along the couch.

He looked down to the feet in his lap and shook his head. At the other end of the couch, Maggie's head was tucked against a pillow with both hands underneath it. She had made a half slurred comment about stretching out and not letting Damon get in her way before plopping her feet in his lap. Even though she had said it was like old times, it really wasn't.

They traded teasing remarks and stories as they worked their way through the liquor bottle. There was still that tension Damon felt, every now and then he would catch himself leaning a little closer to her and the urge to close the distance between them beckoned.

But it was different this time. Now there was that niggling of an instinct in the fiber of his being that told him no, she was off limits. He was familiar with that urge, from Lexi, and he could ignore it if he chose to. The fact it was even there at all when she hadn't previously been off limits to him spoke volumes in itself. More importantly, when Maggie caught him looking at her like that, the charged feeling wasn't return. There was a certain level of ignorance bliss, as if the thought didn't even occur to her anymore.

Damon snorted to himself, starting to raise the last of the glass to his lips when he heard the front door open again. He frowned. What happened to knocking around here?

He hadn't heard a car approaching the house, which left him to doubt that it was human. He didn't get much time to wonder who it was before the figure appeared in the entryway. Damon stiffened immediately, his expression shifting into a mixture of surprise and unwelcome.

Kol stopped with his hands casually tucked into his jacket pockets. His eyes narrowed at the scene of Maggie curled on her side, clearly asleep on the couch with her feet resting in Damon's lap. They settled on Damon, locking into a harsh staring contest. Neither vampire moved to greet the other, at the same time, Damon seemed indecisive about stirring Maggie by getting up and not wanting to seem too ruffled by Kol's presence.

Kol set his jaw tightly, trying to decide what to make of this. He hadn't sensed any sort of distress from Maggie for the last couple of hours while he was away hunting. It was late into the early hours of the morning now. She didn't stir at his arrival, but he could tell that she was just asleep with the gradual rise and fall of her chest. He didn't like the casual hand of Damon's that rested on top of her ankles, but it wasn't like he caught them in any sort of compromising position.

"What's with her?" He questioned shortly, nodding towards Maggie. He kept his tone low in almost a whisper.

Damon didn't need to look at Maggie to know she didn't stir. He gave a half shrug of his shoulders. "Your girlfriend is a light weight," He tried to sound taunting, but his voice was a little strained on the term girlfriend.

Kol didn't express any hint of amusement or appreciation. His dark gaze flickered briefly to the liquor bottle, the second glass on the table and the one in Damon's hand. Without a word, he stepped into the room and approached the far end of the couch from Damon. The Salvatore tensed immediately, pulling his feet towards the couch in a vain attempt to keep as much distance between them as possible.

Damon's fingers twitched anxiously, needing no reminder of how badly every time he was alone with the Original ended. Despite glaring daggers at the Mikaelson, Kol stopped by Maggie's head and crouched down to her level.

Damon rigidly watched the way Kol cocked his head slightly at her, as if inspecting a fascinating piece of artwork. He was half tempted to throw out some insult or suggestion to leave with the way that Original was pointedly ignoring Damon, but he ended up rubbing the back of his neck instead. It would be nice to not have that snapped this evening.

Kol reached up with one hand and brushed the back of his fingers against Maggie's cheek slowly to her hairline. He noticed the way her eyes flickered under eyelids and her head shifted against the pillow before he repeated the action gently.

Feeling Maggie beginning to stir, Damon gently lifted her feet from his lap so he could slip out from underneath them. He really didn't like being a vulnerable position so close to Kol. He rose to his feet while Maggie's eyes fluttered open with a soft groan.

"Kol," Maggie gave in a groggy tone with a sleepy smile forming on her lips.

Some of the harshness in Kol's expression eased up into a small smirk while his fingers moved to tuck a few strands of hair out of her eyes and behind her ear.

Maggie felt tired and sluggish. The couch was comfortable and the pillow beckoned her back to sleep. It had been pleasant to stir to find Kol's face consuming her visage though. "You found me," She gasped gently when she realized she hadn't told him where she went. "It really does work," Her eyes were half closed as she mumbled the words.

Kol traced his thumb lightly along her cheekbone and down to the corner of her mouth. "Yes, it does," His smirk grew with amusement, clearly she was still a little bit drunk.

Damon knocked back the last of the shine while he stopped at his liquor table. He would need that bourbon again.

The touch caused Maggie to lazily close her eyes again, wanting to be lulled back to sleep. "I love you," She whispered faintly when she felt Kol's thumb running lightly along her lower lip.

Damon scowled at his glass and decided to pour himself a double at that.

"I know, darling," Kol murmured back to her, without tearing his eyes away from her and feeling Damon's gaze on the couple. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she was going to nod off again. "But do you remember what I said about having Sunday tea?" He asked of her meaningfully.

Maggie forced her eyes open again, blinking several times in a fuzzy attempt to string her thoughts together. It took her several moments to recall that line he told her before she was bit by the hybrid.

_I will not start having Sunday tea with the Salvatores just to please you._

Maggie nodded numbly, starting to lift her head up off the pillow to really look at Kol.

"I've scorched my tongue swallowing enough for one evening," Kol stated, while his tone of voice was gentle, the dwindling patience in his eyes was evident.

It was then Maggie's incoherent mind put together the possibility that Damon was around. She remembered nodding off here, but hadn't considered the two vampires being in the same room as possible. She began to shift her body up on her elbows and went to turn her head, searching for Damon behind her.

But Kol's fingers under her chin stopped her, turning her head back to him before he swiftly leaned in to press a soft kiss against her lips. Despite her confusion, Maggie's eyes lulled shut at the gesture, returning it briefly until he pulled away. However, when Kol pulled away, Maggie's head dropped heavily back to the pillow and her hands went slack.

Damon knocked back his refill of his drink throughout the exchange, his brow furrowing in confusion at their conversation. He didn't follow most of it to be honest, but he did follow the way Kol softened up with affection around her that he didn't think the Original could possibly possess.

"Did you just put her to sleep?" Damon exclaimed when he realized she was back to being out cold. Granted Kol was an Original, but it still took a considerably amount of trust to get inside another vampire's head that swiftly.

"It's the only way she lets me do this," Kol explained shortly while he moved his arms to slip underneath her shoulders and the back of her knees. Carefully, he made her hands were tucked in her lap before he lifted her up against his chest, cradling her head against his shoulder while her feet dangled limply.

"Oh," Damon mumbled, watching the way Kol carried her. He vaguely recalled his back getting a good pounding from her fists when he had thrown her over his shoulder before. Maybe knocking her out like an animal wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Damon held onto the glass tightly as he watched Kol turn away and start to leave the room. The protective nature immediately wanted to stop him and make sure that Maggie would be okay. But, he recognized it really wasn't his place to do that anymore.

She made her choice after all.

Kol paused by the entryway of the room and looked back at Damon. The Salvatore couldn't read much from the impassive expression, other than the fact it looked like there was something he wanted to say. But Kol just opted to give him a final nod of acknowledgment before disappearing from sight.

* * *

Maggie snapped awake with the sound of a car door closing. Her head jerked up, having been slumped over her in slumber and she inhaled sharply. There was that brief fleeting moment of panic that filled her, waking up in a place that was certainly not where she recalled falling asleep. She startled, realizing she was buckled into the passenger seat of a vehicle.

She didn't have the best of luck with waking up in vehicles after being unconscious.

She tore her eyes away from the dashboard and towards the driver's seat. A relieved breath eased out of her when she recognized Kol behind the wheel, pulling the SUV out of the driveway. The tension dissipated from her shoulders immediately and she sank back into her seat. Kol took his eyes away from the road to cast her a brief smirk while a hand rested on the steering wheel.

The alcohol was beginning to burn through her system, thankfully much faster than it did for humans. Her mind started to catch up with her while she shamelessly watched Kol drive. It dawned on her then how peculiar her reaction was.

Waking up in a foreign environment, only a few people could bring her comfort just from the mere sight of them. The recognition that you weren't completely alone to face whatever was going on. Usually for most people that would be family members or a very close significant other.

Maybe it was unconventional and Maggie was beginning to learn that's how things usually worked, but an odd sense of calm came over her while just listening to the sound of the tires against the pavement and the humming of the engine between her and Kol.

It took Maggie a few minutes to recognize because it had been a long time since she last felt it.

Peace.

Her feelings for Glenn had been laid to rest and going to the boardinghouse tonight she figured out so had her feelings for Damon. In another life time she could love Damon, but it would just simply be lacking in many ways compared to what she had with Kol. More importantly, she found the hurt between them could be healed. Tonight was just a brief glimpse of a relationship that could be repaired, they could move forward in some way or another.

And her relationship with Kol was growing, becoming more complicated and rich with each day she realized. Today alone he had swallowed his pride twice with Damon and Hershel for her sake. She didn't try to change him or even ask him to, but she was beginning to see that he was in certain ways anyway.

With that revelation, the idea of eternity wasn't so frightening.

* * *

A few torches light the streets of the downtown area. Really the entire town was just a couple of streets that had been barricaded with vehicles and sheet metal between the brick buildings, forming a wall and the mediocre sense of security for the humans dwelling there. Truthfully, all it would take was one sizable herd to come through the area and they would all be dead.

The brunette darting through the back alley ways wasn't looking over her shoulder for walkers though. Her curls bounced while she came around a corner and bumped into the chest of one of the night patrols.

"Miss?" The scruffy man frowned in confusion, stumbling back on his feet slightly from the impact against the vampire. "You're not supposed to be out past –"

His voice was cut off by her hand clamped over his mouth. She pulled his head down to look in her brown eyes directly. "Forget you saw me," She compelled him easily enough. She didn't have time to worry about being pleasant or polite.

She saw the way his eyes dilated before mumbling the words back to her under her hand. She let go of him briskly, giving one more look over her shoulder before disappearing into the back alley. She tried not to let her boots echo too much off the walls while she tugged her jacket around her.

She felt her heart pounding in her chest, which was unusual for her. She didn't get scared easily, she didn't get skittish. Her cool composure was rarely fractured. Except for nights like these.

She came down to a T-intersection in the back alleys of the buildings. Stopping at the center, her eyes darted to the diverging paths, which held the deceiving promise of the faint light coming from torches at either end.

She turned from picking one direction and gasped when she nearly bumped into the chest of another man. This wasn't the one out on the night patrol though. His hands were tucked casually behind his back with hazy green eyes that lacked their usual warm and affection.

"Stefan?" She gasped in surprise, taking a step back from him.

"Hello Katherine," Stefan gave a smirk that was purely malicious. The doppelganger recovered her composure quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Katherine asked of him suspiciously while her eyes darted up and down him shamelessly. Her persona took on that air of confidence which no one could really tell if it was genuine or just a façade.

"Oh, I was just out for a stroll," Stefan shrugged, giving the vague response with a dry one. The corner of his mouth was the only clue to how smug he felt in that moment and that was because of the way his eyes wandered to the divergent path she had been considering.

"How ironic, me too," Katherine chirped out and took a side step, as if to go the other direction without taking her eyes off Stefan. She tried to act innocent and nonchalant, even though she knew it was suspicious for Stefan to be in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania.

"Naturally, you won't mind if we join you…" A new voice stepped into the conversation.

Katherine turned her head to the dismissed route and her eyes widened at the suited man standing there. "Elijah," Her tone took another level of surprise.

Elijah tilted his head to the side slightly as he regarded the first doppelganger. She stared at him wide-eyed a moment, the fear evident in her eyes and unsure how she would respond to him after that betrayal all those centuries. Their encounters since then had been questionable at best.

Katherine pulled together a mask, putting on a smirk even though her mind was racing and she was trying not to panic now that she was clearly outnumbered by age and power. "A man of my past," She commented arrogantly and her eyes flickered to Stefan in a condescending tone, "And not so distant past…" Her eyes went back to Elijah, "Tell me, to what do I owe the honor?"

Instead of answering her question, Stefan let out an amused chuckle, which unnerved Katherine with the tension between them.

"If he's the man of your past," Stefan mocked her words, not missing how he was referred to as the present but that didn't stir any feelings in him. Stefan then nodded in the direction that Katherine just came from, "What does that make him?"

Katherine turned on her heel to see what he was referring to. The last figure approached the apex of the alleys caused her blood to run cold.

"I believe that makes me the Ghost of Christmas' Future, mate," The third voice of Klaus chimed into the conversation.

The smirk and confidence fell from Katherine's face in an instant. She swallowed thickly and felt the lump get caught in her throat while her stomach churned.

The hybrid flashed a predatory smile with his glacial hungry gaze, approaching his potential blood bag with a dark sense of glee.

* * *

_Author's Note: Bwahaha, the past is coming back to haunt Katherine._

_This was a fun chapter to write because as you can see we have a lot of characters coming to terms with relationships in this chapter. Any guesses on what Kol wanted to talk to Hershel about? What do you think of Maggie's coming to terms with everything? I hope it was realistic that it took her a bit to warm up to the idea of spending forever with someone. (I personally have raging commitment issues so that's not something I could swallow easily)_

_I drew a lot of parallels in this chapter from the two shows. First there was the Rebekah scene, which is my twist on how I wish Elijah had handled the whole cure deal with Rebekah. And then there was Stefan and Klaus finding Katherine, similar to American Gothic. _

_Let me know what you think of the Altanta group scenes, we get to see a glimpse of Kol opening up in ways that he didn't with Alexia. _

_And I know the lack of bloodline for Rebekah is going to bring up some questions. But think of it this way, have we seen Rebekah turn ANYone on the show? It's possible._

_So did anyone guess that Lexi was mated with Lee? If you look back on the chapters to the first dream sequence with Lexi, you'll see a short conversation Kol and her had talking about sire bonds and it was eluded to there._

_And lastly the scenes at the boardinghouse were pretty monumental, no? _

_Anyone who's been following me this far knows I tend to have the calm before the storm, so next chapter we have Katherine back in Mystic Falls and there'll be a major character death(s). Leaving one more chapter and then a short epilogue for chapter 60._

_Review responses –_

_M: Oh my! I can't say I've caused anyone any physical pain before, haha. And yes, the placement of the mark was intentional. :P I don't know if anyone has noticed by now, but I like putting ironic touches in the little details throughout this story. The list does seem a little long, I know, but it's important to consider the depths of each one. Glenn can be safely crossed from the list, so can Damon, Elijah's is currently just a passing crush/affection. I do think Elijah would be the reasonable and level handed one about the situation and now with this chapter we're seeing Damon is accepting of it not because he wants to be, but he's seen it before. I look forward to see the doodles!_

_Eby Mikaelson: Haha sorry! Rebekah will not be cured in this story._

_Guest: Kudos for looking it up. ;D It'll definitely come up later. And yes, I'm saddling Elijah with the ultimate hopeless romantic in this story, he just seems like a sucker for it in the show. Thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it! I'm actually going into education, so I'll never actually leave the school system. _

_Kellie: I'm glad I was able to surprise you. I can see Malijah stemming from the idea that Elijah can see a little bit of himself in Maggie, as in the love-struck girl she talked about it, and he could see the potential of the compassionate person that she used to be and could still be. That being said, it would in some ways be like Stefan trying to cure Elena/seeing her as a broken toy, so Elijah wouldn't necessarily be the best thing for Maggie. In the sequel, there'll be an extreme set of circumstances that Maggie will look to Elijah for help, but you'll just have to wait and see what that is. ;)_

_As always, please please review! Thanks everyone so much!_


	58. Chapter 58

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_The Civil Wars – C'est la Mort_

_Scene: Maggie and Kol at the start of the chapter & Kol and Rebekah talking_

_OneRepublic – Made for You_

_Scenes: The Mikaelson Mansion - waiting_

_Leona Lewis – Run_

_Scene: The Staking & the Gilbert House_

_Chapter Fifty-eight_

"I believe that makes me the Ghost of Christmas' Future, mate," The third voice of Klaus chimed into the conversation.

The smirk and confidence fell from Katherine's face in an instant. She swallowed thickly and felt the lump get caught in her throat while her stomach churned.

The hybrid flashed a predatory smile with his glacial hungry gaze, approaching his potential blood bag with a dark sense of glee.

* * *

Maggie's eyes fluttered open as she stirred, the morning rays filtering through the apartment from the floor to ceiling narrow windows. She inhaled deeply with her cheek pressed against the pillow while blinking away the blurriness from her mind. She vaguely recalled the ride home the previous night from the boardinghouse. She had nodded off again shortly after her revelation. Guessing by the way she was lying in their bed, Kol probably carried her into the apartment.

She squinted slightly at the cuffs at her wrists before she smirked. Apparently Kol opted for her one of his dress shirts in her sleepy state for her pajamas. Given the heat of the summer, Maggie was okay with the few loose buttons at the top and them relying on the sheets mostly for blankets. She felt a faint breath against the back of her neck and a heavy arm weighing her down around her waist.

Lightly, she ran her fingers up from his wrist up to his elbow casually before she carefully rolled over onto her back beneath his grasp. Kol stirred without opening his eyes, actually shifting to nuzzle slightly against her shoulder instead. Maggie grinned to herself at the sleepy way he smacked his lips lightly before getting comfortable again, the arm around her waist pulling her closer to him.

She lifted her hand to run through his hair idly, ruffling up the locks more than they already were from the night slumber. Feeling her fingers against his scalp, Kol let out an approving rumble from his throat. Maggie indulged in the peaceful morning calm for a few minutes before shifting in the bed, regardless of Kol refusing to wake up fully.

She wiggled out from under him by turning on her hip and reaching towards the nightstand next to the bed. Her hand grasped out towards the drawer, opening it up blindly and reaching for the book inside. Her fingers ran over the blue spine of the heavy book while she opened it, flipping through the pages quickly.

Kol's head slumped against the pillow the moment she moved away. His expression wrinkled up in weary annoyance, his eyes blinking open indignantly while he wondered where his pillow went. Seeing Maggie's back to him, reaching for the book at the nightstand, his fingers went to her sides.

"Kol!" Maggie let out a shriek from the torturing of her ticklish spots. The book in her hands fell to the ground with a heavy thud, left open to the last used page.

She squirmed under his ministrations several moments before both arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. Maggie tried to fight off the giggles by biting her lip.

Kol's lips went to her ear, whispering in a husky tone, "Did I say you could go anywhere?" His hand moved to her hip, running firm, open-palmed circles before sliding down to her thigh.

Maggie gave a roll of her eyes at his possessive tone, but didn't say anything. Instead a shiver rippled along her skin once his lips began to tease her neck. She was acutely aware of the way his hand bunched the fabric of her shirt up past her waist before dipping down between her legs.

Maggie marveled at the way he turned from playful to sensual in the blink of an eye. Especially when she felt the hand between her legs causing the heat between them to rise and a gasp to slip from her lips. It only briefly paused to pull the fabric of the oversized shirt off her shoulder. Her hips quivered and bucked back against him while she felt his lips over her scar.

A soft moan suddenly turned into a cry of surprise and pain when his fangs sank down into her skin. Her nerves erupted, overwhelmingly so with the way Kol bit into the scar. He savored the first taste of her blood and then sank his teeth down further while Maggie let out a noised mixed somewhere between pleasure and pain. While he had never developed a taste for vampire before, he delighted in indulging in the taste of his mate.

Her body shuddered and her eyes rolled to the back of her head while she felt the blood being pulled from her body and his hands teasing her further. Kol withdrew his fangs carefully, his tongue flicking out to lick up the remaining blood while the wound healed. The scar remained, unmarred by the fresh tearing into her flesh.

It left Maggie gasping while her mind caught up with what just happened. Her hands were clutched tightly at the sheets. She could practically feel Kol's smirk against her shoulder, waiting to see her reaction.

Carefully, she plucked her fingers from the sheets. She was barely aware of the way his hand slowly undid each button of the dress shirt in front of her.

In a blur of movement, Maggie had Kol pinned on his back with her hands against his shoulders.

"Did I say you could do that?" Maggie countered with him a challenging raised eyebrow. Kol just grinned at her, his hands going to her knees and running slowly up her thighs to her waist. He didn't get a chance to respond before she leaned down, hiding her smirk by pressing her lips against his.

It was only a few moments before the dress shirt was tossed carelessly aside and Kol rolled Maggie back over, settling between her legs. Her words slipped into small gasps and shivers, marveling in the way he could shift from boyish and charming one moment to something darker and more sensual, like the creature he was. But through it all, she felt him through the way his hands and body was on her, but the growing connection of the bond.

Kol was in the midst of shedding his pajama pants, when he stopped suddenly. His hand ran up from her breast, resting over her heart while he furrowed his brows, staring down at it. "What is that?" He whispered.

Maggie blinked at first, trying to grasp going from his lips on her neck to being asked a legitimate question. It took her a moment to realize he didn't literally mean what was on her chest. It was his quiet way of referring to the bond between them and what he was feeling from her or with her, rather.

Kol cocked his head slightly, thinking he was starting to become pretty familiar with Maggie but this was a little different. He didn't really know how to put it a finger on it. This felt familiar, distantly, but he didn't quite recall when or how.

The answer was so simple Maggie almost gave an incredulous chuckle. The hand buried in his scalp at the moment taunted him a little further before she answered him. "Happiness, Kol," She whispered. Maybe it was selfish to be feeling that way with everything going on around them, but being alone with him was one certainty she did feel.

Kol's eyes moved up from Maggie's chest to meet hers. A brief flicker of wonder passed through them before a smile grew on his face, mirroring the adoring one from Maggie. She had a chance to commit that moment and expression to memory before he leaned back into her lips, kissing her with a renewed vigor.

The couple was ignorant of the book lying on the floor by the nightstand. Particularly the last page it was open to and the black ink that began to appear on the page, one cursive letter at a time.

* * *

A couple hours later, Kol emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist. He could hear Maggie humming lightly to herself while she was in the kitchen. The microwave was running. Probably better her to run those blasted things than him after last time, he idly thought. He was walking around the side of the bed, heading for the dresser when he noticed the book on the ground.

Cocking his head a little, Kol paused and bent over to pick up. His brows furrowed while his eyes darted over the page. His grip on the spine tightened as he reread the message to be sure.

"Margaret," Kol called out while he moved into the kitchen, forgetting about getting dressed for the moment.

Maggie turned from facing the microwave with a slightly confused expression. She had to admit Kol was the only one she let get away with calling her Margaret. It didn't wasn't exactly unpleasant the way it rolled off his lips with his accent. But there was an endearing way he used it, he could be tender with that one word or carry an ominous edge to it. At the moment, it was the latter.

Seeing him emerge from the bedroom area, he held the book out for her to see the open page. "You have a message from Niklaus," He stated and she realized his hard set expression was from that and not anything she's done.

Maggie pulled out the blood bag for him and the sports bottle for her from the microwave. She set them down on the island before stepping close enough to read the message. It was rather lengthy and Kol's eyes remained on her, judging her reaction while her gaze darted across the page.

"Well, I'll be damn," Maggie let out a low whistle before muttering. "They actually got her," She was impressed, she didn't think it would be nearly that quickly. But then again, when was the last time they had such a team effort to capture Katherine?

"So it appears," Kol agreed calmly, letting Maggie take the book from his hands. He moved to the island and picked up the blood bag clearly meant for him. Maggie reread the message a few times while he popped the cap off and took a few sips.

"'And send my appreciation to Kol for the Nashua tip'?" Maggie read one of the lines aloud, looking up to Kol with a quirked eyebrow.

"Ah, yes, it is amazing how pleasant Niklaus can be when he gets what he wants," Kol muttered dryly.

Maggie's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. She did notice the rather friendly tone of his message, which only added to how much Klaus made her skin crawl. But that wasn't really the point she was going for.

"How did you know where Katherine was?" She asked bluntly. From their other talks, it was implied the two may have crossed paths at some point or another, especially with her leading Klaus to Kol.

Kol half shrugged while he slipped back into the bedroom area. "Lucy Bennett," He stated simply. Maggie remained in the kitchen and she could hear the opening of the dresser drawers. "Vampires are not the only ones that can be deceptive in their appearance. Her and I go back further than her acquaintance with Katerina, especially since she crossed her by trying to pit her against another Bennett witch," By the time he was done explaining, he walked back into the kitchen pulling a t-shirt over his head with a fresh pair of jeans.

Maggie nodded slowly. Kol's expression left her wondering if that relationship was something more murderous or sexual. That was the thing with Kol, some of the looks he gave you couldn't tell if he was slowly undressing his victim with his eyes or imagining pulling their heart out, severing vein by vein. Ultimately, she decided it didn't matter since it was clearly in the past.

"I thought you didn't like witches?" Maggie voiced her slight confusion, recalling his obvious distaste for his mother, the one that tricked him about Rosemarie and the mentioning of the slaughter of the local ones.

Kol took the moment to finish off his blood bag and toss it in the trash can before correcting her. "Actually, I admire the power that witches have, but I don't admire how they choose to use it," He stated meaningfully, looking Maggie in the eye. He added on purposefully, "It's a very important distinction."

"Huh," Maggie mulled over that while she popped open the sports bottle. While Kol was dressed to go, she still had on a bathrobe from the shower.

They were silent while Maggie downed her drink. Kol watched the way the veins moved under her eyes and her gaze darkened. However, now she was at the point the bottle wasn't at risk of being crushed in her grasp. She didn't lose herself completely to the taste, but he could still hear the hum of contentment.

A lazy smirk graced his face.

"Alright," Maggie declared, setting the empty bottle down on the counter. "They're going to be here tonight." She paused to give the kitchen clock a glance, it was almost noon. "That gives us a few hours to raise some hell," Maggie grinned.

* * *

Maggie had the afternoon shift with Matt at the Grill that day. She was helping him with the preparations for the dinner serving, but Maggie wasn't going to stick around for that. For one, the humans still weren't terribly up on the idea of eating around a vampire. But that was fine with her, she had Klaus and Katherine to worry about.

It was just the two of them until Maggie heard the front doors open. She poked her head up from behind the bar counter to see the mysterious Bennett witch in question. Maggie could feel Matt giving her an odd look, but he chose to remain silent while he continued to setup the trays.

"Hello Lucy," Maggie greeted the witch, proceeding to pull out two glasses from behind the counter while the Bennett woman slid into the bar stool.

"Maggie," Lucy nodded with her sly smirk. "I take it you have some news?" She asked immediately, getting straight to business while Maggie pulled out a bottle to pour her a drink while she was there.

Unlike Bonnie, there didn't seem to be the obvious condescending tone in her voice. Maybe that was why Kol liked this one more, Maggie thought to herself. So far she hadn't done anything to offend her in particular.

"Indeed," Maggie nodded, avoiding the question for the moment. "How's Abby? Is she practicing yet?"

Lucy took a moment to knock back a deep gulp of the amber liquid before answering her, "She's adjusting still, but Bonnie and I are helping her." She sat with her legs crossed, leaning slightly against the counter with a grace that didn't seem characteristic of Mystic Falls' residents.

"Adjusting?" Maggie countered dubiously, not particularly thrilled with the word.

"Yeah," Lucy gave, "You have to keep in mind Abby wasn't actively practicing before she turned, but she can feel nature again and hear the spirits so it's a start."

Maggie took a swig from her glass. "But can you three do the spell?" She asked, less understanding of what the feeling of nature and talking to the spirits nonsense was about.

"Oh sure," Lucy stated confidently, knowing with Bonnie and her there that would be enough power to channel with the right celestial event. "When are you thinking of doing it?"

Maggie smirked slowly, "Tonight." She watched the way Lucy's eyebrow quirk with intrigue at that.

Matt kept half an eye on the doppelganger and the witch while they continued to talk for several minutes at the bar. He caught a few words here and there, but he was still left in confusion about what exactly was going on. He waited until the witch finished her second drink and got up from the bar to leave before he approached her.

"So what exactly is happening tonight?" Matt asked gently, taking a moment to wipe his hands off on a dishrag.

"Klaus found Katherine," Maggie stated shortly while she looked around for where she left her car keys. She didn't look up to see the way Matt perked up immediately. "Can you tell Jeremy for me?"

"Sure. Yeah," Matt agreed easily enough, knowing the word would spread around fast anyway.

"I should probably head over to the boardinghouse to give Damon a heads up," Maggie voiced her thoughts aloud, feeling the adrenaline starting to build in her now that she had confirmation everything was being set into motion.

"Or you could call him," Matt suggested, stopping Maggie just before she could duck around the back of the bar counter.

Maggie cocked her head slightly, noticing the way Matt nodded towards the end of the counter near the back of the house. "Really?" She asked, giving him a slight smirk and eying the old style black phone that had recently been placed there.

Matt nodded, chuckling at her surprise. "Yeah, they finished testing the lines yesterday. Go for it."

Maggie moved back to the counter slowly, dropping her keys on it before checking out the phone in question. There was a sheet with instructions for dialing, which Maggie noticed most of the numbers were the Founding family's homes and the city buildings. Apprehensively, she picked up the receiver and held it up to her ear.

She heard the dull hum of a dial tone and her eyes widened immediately. She couldn't help but turn back to Matt, who was chuckling at the way she rediscovered the phone like a child at Christmas. Maggie honestly thought she would never hear such a noise again and started laughing at how such a simple sound could be so monumental.

Once she recovered herself, she followed the sheet's instructions to dial the Salvatore house. Maggie grinned broadly when it began to ring. Matt stopped what he was doing, leaning his elbows against the counter and getting a kick out of Maggie's little reactions.

It rang three, then four times before she stopped counting. Clearly there was no answering machines setup. Finally, she heard the click of the call being picked up.

"Eight rings, Liz. _Eight_. That might be a slight indicator Mystic Falls' resident Council-vamp isn't interested in hearing about gasoline levels."

Maggie smiled at the snarky tone of Damon's voice on the other side of the line, so much so she didn't bother cutting him off just yet.

"But while you're at it," He continued on, unperturbed by the lack of immediate response since he could just imagine the Sheriff sighing in irritation. "Put caller ID next on that little to-do list to check off –"

"Damon," Maggie stopped him short gently.

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "Maggie?" He asked, even though his tone seemed pretty confident.

"No, it's Satan. I'm calling to collect that debt you owe me," Maggie teased him sarcastically.

"Really?" Damon whined without missing a beat and playing along. "I would've thought after all this time I would've at least earned a personal visit."

Maggie snorted and shook her head.

"So to what do I owe receiving a call from Satan's second in command?" Damon questioned, only half seriously.

Maggie rolled her eyes, half tempted to deny the name, but it had a nice ring to it. She fought the smirk off her face before answering him, "Klaus has Katherine and they're on their way back to Mystic Falls right now."

There was another lengthy pause on his end. Maggie could just imagine him suddenly sitting up on the couch in the living room of the boardinghouse, those electric blue eyes growing wide and the slight 'o' forming on his lips while his mind ran a mile a minute.

"What's the game plan then?" He went straight for the crucial point, by now having accepted that this was Maggie's show.

"Well, the witches need a full moon to channel enough energy to weaken and desiccate him," Maggie declared, giving a glance over to Matt who was very clearly listening to her half the phone conversation.

"Like the one tonight, maybe?" Damon picked up on her line of thinking quickly.

Maggie nodded, "Exactly. They'll be here this afternoon, so Lucy's going to put some sort of spell on the Mikaelson mansion that'll trap any hybrids that enter until she drops it when the moon is at its peak. So we'll go in, turn Katherine and leave. He'll be none the wiser until it's too late and the witches will come do their thing."

Damon rolled the idea around in his head, nodding along. That seemed to make up for the time lapse between Klaus arriving and the moon being at its peak. It wasn't like they could bring the witches to the transition, that would tip him off right away. "So one hybrid enters, no hybrids leave. I like it," Damon declared.

"I thought you would," Maggie agreed, leaning her hip against the counter as she clutched the phone to her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Matt nodding in approval too before going back to work.

"Oh and Damon," She spoke again, able to hear glass clinking around on his end. She could picture him pouring a celebratory drink for finally getting Katherine. "I'm trusting you with this," She stated meaningfully. "Don't screw it up."

"You mean like telling a certain brunette with a limitless capacity to snoop around in other people's plans?" Damon's tone was teasing, but searching.

"Exactly," Maggie agreed lightly with an edge to her voice, choosing to go with the humor of the situation to express how serious she was.

"Got it," Damon murmured quickly. It wasn't like he was opposed to keeping secrets from people.

A brief silence fell between them. Maggie looked around, she could hear Matt shuffling some pots and pans around in the back, but otherwise the Grill was silent. There was a slight static undertone to the phone call. It certainly wasn't high quality service, but it was something.

She could picture Damon staring off pointedly in the living room, trying to read what he could from her silence, like if she was standing right before him. "Maggie?" He voiced, just to make sure she was still there.

"Yeah, Damon?" She replied, much more subdued this time.

"What are you going to do when all of this over?" He asked her in an unusual tone, lacking any of his normal taunting and Maggie briefly wished she could see his face.

That was a good question now that he pointed it out. She froze momentarily. For so long, she had lived looking over her shoulder, whether it was for walkers and now Klaus, she hadn't really thought about what it would be like when she didn't have to look over her shoulder. She supposed she was a vampire now, so she was impervious to a lot things, which left a lot of possibilities open to her.

"I want to get out of Mystic Falls for a while," Maggie declared and it didn't need to be said between them to know she wouldn't be alone. "Somewhere far away, where no one has even heard of doppelgangers." She heard a faint snort from Damon at that.

"Maybe an island in the sea somewhere, where I can watch the ships disappear into the horizon and the sun into the water," Maggie gave as she really thought about it, remembering when she was younger and her favorite jazzy Bobby Darin tune she used to listen to. That was back when she still believed people rode off into the sunset or waited for their loved one on a sandy beach. It wasn't realistic, but since when were dreams?

"And there has to be plenty of dancing and bourbon," She stipulated with a small grin.

Damon gave a small chuckle at that. "Sounds like a good time to me," He commented in a light, but somber tone.

Maggie nodded absently, even though he couldn't see that.

"I hope you find everything you're looking for," Damon told her gently.

Maggie shifted on her feet, standing upright at that. His tone didn't sound like he was talking about getting lost finding an island. There was something more final and accepting about it.

"You too, Damon," She gave sincerely.

At that, she pulled the phone away from her ear and slowly put it on the receiver. She frowned at it thoughtfully for several moments. She couldn't decide if she felt weighed down by the sudden gravity the conversation took or actually relieved in a way she didn't quite understand yet.

* * *

Another speed bump in the form of a lifeless walker sent the cab of the SUV bouncing, earning another shriek of pain from the passenger seat. The dashboard was marred by the blood dripping down it, some of it dried and sticky while a fresh red trail ran over it.

"Sorry, love," Klaus gave unsympathetically from the driver's seat with a smirk on his lips. "That one just came out of nowhere."

The passenger in question's arms were shaking as she shot him a glare between her clenched teeth. She wanted to lean back in the seat, but she couldn't. Her shoulders were cramped and her back ached from the unnatural upright position. They couldn't even be nice enough to slide the seat forward.

Her hands were pinned to the top of the dashboard with a dagger through the center of each one. A matching set were through the top of her boots, slicing between the carpals and bones. She could feel her skin attempting to heal around the cool metal. It crawled and itched, but there wasn't a damn thing she could do without ripping through the blades. Each jostle and shake of the vehicle sliced against her flesh, sending a fresh wave of pain hissing between her teeth.

Katherine's glare came out haggard. Her complexion was paler than normal, having not fed since being captured. The only supposed consolation was getting her daylight ring back, in exchange for being daggered into the passenger seat and compelled not to flee.

She didn't bother giving the hybrid the gratification of a response. She turned her head away, the curly locks acting like a curtain between them while she peered out the window. In the side mirror, she caught a glimpse of the black SUV following them. Right about now she really wished she was riding shotgun with Elijah instead of Klaus.

Her eyes drifted to the side of the road, particularly a sign that they were approaching. It hung loosely on one hinge, the colors faded from baking in the sun and lacking maintenance. The motto "Sic semper tyrannis" never seemed so mocking with the Original hybrid sitting next to her. Almost as much as the pale cheery lettering of _Welcome to Virginia_. A few stray bullet holes punctured the sheet metal.

"And just why are you bringing me back to this wrenched state when you could easily just have killed me in Pennsylvania?" Katherine's tone had a sing-song irritation to it while looking back to Klaus.

"But then we would miss out on your delightful road trip company," Stefan's voice chimed in from the backseat.

Katherine shot a look over her shoulder, which was strained to not tug against the daggers on the dashboard. She glowered at the slight smirk on his face while the Salvatore was casually writing in his journal, stretched out comfortably in the backseat of the SUV.

She sized him up quickly, having noted his demeanor from the moment they caught her. "I see you're back on the human blood, Stefan." She sneered, "Tell me, how many heads have you ripped off this time?"

Stefan just shook his head, refusing to look up from his page. He wasn't going to let her get under his skin that easily. If he could handle decades of Damon's taunting, a few scathing words from Katherine was nothing.

"I don't recall saying anything about bringing you to Mystic Falls to kill you," Klaus choose to redirect the conversation back to Katherine with an ominous tone.

The doppelganger turned her head to him and there was a pause before she responded. She put the pieces together in her mind quickly. "Oh I see, sweet little Elena put you up to this," Katherine spat out her name and mused over which family member Elena was blaming their death on her for. "It's truly pathetic how she has all of you wrapped around her finger," Katherine snipped, briefly wondering what it was that she could have said to Elijah to get him to join Klaus and Stefan.

"Actually Elena has nothing to do with this," Stefan corrected, taking a moment to close the journal in his hand decisively. "It was Maggie."

The sneer fell off Katherine's face at the foreign name. She looked to Klaus for confirmation, "Maggie?"

The hybrid just smirked and gave a short nod.

Katherine remained still, she didn't understand the look exchanged between Stefan and Klaus through the rearview mirror. "Is that name supposed to mean something to me?" She snapped. Who the hell was Maggie?

"It will soon," Klaus promised eerily.

* * *

"I suggest you get out of Mystic Falls before tonight," Maggie suggested in a tone that wasn't exactly filed with concern while she stood in the ornate foyer. She was dressed similarly to the last time she had been there, having taken an opportunity to change after leaving from the Grill. She found it mildly amusing and decadent that there was a fresh floral arrangement on the center table of the foyer.

Once again, she had to push her way through the door because the resident wasn't exactly thrilled to see the guest. At least this time he was smart enough to not try to hit her.

"What do you mean get out of town?" Tyler Lockwood questioned suspiciously, he hadn't been back for very long and didn't like the idea of having to leave again so soon.

"Klaus is on his way back as we speak," Maggie explained with a sigh, she really didn't want this visit to take longer than it already was. "It would be smart for you to lie low."

Maggie moved to head towards the door. She saw it that he was lucky she giving him the courtesy of the warning.

Tyler's voice stopped her, along with the way his took a half step to block her immediate path. "Are you kidding me? You said you would keep him away," Tyler's agitation rose, starting to think maybe he was a fool for making that deal with her.

Maggie's eyes narrowed on him sharply. "I said I would help keep Klaus off your back. I never said anything about keeping him away from you," She corrected him harshly. Being one step ahead was all that she was willing to give and promise him.

"So you expect me to just take off now?" Tyler exclaimed incredulously.

"I don't expect you to do anything, what you do is your choice," Maggie's tone lowered dangerously, starting to lose her patience as well. "But what I would suggest if I were you is to either get out of town for the evening or find somewhere low to lie out of trouble until tomorrow."

"What do you mean until tomorrow?" Tyler narrowed in on that. Avoiding Klaus in Mystic Falls was a given, but why would he stop looking for Tyler after tomorrow? Then it clicked in his mind. Tyler took a step forward, which Maggie noticed gave enough room for her to dart around him for the door if she wanted. "Are you going to kill Klaus?" His voice lowered, like if he was worried about the remote possibility of being heard.

Maggie couldn't help but just smirk at his reaction. The nervousness with trepidation on his expression was remarkable.

Tyler took her reaction as confirmation. "But I'm sired to his bloodline," Tyler pointed out, his eyes widening. He wanted to get back at Klaus, but he had to recognize that could bring the axe down on his neck as well.

Maggie shrugged indifferently. "Then I suggest you choose who you lie low with this evening very carefully," She stated coldly, not bothering to explain her plan to him since she didn't owe him that much. She had to get to the Mikaelson mansion anyway.

With that, she swiftly stepped around the hybrid and went for the door. He was left with his fists shaking as the door closed behind her. The Lockwood house was silent for a moment before he turned, picking up the vase of flowers on the table and threw them across the room in frustration.

The ceramic vase shattered into pieces, mixing with the fallen floral on the floor.

* * *

Kol stood by the French doors leading out from the kitchen area to the back patio. He had a glass in one hand, the blood swishing around idly. He gazed absently out at the scenic view of the Mikaelson estate. He was half tempted to go for a walk outside, to clear his mind, but he waited in the house knowing that Maggie would be arriving soon.

He took a long gulp of the blood while he thought about what this evening would bring. Klaus and Elijah would be back soon and nothing would be the same after tonight, but he was oddly okay with that. Thinking of Maggie, he idly reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a small object.

He stared down it thoughtfully, letting it roll between his fingers. He couldn't help but fixate a little on the way the light coming from the sliding doors caused it glisten, casting an array of colors.

Kol was lost in his thoughts, thinking about how he had come into possession of it and what it meant. He didn't even hear Rebekah come into the room, at least until he was too late.

"Kol!" Rebekah called his name, but she then nearly tripped over her feet when she caught a glimpse of what was in his hand. Her expression froze, "What is that?"

Kol picked his head up with a sigh, he moved to pocket it. He didn't move as quickly as he could have, because the damage was already done. He could tell her it was nothing to concern herself with, but he knew she would make it her top priority instead.

"What does it look like, sister?" He countered, knowing it should seem previous obvious. No man carried around one of those for any other purpose.

Rebekah approached him, not bothering to hide the way her mouth hung open. Her eyes travelled down to his pocket, where she just saw it disappear. It took her a moment to get over her shock enough to form some words. "I think it looks like quite possibly the most impulsive thing I've ever heard you do," She pointed out in wonder and that was saying a lot given how long she knew her brother.

Kol rolled his head away from the glass doors towards Rebekah an unimpressed stare. "I don't see what's so surprising about it," He stated coolly.

Rebekah shook her head slightly, as if she still couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I get it, Kol. I know she helped you turn your humanity back on and you like her. I like her too," Rebekah said genuinely, even she had to admit that Maggie was perhaps the first real friend she had in a long time.

"But I know you, Kol. You play with things for a while and you get bored and move on. You can't just do _that_ on a whim," She gestured down towards his pocket. Her tone would have come out as condescending to most people, but reading between the lines a hint of sibling concern could be seen.

Kol clenched his jaw and turned away from Rebekah. The audacity caused him to shake his head. "It interests me that you claim to know me _so well_ when you've spent all of your time with Nikalus and Elijah," Kol pointed out coldly. It was no secret he had never been a part of that forever and always pact. Rebekah wasn't there during his darkest times or even the best of times.

Rebekah flinched a little from the scathing words, but didn't back down. "Maybe so," She kept her chin up, staring at Kol's backside. "But I know you well enough that a simple farmgirl won't hold your attention forever."

As much as she liked Maggie, she knew when it came down to it that was what she was before she became known as the doppelganger. In a way, she wanted to look out for her brother in this and her friend by avoiding the hurt it would inevitably end in.

Kol's fingers curled into fists and he spun on his heel to face Rebekah again. "I suggest you cease speaking about my mate in such a way," He hissed out at her lowly and threw a threat she had used against him previously, "Or you'll be swallowing your teeth, Bekah."

Rebekah's eyes widened immediately, not necessarily from the way he towered over her though. "Mate?" She choked out in the word in almost a squeak. "Are you sure?"

Kol rolled back on his heels, seeing that she wasn't rising to the hostility, but staring at him with a new bout of shock instead. He nodded shortly and turned back to the sliding doors, gazing absently at the foliage. "I'm sure of it, we've exchanged and both have the marks," He stated confidently.

Rebekah's concerns of his impulsiveness evaporated immediately with seeing his serious expression and hearing that. This side of her brother she wasn't used to seeing. Lately he had been much more… mellowed out, that was the only way she could describe it. He was still the witty and usually annoying bugger that he was, but he wasn't snapping and going off for no reason it seemed. When he was alone, he was quiet and not exactly what she would describe as brooding. There was a dark edge to him, there always had been, but this was something more contemplative. It was something she usually saw in Elijah more than anyone else.

"And you've bonded?" Rebekah asked, even though trying to get details from him would be like pulling teeth. Maybe if this was true, that would explain the change in his demeanor lately. She noticed that he still hunted outside Mystic Falls, but she hadn't heard him claim to be bored or needing of entertainment in a long while. A bored Kol was usually an emotionless Kol killing for the sake of it.

Kol gave a nod and took a deep breath.

He just waited for it without actually looking at Rebekah. He knew it was only the matter of seconds before she would stomp her foot and throw a temper tantrum. She would go on a tirade about how unfair it is that Kol out of everyone in their family finds their mate, especially since Kol knew she was always the lovesick one chasing after men. Her jealously would be unbearable.

The room between was largely quiet and it began to unnerve Kol when he was met with nothing but silent. He turned his head back to Rebekah finally to see her staring at him with wide eyes and her lower lip protruding a little. There was the glassiness to her eyes that he was expecting, but it wasn't quite right.

"What?" He asked with a frown, starting to become alarmed and paranoid. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

There was a knock at the front door that neither of them visibly reacted to.

"Because I'm happy for you, you insufferable jerk," Rebekah huffed out with an indignant small smile before smacking him lightly in the shoulder and moving from the room towards the front of the house.

Kol was left blinking after his sister, his turn to be surprised. While she answered the door and he could hear Maggie's voice, a low incredulous chuckle passed from his lips. He left the empty glass in the sink and followed after his sister's steps to see his mate.

* * *

Maggie didn't really know what to think of the way Rebekah hugged her as soon as the Original opened the door. She was left only wondering what brought that on. At first glance, the blonde seemed to be that confrontational bitch that she carried herself with, but Maggie was starting to see the fiercely loyal and compassionate friend that was just beneath the surface.

Maggie was the first one to get there with Kol and Rebekah. While Rebekah didn't know the full extent of the plan, she was aware of Klaus being incapacitated tonight. Maggie noticed not a single hybrid was hanging around the mansion, which she thought was Kol's doing.

Maggie brought her book with her and Klaus was only a half hour out when there was another knock at the front door. She was the one to answer it while Kol and Rebekah remained in the living room. Maggie was only moderately surprised to see Damon at the door. Somehow she doubted he would stay away for his.

"Come to see the show?" Maggie greeted him with a smirk, stepping aside to allow the Salvatore instead.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss this. How many centuries in the making is it?" Damon grinned with his hands shoved lightly in his jean pockets.

Maggie's lighthearted humor died as soon as she saw who was behind him though. The smirk fell from her face, to be replaced by a cold stare.

"You told her?" Maggie spat out, directed towards Damon while not taking her eyes off the offending doppelganger.

"Blame the quarterback, not the receiver," Damon's voice chimed in with a shrug while he sauntered towards the living room and Elena stepped across the threshold.

Matt Donovan, of course, Maggie thought bitterly. She had Jeremy wrapped around her finger, but forgot about Matt and he was there when she called Damon.

"I have a right to be here just as much as you do," Elena defended herself boldly, clearing trying to appear as if she wasn't intimidated by Maggie. The doppelgangers exchanged a brief icy staring contest.

"That's debatable," Maggie clipped out shortly and closed the door behind her with a snap.

Maggie didn't bother following after the pair. She took a few moments to head up to the second floor of the house and clear her head and nerves. Time was ticking down and the spell had already been put on the house while she was talking to Tyler. It was going to be quite the spectacle with the growing audience now. Maggie ran a hand through her hair.

She sensed him coming before he placed a hand on her lower back. Maggie turned and nearly bumped into Kol's chest. The arm snaked around her waist, to catch her from stumbling backwards. Kol smirked slightly from her flustered appearance, but knew her anxiety was well deserved.

"Hey," Maggie greeted him in a gentle tone, but not really wanting to say more since she wasn't sure who could hear them in the hallway.

Instead of saying anything, Kol raised his hand up to her cheek, stroking his fingers against it lightly like he had done the previous night. Maggie watched the action slowly, noticing how the silence really emphasized how strung up her nerves were.

Kol leaned down and pressed a brief kiss against her lips. She smoothed her hands out against his shoulders, holding onto him even after he pulled away. Kol only back away enough to press his forehead against hers lightly.

"Breathe, supruga," He murmured to her gently, his nose nearly brushing against hers. At his request, she gave the faintest of nods and tried to force a deep inhale.

Maggie took several moments to get herself under control. Her forced deep breaths became gradually more natural and relaxed. She noticed her breathing fell in sync with his, it being easy to follow his lead with him standing so close to her.

A smile appeared at the corners of his mouth when he felt her body lose some of its tension beneath his hands. He leaned back away, opening his eyes to look at her and felt satisfied at the lighter hue in her gaze.

He cocked his head as a thought occurred to him. "When was the last time you fed?" He asked gently. He didn't want to risk her being weak in any way tonight.

Maggie bit her lip slightly before she answered him, "This morning." With all the running around, she hadn't put as much thought to it as she should have.

Kol frowned momentarily, but made his mind up quickly. He stepped back enough to let his hands loosen up the few buttons around his collar. "Here," He offered up as he did.

"Are you sure?" She kept her tone to a whisper. Her eyes darted to his neck and she couldn't help the way her fangs pushed at her gums. Normally she didn't feed from directly him outside the apartment and even then was sparingly.

Kol nodded quickly and cocked his head to the side with the unspoken permission. Even though it would slow him down for a while, he figured it was better than her feeding from the wrist and causing his arm to go numb.

Maggie couldn't help licking her lips before she stepped closer to him and rose up on her toes to bring her lips to his neck. Loosely, she looped one arm around his neck and pressed a soft kiss against his flesh before her fangs pierced. There was a short inhale from Kol, but that was the only sign of pain from him before she felt his chest relax.

She couldn't help the small moan as she gulped down the first few tastes. Kol's arms wrapped around her, clutching her warm body against his while his eyes lulled shut. The pain was short lived, taken over the pleasant pull from his veins.

A tug at the hair on the back of her head was the only cue she needed to know when to back off. She retracted her fangs and licked up the remaining blood on his neck. The wound took longer to close up than normal, but it was starting to clot already when she stepped back from him.

* * *

Kol and Maggie emerged from the second floor a few minutes later. Kol took the time to kiss away the remaining blood on her lips and check that she hadn't gotten any blood on his shirt before they stepped down the stairs.

Entering the living room, Kol received a knowing smirk from Rebekah but the other two vampires seemed oblivious to what occurred upstairs. Kol figured that had more to do with the obvious tension in the room, placing Damon and Elena on the opposite side from Rebekah.

Maggie pulled one of the dining room chairs into the center of the room and Kol moved the coffee table and couch back away from the fireplace to make room for the chair. It didn't take long before the front door opened for the final time.

Each vampire in the room heard the two vehicles that came up the driveway before the front door opened. Maggie caught the echo of several car doors opening and she knew it was time.

Stefan was the first one to emerge from the hallway. Damon perked up immediately at the sight of his brother and the younger Salvatore admittedly seemed to be relieved to see some familiar faces.

"How was the road trip? I hope you at least bought me a t-shirt," Damon teased lightly while stepping up to his brother, offering a hand shake and clap on the back in the process.

Stefan returned it without as much energy and Maggie noticed the way his eyes darted back and forth between Damon and Elena, clearly trying to figure out if anything happened while he was away. But it was too hard to tell, they weren't exactly standing close to each other when he entered the room and the tension could be cut with a knife.

"No, but we did bring a souvenir," Klaus' voice answered before Stefan could, appearing in the entryway to the room. Being dragged by the arm next to him was Katherine with her hands bound together, clearly in vervain soaked rope.

Elijah was the last one to enter the room, following them with an impassive expression and not necessarily looking at Katherine.

Maggie's head turned towards the infamous first doppelganger and so did most of the room. She tensed immediately at the sight of Klaus, but couldn't help the morbid sense of fascination at seeing the woman she had only read about and heard stories.

It was eerie how much she looked like Elena, but she was different. The difference she saw was the frizzy and disheveled appearance of her curly locks, the stains on her normally impeccable dark and sensual dress. Furthermore there was the gaunt expression from the lack of feeding. Her eyes traveled down to her hands, where she saw the ropes and the blood stains, some fresher than others.

Maggie inhaled sharply at the fresh vampire blood and she felt a hand on her lower back from Kol, grounding her back to rationality.

"Katherine, wow…" Damon was the first one to recover his voice. His eyes flickered up and down her briefly, "You look like shit."

Klaus smirked as he dragged the doppelganger by the elbow into the center of the room, by the chair he presumed was for her.

"How kind of you, Damon," Katherine muttered out sarcastically with a glare. "It's so good to see you too."

Maggie tore her eyes away from her momentarily towards Elijah. She noted the way he was dressed down for the comfort of the road again, similar to the way that she had seen him last. His gaze shifted to hers and Maggie dropped hers rather quickly. She couldn't deal with that now, she had to remain focused.

"Quite a warm reception we have here!" Klaus exclaimed with an eerie grin as he looked around the room, seeing the way the Salvatore's were gathered on one side with Elena and his siblings on the other with Maggie.

Klaus turned to Maggie, not taking his arm off Katherine, even though Rebekah and Elijah two impassable objects in the entryway of the room.

"Well, here's Katerina as promised. Now how about that Cure?" Klaus declared in a forcefully pleasant tone.

"Cure?" Katherine choked out quickly, her eyes widening with suspicion.

Klaus smirked at her, "I told you I wasn't going to kill you, sweetheart." The hungry look in his eyes took on a whole new meaning for Katherine with that.

"I'll take it from here," Maggie piped up, stepping away from Kol and towards the pair in the middle of the room.

Klaus inclined his head slightly to give her permission and let go of Katherine's elbow, stepping back away from her. The doppelganger shrugged her shoulder away from his grasp quickly with a scowl before looking to Maggie approaching her.

"Katerina Petrova, I've heard so many things about you," Maggie greeted in an ominous tone, opting to go with her actual name than the self-dubbed one.

Katherine didn't need great insight to know Maggie wasn't referring to good things. "Funny," She responded dryly in a condescending tone, "I haven't heard anything about you." She looked like Rosemarie, but she was willing to bet this was the supposed Maggie Klaus had been referring to.

Despite her obviously vulnerable position, Katherine didn't want to appear weak. She took a brief look around the room, "Let me guess. You're crossed with me because you fell for one of these brothers that I've already had." She sneered.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow, while the woman sounded like Elena she had a certain husky to her voice that sounded like an ill attempt to be seductive. She certainly had the Petrova attitude she had seen already. There was an agitated shift from the Salvatore side of the room and tsk accompanied by an eye roll from Rebekah.

"My guess is… Damon, he does have a certain bad boy appeal to him," Katherine smirked at the obvious intrigue she was getting from Maggie. She gave the Salvatore a sly look from the corner of her eye, met by a nostril flared expression of irritation from Damon.

"Or maybe, Elijah," She drew his name out carefully, but Katherine didn't actually look at the Original. It was the only explanation she could think of why Elijah wouldn't even look at her the entire trip back or spare more than a few words. This Rosemarie doppelganger must have said or done something.

Maggie didn't want to stoop to her level, but what she said really rubbed her the wrong way. "Actually, I have the brother that didn't fall for your whorish tendencies," Maggie corrected her bluntly.

Katherine's expression paled and her eyes flickered over Maggie's shoulder directly to Kol. The youngest male Original just flashed her a cheeky smirk. His lack of words unnerved her even further with those predatory dark eyes.

Maggie caught her gaze and added on in a serious command, she hissed, "Now sit down and don't move."

Katherine barely swallowed before she slumped down into the chair in the center of the room. Her mind caught up with the inability to command her body to do anything else, having barely caught the way Maggie's eyes dilated. For the first time, she came to the grips with the fact in she was in some very real trouble.

"What are you?" Katherine's voice came out in an almost fearful whisper, looking up at Maggie in a wonder at how she could be compelled by anyone other than an Original.

Klaus' eyes narrowed at the exchange, noticing the rigid and reluctant way that Katherine followed Maggie's order. He looked around the room and found that no one else seemed surprised by this, except for Elijah that was giving him the same inquisitive look.

Perhaps Maggie was more of a threat than he realized.

Maggie cocked her head slightly at her question, while she knew she was asking literally, it did bring up an interesting point. Maggie went with the only role that could describe what she had been granted with. "Judge and jury," She stated flatly and reached up to Katherine's neck to force her head to the side under her jaw.

The doppelganger clenched her jaw, but couldn't do anything to fight the action because of the compulsion. Kol swiftly stepped up behind Maggie, seeing what she was about to do and remaining close to guide her through it.

Not sparing another word, Maggie dropped the fangs and leaned towards Katherine's neck. Unceremoniously, she sank her teeth and began to feed.

The doppelganger let a cry out from the harsh treatment and there were a few gasps in the room, but Maggie couldn't place them. The Salvatore's took a step back in surprise at the sudden action. Klaus' eyebrows with morbid interest.

"Is she supposed to do that?!" Rebekah exclaimed with wide-eyes.

Kol gave a curt nod without taking his eyes off Maggie.

Clearly the others were not expecting the Cure to be Maggie taking a bite out of Katherine.

No one made any move to stop Kol or Maggie while she continued to feed from Katherine. The doppelganger's struggle began to weaken as the blood was pulled from her system, like the countless victims that had fallen to the vampire. Maggie's hands grasped at her shoulders to keep her in place and from falling over.

At that, Kol leaned into Maggie's ear while placing a hand lightly on her lower back. "Not too tightly, darling," He warned her gently, seeing the whiteness of her knuckles.

Even though Maggie was lost in the moment of the feeding, gulping down each mouthful of blood greedily without relent, she heard Kol's voice. Her hands loosened up and the Original relaxed. It wasn't that he cared about the Petrova woman, but he knew broken bones would hinder and possibly risk the recovery process.

Now there would just be some dark bruising.

A few short minutes went by before Maggie reached the contentment of her feeding and she ripped her teeth from Katherine's neck. She wasn't sure what point the doppelganger had lost consciousness and she didn't bother doing anything to stop the way her body slumped to the side before falling off the chair.

Maggie stood upright and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, feeling gluttonous from the amount of blood, but oddly satisfied. She let out a sigh and opened her eyes, the color slowly returning to their natural green hue.

There was an awkward tense silence while she looked around the room. Kol was giving her a proud smirk, glad that he didn't have to pull her away this time. The others were watching the center of the room with a mixture of shock and confusion, maybe even a hint of repulsion. Maggie found that ironic given the nature of what everyone was in the room.

"Is that it?" Elena was the one to break the silence, drawn with fascination but not bold enough to step closer to the fallen form of Katherine.

"No, we wait," Maggie responded, addressing mostly everyone while she caught her breath. Kol's hand went back to her shoulders, rubbing a light circle with his thumb. The action was simple, but Maggie took comfort in it.

Kol choose to ignore the pointed stare he was receiving from Klaus and his siblings. Rebekah remained unusually quiet, obviously realizing that her to become human she would have to go through something similar. It wasn't as simple as knocking back a vial of blood.

* * *

The tension remained high in the room, even while Katherine was left lying on the floor. Maggie didn't particularly feel the urge to move her body to make her more comfortable when she woke up and apparently neither did anyone else. That was what happened when you crossed a room full of people.

Maggie remained by the unlit fireplace, leaning casually against the mantle. Kol hovered near her side, but remained on the Mikaelson side of the room. Elena and the Salvatore's remained silent, but they exchanged glances frequently and looked like they wanted to ask half a dozen questions.

The first half hour was remarkably awkward, to the point it was making Elena fidgety.

Damon was the one to be bold enough to slide over to Maggie's side quietly. Even though everyone in the room would hear him, he attempted the side conversation by tilting his head towards her.

He frowned uncomfortably, unable to help but think about the one time he had been in a similar position as Katherine. "So that one time you –"

"Yep," Maggie cut him off, popping the 'p' casually.

"I almost –"

"Uh huh," Maggie gave without blinking.

"And I would've –"

"Yeah," Maggie nodded, turning her head to actually look at Damon that time.

"Oh," Damon mumbled and reached up to rub a hand against the back of his neck, his expression looked like he couldn't decide whether to be alarmed or relieved.

Elijah stirred out of his graze vacant gaze on Katherine's body at that and looked up at Maggie. He still didn't really step further into the room. He wasn't an advocate of this forced damnation of someone's life, but he didn't see a way out of it at this point.

"Is there anything you'll need when she awakes, Ms. Greene?" Elijah addressed her directly for the first time since their return.

Maggie turned to him, partly surprised by the formal name but appreciative of it around the others. She nodded, "Yeah, water and a lot." She paused, glancing around the others before crossing the room, "I'll go get some."

"I'll help you," Elijah offered quickly, causing Maggie to falter in her steps slightly before nodding.

Kol's eyes narrowed while he watched the two slip from the room, but he didn't say anything. He remained in the room with the Salvatore's and Klaus, more concerned with keeping an eye on them for Maggie's safety.

Maggie met up with Elijah in the kitchen. She didn't see what hallway he disappeared to, but heard him mention something about water jugs from previous supply runs. Moments later he emerged in the kitchen with the plastic containers in hand. Maggie threw on the sink water and began filling them while Elijah patiently stood by her side.

She doubted she actually needed help carrying the containers, but figured Elijah wanted to get out of the room as much as she did. It was nerve wrecking, waiting and hoping that Klaus wouldn't catch onto the fact the house had been spelled or even standing that close to someone who had made open attempts on her life before.

But maybe if he got what he wanted, he would just be out of their lives, she wondered. It was too late at this point to explore that path though. The sun had set and it was only a couple more hours before the witches would be here.

Maggie was through the first container, when she held her hand out for the second one. She could feel Elijah standing just off her shoulder, but she didn't raise her eyes while she capped the first one.

"Maggie," He said her name softly, but heavily, tinged with regret in his tone. Maggie bit her lip at the way he used her name this time. "About the last time we saw each other…"

"Don't," Maggie stopped him suddenly putting her hand on his forearm. Her gaze traveled up from their hands to his carefully.

Since he watched her leave the room, he had wondered what to say express how appalled he was with his own behavior. He had lost his composure and she had been the victim of the situation, unfairly so.

"I know what you want to talk about," Maggie pointed out the issue without directly saying it. "And I agree that we should," She added gently, seeing the worry taking its toll in Elijah's eyes.

"But not tonight," Maggie shook her head. Even though the water was running and there was a good chance they could talk without the others hearing, she just couldn't do it now. "Let's just get through this and we can talk later, okay?"

Elijah opened his mouth to protest, really wanting to at least get his apology out there, but opted not to with seeing her pleading expression. It would be selfish of him to add one more burden to this evening for her and he had been selfish enough, he realized.

"Of course, Ms. Greene," He bowed his head a little and let Maggie take the second container from his hands.

They filled the third container in silence. Once they were finished, Elijah took one in each hand while Maggie took the last one. Before they left the kitchen, Maggie paused and placed a hand on his upper arm. "And it's still Maggie," She corrected him gently and meaningfully, giving his arm a small reassuring squeeze before stepping away from him.

Despite himself, Elijah gave a small grin before following after her and heading back to the living room.

Stepping back into the room, Elijah noticed Stefan and Elena were standing close to each other, exchanging low whispers while Damon hovered by one of the windows. Klaus stood over Katherine's body, she was rolled over onto her back but otherwise remained on the floor. Rebekah sat idly on the couch, inspecting her finger nails and Kol was by the entryway of the room.

Seeing Elijah coming back with the two water containers, Kol perked up and stepped forward. "Here, let me help you, _bro_ther," He offered with a cheery smirk that seemed uncharacteristic of the moment.

He held a hand out expectantly for one of the containers while Maggie stepped around the pair, giving them an odd look. She dropped the container near Katherine. Elijah cocked his head slightly at the peculiar offer, but relinquished one of them anyway. Without blinking or faltering, Kol took the container and dropped it next to Maggie's, Elijah following after him.

"Oh!" Kol added on, like a thought just occurred to him with one finger pointed in the air. "And one more thing," He said turning back to Elijah. In the same fluid motion that came out as a blur from the speed, he brought his fist up.

There was a loud crack and Elijah dropped the last water container while stumbling a few feet. His hand clutched at his jaw.

"Oi, the hell?!" Klaus' shout came along with several gasps.

Maggie mentally cringed and let out a swear under her breath.

Elena startled with worry, but also stunned with the others at the sight of seeing the normally calm, cool and collected Elijah nearly sent doubling over from being punched in the face.

"Stay away from Margaret," Kol growled out harshly at his brother while flexing his fingers from the forceful punch.

Elijah pulled his hand away from his mouth, bloodied from his lip busting open. His teeth were stained red as he tongue rolled over the throbbing wound.

"That goes for all of you," Kol momentarily tore his eyes away from the current Original patriarch and glared at the room full of people around them. The only one not watching him was Maggie with her face half covered by her hand, unsure whether to be flattered or embarrassed by his protective nature.

Klaus recovered, pulling his expression in a threateningly impassive mask. What was this madness he had returned to? He thought Maggie's affections for Kol would pit him against the elder Salvatore, not his own blood and kin.

Elijah didn't bother retaliating against his brother, he had a feeling that wouldn't be the last of it heard from Kol about the situation. His own guilt and reason sympathized with Kol's reaction.

* * *

While the curiosity of why Kol openly struck Elijah weighed in several members' minds, the incident wasn't directly mentioned again in the next few hours that ticked by. Maggie knew she would hear about it later. Part of Kol's words had been directed at Damon and Damon was looking at Maggie, wondering what had happened that she failed to mention to him earlier.

She had a feeling she would hear a lot about the weirdness of spending an evening in the living room with this mixed company for a while.

Enough time ticked by they found themselves trying to occupy their boredom. Kol pulled in a second dining room chair and they pulled both of them up to the coffee table while Rebekah and Stefan sat next to each other on the sofa.

Elijah pulled out a book from the library and he sat solely in the loveseat, nursing his pride while the swelling and cut on his lip long since healed. He idly flipped through the pages, trying to take an interest in the text.

Klaus rummaged up one of his canvas and a painting easel in one corner of the room. He pulled out a small palette of paints and was adding a few strokes, adjusting the waves of what appeared to be a Cape Cod style landscape.

Kol and Maggie were gathered, sitting in the dining chairs with Rebekah and Stefan. Playing cards were held in each of their hands with a pile in the center of the table.

Damon paced anxiously along the windowed wall of the room, occasionally he glanced out the dark windows and towards the evening sky. A glance out of Maggie's corner of her eye told her that he was thinking the same thing she was. Katherine better wake up soon, preferably before the moon reaches its peak and the witches show up.

Elena was still pacing, along the opposite path as Damon. She poorly hid her discomfort and agitation. She shook her head while looking around the room. It looked like a casual Friday evening of friends and not a group of sworn enemies.

"How are you all so calm about this?" Elena finally blurted out, unable to contain herself any further.

Rebekah let out a sigh, but didn't bother looking up from her hand. "She'll wake up human or wake up a vampire, either way she doesn't have a pray of a chance escaping with all of us here. What's to worry about?" She drawled out in a bored tone.

Maggie smirked appreciatively at the response, appearing more at ease than she actually was. She felt Kol reach across to her, placing a light hand on her knee and giving it a squeeze without taking his eyes off his hand.

Rebekah's eyes flickered at the gesture, but otherwise no one responded to it.

"Well, how long is it supposed to take?" Elena threw a hand in the air, not exactly thrilled it was Rebekah answering her, but she didn't have too many ideal choices in the room.

"It's Katherine, she's always been dramatic," Damon chimed in, leaning away from the window, at least having a little more patience than Elena.

Maggie gave a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know, she's been dead for 500 years, maybe it takes longer for her to get started?" Maggie suggested half seriously. It wasn't like she had a long resume of transitions to compare this to. The previous two had been within the natural lifetime of the human anyway.

Stefan gave a snort from behind his hand of cards. "Did you just compare her to a car battery?" He asked of Maggie. The doppelganger gave him a sheepish shrug while the Original siblings next to them smirked. "Two three's," Stefan added while placing two cards face down on the pile.

"Either way, she better finish her little undead protest and wake up soon," Klaus' voice piped up from the corner of the room. The smirk was only faint on his lips while his mind was on other thoughts as well.

"Oh relax, Nik," Rebekah huffed out. "If that one doesn't work, you at least have your back up blood bag conveniently right here," She casted a nod towards Elena.

The second doppelganger stopped in her pace and shot an icy glare at the blonde.

Maggie chuckled at the condescending smile Rebekah sent back to Elena.

"One four," Rebekah declared before moving to place a sole card on the growing pile in the center of the table.

Maggie looked at her hand and then glanced over at Kol. The two exchanged a look before smirking.

"Bullshit," Kol called out calmly.

"Ugh!" Rebekah groaned and flipped over the top card to reveal an eight. Reluctantly, she started shuffling the pile towards her while grumbling, "It's impossible to play with you two."

Stefan shook his head, fighting off a grin before leaning towards Rebekah with a mock serious expression. "Uh, Rebekah, I do believe the point of the game is to _get rid_ of your cards," He suggested, nodding towards the fact Rebekah probably held half the deck in her hands.

Rebekah shot him a sour look. Before she could respond, there was a gasp from the floor.

* * *

Katherine's chest rose with the first inhale she took. She gasped for the air, it burned on her throat from how dry her mouth was. She blinked, struggling to focus her vision, which was a blurry mess that failed to sharpen the details of the ceiling before her. Her body ached, throbbing with weariness in every joint of her body. She could barely lift her fingers off the floor.

The chatter in the room ceased immediately at her stirring. Maggie rose out of her seat, pushing the chair back in the process and took a step closer to Katherine. The others at the card game, put their hands down, quickly abandoning the game.

Kol smirked at the feeble and now fragile doppelganger on the floor. He was the only other confident one in the room, aside from Maggie, about what he was witnessing.

Klaus put down his paintbrush immediately and rose out of his corner, approaching Katherine from the other side.

Maggie sank down to a knee, inspecting Katherine with a cold and indifferent stare. Her eyes noted the way her lips were chapped from dehydration and her pale complexion. The wound on her neck was clotted; it would heal but leave a nasty scar in its wake. Forever a reminder of what she had been.

"What did you do to me?" Katherine's voice came out as a hoarse whisper, so quiet Maggie almost missed it.

Maggie smirked at her and leaned closer. "Do you feel that? The pulsating in your skull, the throbbing that just won't go away?" Maggie gestured towards her temple while taunting her.

Katherine's hearing was almost reduced to a ringing, agitated by the shock to her system. She swallowed in a vain attempt to quench her thirst and gave a faint nod.

"That's your heart beat, Katerina. Welcome back to mortality," Maggie hissed at her with a dark grin.

It was that noise that every vampire in the room could hear that kept them rooted to their spots. It was faint and straining, but it was growing with each moment and undeniably human.

Katherine gave an inaudible gasp, which came out scratchy and her heart skipped a beat, realizing she was staring up at not one, but two demons.

"What happens now?" Klaus asked Maggie, clearly trying to contain his excitement, but also weary of the fact Katherine looked like she was in no condition to start donating blood.

"Keep her on a strict water diet for the next 24 hours, no blood, before human food. If she starts vomiting, give her soft and simple foods like you would a baby until she adjusts," Maggie stated bluntly and impersonally, like she was about an animal and not a human.

Maggie rose to her feet then, as if washing herself of the doppelganger.

Nodding to her words, Klaus moved around Katherine to Maggie's side, where the water containers were. Maggie took a step back to allow him to move and watched as the hybrid popped the cap off the water.

The room was silent while he helped Katherine take a long gulp from the container. Her eyes were already shut before the plastic touched her lips and despite herself she drank greedily.

Maggie took the chance to look around the room. Elena and Damon were standing beside each other on their respective side of the room. Stefan and Rebekah sat in subdued silence, mere spectators to the miracle they witnessed. Kol was turned in his seat and gave Maggie a wink, it was done and they would be out of here soon. Elijah had put the book aside and rose from his seat, struggling with the sight of Katherine being alive and very much human, but never again the innocent peasant girl he had met.

Klaus pulled the container away from Katherine's lips, mostly empty already and grinned at the fact her heart beat sounded just a little steadier than it did moments ago.

He set the container aside, remaining in a crouched position and looked to Maggie. "It appears that your word holds some water after all, Maggie," He announced with a smile that could seem friendly to others and sadistic to some.

She couldn't help the relieved sigh that passed her lips and she nodded.

Klaus stared at her for a moment, the woman that was stronger than she let onto and held abilities that he apparently wasn't fully aware of. Furthermore, instead of using her against Damon, he already witnessed her pitting his brothers against each other. Nonetheless, she delivered exactly what she promised.

"But I never gave mine and your existence is a liability to mine," Klaus declared in an ambiguous tone.

"What?" Maggie barely gasped out before she saw a blur. Her eye couldn't process the way he reached out to the dining room chair she sat in moments ago and snapped the leg off before launching himself at her in a fluid motion.

"No!" Rebekah shrieked in a piercing tone while the two slammed into the wall behind Maggie.

Kol panicked, cursing the time he had delayed staring at the fragile form of the woman that caused his family so much grief centuries ago. He shot out of his chair immediately at Klaus and Maggie.

For the training sessions and the confidence that Maggie had built from Kol's blood, Klaus still had his inherit strength and speed from being a hybrid. There was the simple fact that Klaus had surprise and for all Maggie's training, she wasn't a match for him.

Kol was just a fraction too slow from having been fed on earlier.

A fraction too slow compared to his brother, a thousand years of strength and breed onto his own that was stronger than his siblings.

A fraction too slow to stop the sound of wood plunging into the epidermis and bones crushing beneath its power.

A fraction too long before Kol pulled Klaus by the shoulders, yanking him back unceremoniously across the room.

The hybrid crashed into the coffee table while the others darted out of the way.

Kol stopped himself with his hands on either side of Maggie's shoulders. He didn't look her in the eyes though and Maggie could barely follow his gaze down to her chest. Her hands shook and her mind numbly processed the leg of the chair protruding from her chest, pinning her to the wall and the concept of time slipped away.

"No!" Kol gasped and his hands moved to take the stake out of her, but stopped. His rational mind shuddered at the fact it seemed so, _so_ close to her heart. If the wood was pulled the wrong way, it could kill her. He could fix this.

But his rational mind was in complete denial at what he was seeing.

"How could you?!" Rebekah shrieked from behind Kol and launched herself at Klaus, her hopes and her friend being dashed in the same blow.

The pain erupted in Maggie's chest for a brief moment before her body went into shock. Kol let out an anguished cry, completely inhumane, feeling the similar pain in his chest. Everything went numb for her and her body began to squeeze up while her skin paled.

Kol couldn't tell if the noise escaping her lips was her throat clenching up or her last attempt at uttering the simple syllable of his name.

Her peripheral vision went first before she became faintly aware of what was happening, so quickly. She didn't see the way Stefan was restraining Damon from launching himself at Klaus as well. The shouting and cries in the room rose until they dulled into a hollow ringing and deafened completely.

Kol was helpless to the way her skin greyed and her eyes lulled shut, her vision failing with the last image of a dark angel breaking with anguish and pain. The black veins rose up around her neck and into her face, along her hands as well before her body slumped finally against the wall.

Stefan's grip on Damon slipped and he couldn't do anything to stop his brother, staring in numb shock at the lifeless form of Maggie.

Chaos erupted in the room.

The piercing and agonizing cry of pain coming from Kol's throat morphed into something animalistic and filled with rage. He spun on his heels, showing his face to the room full of black veins and fangs out. In a blur, he launched himself at Klaus as well.

The hybrid began to panic. He could deal with one unruly sibling, but he fell to the ground with the two on top of him and he had not been expecting Rebekah to turn on him.

Stefan faintly stirred back to life, attempting to pull Damon back from the barrage of punches, tears and animalistic noises coming from the brawl. If for no other reason, he pulled Damon back because he didn't want to see his brother killed in the crossfire.

Elijah supported himself against the arm of the loveseat with a hand over his mouth. His shoulders shook from seeing Maggie pass before his eyes. He didn't know where to begin. He could only stare in horror at the destruction of the room and the shouts mixed with the breaking of furniture, the fighting that his family had been reduced to. He could see Elena dragging Katherine to one corner of the room, crouching over the human doppelganger protectively. It wasn't that she cared about Katherine, but if for nothing else, she wouldn't let her get killed and walk away from this with nothing.

An appalled voice in the back of Elijah's mind wondered, is this what we've become?

* * *

Jeremy was rooting around in the refrigerator while idly talking with Beth and Matt in the kitchen. Matt was sitting at the dining table, helping himself to some food that he had brought back from the leftover dinner serving at the Grill. Beth was leaning against the island counter with a glass of water in hand. There was the unspoken anxiety and acknowledgement of what was going at the Mikaelson mansion while they waited to hear word.

Jeremy frowned, not finding the drink he wanted, but plenty of blood bags for Elena instead. He closed the refrigerator door and let out a surprised swear, visibly jumping in the process.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me," Jeremy's voice rose while trying to settle down his sudden rapid heart rate.

"Sorry," She gave to him in a sheepish response.

Beth and Matt looked up at Jeremy, suddenly frowning.

He wasn't looking at them though. He stared at the Leavey woman in front of her, the sad green eyes and cropped brown hair cut. She was close enough to see the faint freckles on her cheeks and the chap of her lips from biting them too much in anxiety.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be at Klaus' now?" Jeremy asked quickly, frowning in confusion.

"I was there," She gave honestly with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Jeremy," Beth's voice interrupted with a careful and reserved tone. Jeremy reluctantly tore his gaze away to his girlfriend. "There's no one there," She gestured to the blank space that he was talking to. She knew about his ability and it unnerved her greatly to see it in the works.

"What?" Jeremy mumbled, his heart beginning to pound faster and his stomach knotting.

"Yeah, man," Matt gave from the table, sharing an equally freaked expression as Beth. "Who are you seeing?" He asked more meaningfully, the fear evident in his eyes as soon as he heard Jeremy mention the Mikaelson mansion. If Jeremy was seeing someone, he could only guess who among the people they cared about it was that had gone to that house.

Jeremy turned back to the brunette, the realization falling from his lips with petrified horror, "You're dead…"

The Leavey woman pressed her lips together tightly and gave a somber nod of her head.

"Oh god," Jeremy gasped, and leaned to the side, catching his hand on the kitchen island for support. He felt like his stomach had been yanked out his throat.

"It's time for me to move on, I just felt I had to come here first," She explained in a remorseful tone, watching the way Jeremy's hands began to shake.

"_Who_ is it, Jer?" Matt's voice began to rise, trying to force the panic away while his eyes began to water.

"She's dead," Jeremy muttered in disbelief and his next words caused Beth's water glass to drop to the ground in a shatter.

"Maggie's dead."

* * *

_Author's note: DON'T HATE ME!_

_Please!_

_I know a lot of you are probably freaking out right now (maybe a few ready to come after me with pitchforks and torches) but I beg of you stick around for one more chapter and I PROMISE it will be worth it._

_In fact, if you REVIEW this chapter before I post the next one with a signed account (sorry guests, I can't PM you), I will PM you an important HINT about the next chapter. PLEASE REVIEW AND DON'T HATE!_

_I hope you can put some thoughts together to let me know what you think of Katherine's long awaited arrival and the build-up to it! I won't say much because I'm waiting your responses!_

_Again, STICK AROUND FOR NEXT CHAPTER AND IT WILL BE WORTH IT! I am a sucker for happy endings._

_Review responses –_

_M: I'm glad you liked the closure on Damon's relationship with Maggie. Some relationships will have closure in this story, others won't, and others will be just starting or haven't been resolved, as such as is life. That being said, there won't be a definite pairing for Rebekah at the conclusion of this story, but it will come up in the sequel (don't give up Raryls!). And no, if you haven't figured it out in this chapter, that was NOT Hershel's pocket watch. Maggie told him to hold onto it with the specific idea of it being passed onto Jeremy._

_Guest: I can't say, but it does appear to be on his mind! Thanks!_

_Kellie: I totally agree, Damon needs a friend, more people like Alaric in his life than love interests. And no supruga has been addressed… YET._

_L: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! I could just imagine Nate playing Kol's character and pouting about being called whipped. It would be hilarious._

_Eby Mikaelson: Nope, Bekah's love interest will not be apparent in THIS story. In fact I'm still debating which way to go with her in the sequel because there are so many possibilities with Daryl, Stefan and Matt._

_Nynaeve55: I hope you feel better soon! I'm glad you got a chance to catch up, but that's a bummer you're not feeling well. I'm just going to say it again, but I love reading your reviews and how much time you put into them. Thank you so much, it totally tickles me. :D_

_The Mating bond is beginning to show its importance in this story, but it will be huge in the sequel. There's actually a lot of foreshadowing that might cause people to go "Aha!" when they read the sequel and certain scenes and relationships that had been hinted at in this story._

_I was originally looking for Russian terms, but then I found the Croatian one and thought it would be fitting for the exact reason that you stated. Again, it'll come up in the epilogue so I won't so much more about it. ;)_

_And the last scene with the three of them in chapter 57 was my favorite of that scene, particularly the acknowledgement from Kol. I felt it was critical because it was his way of saying "I see you there. I don't have anything to say to you, but I know you're there."_

_I look forward to your break down of this chapter! Especially with all the Kolie and the closure in some regards. Anyone else noticed how Maggie finally found some peace and happiness before this?_

_Anyway, thanks again so much!_

_As always everyone, please please review!_


	59. Chapter 59

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Song: _

_Christel Alsos – When the Lights Dies Out (Scene: Mikaelson Mansion)_

_Natasha Bedingfield – Wild Horses (Scene: Greene Farm – Dale Horvath & Maggie)_

_Florence and the Machine – Never Let Me Go (Scene: Mikaelson Mansion – Living Room (after Dale/Maggie)_

_Leona Lewis – Lovebird (Scene: Last scene – surprise ghost)_

_Chapter Fifty-nine_

"_Who_ is it, Jer?" Matt's voice began to rise, trying to force the panic away while his eyes began to water.

"She's dead," Jeremy muttered in disbelief and his next words caused Beth's water glass to drop to the ground in a shatter.

"Maggie's dead."

* * *

The Leavey ghost scrunched her face up in confusion immediately at Jeremy's words. He wasn't even looking at her though. Jeremy felt pale as he watched the way Beth clasped her hands over her mouth. She had already lost her sister once. How many more times did she have to lose her before she was truly gone?

"Jeremy," The ghost spoke again to get his attention.

"I hope you aren't confusing me for my doppelganger," She tried to keep her tone a little light and teasing, but the obvious slight offense was there.

Jeremy's head snapped back towards her, blinking and really looking at her for the first time. The first tip off was the way she said his name. Maggie would've called him little Gilbert or Jer and it was the way she spoke too, that accent that wasn't the one Maggie carried. It was then he really noticed the little details to, how her cheeks were rounder and her hair was a little darker, having not been lightened by the sun like Maggie's.

"Rose?" Jeremy gasped, his eyes darting up and down her dress. He was a guy, he didn't realize just how significant that her clothing choice was a little more feminine and her hair was blown out artistically.

Rose smirked and gave him a nod, with an almost '_Duh_' expression.

Jeremy let out a shaky exhale, his hand went to clutch at his stomach. It felt like it had rose up to his stomach and then dropped again, like a roller coaster ride. "Shit," He swore bluntly, "I thought that…"

"Well actually, Klaus _did _stake Maggie," Rose interrupted him in a sympathetic tone.

"Klaus staked Maggie?" Jeremy mumbled out in disbelief and partly for the others in the room to hear. He heard a whimper turned into sob from Beth. He didn't tear his eyes away from Rose and see the way Matt buried his face in his hands.

Rose nodded simply. "That's part of the reason why I came," She explained gently. "Please tell Damon not to give up her," She pleaded, trying to keep Jeremy's eye contact while the young man was faltering.

"Or Elena," She added on when she got a numb response of recognition from him.

Jeremy barely nodded and took a few steps forward in the kitchen. He didn't make it far before he caught the huddle form of Beth into his chest. He was barely aware of the way she buried her face into his shoulder and clutched at his shirt.

Maggie was gone.

She couldn't be, he denied. She just couldn't. He had only just seen her. She was a vampire, a freaking strong vampire. She was supposed to live forever like the rest of them, just like Elena, Damon and Stefan.

"What's going to happen to you now?" Jeremy asked over Beth's sobs looking at Rose. He couldn't ask about Maggie, because that would be acknowledging that she was gone and he just couldn't do that.

"I've got my memories back now," Rose replied carefully, looking around the room and feeling awful for having to be the one to tell them the news. She had been watching at the mansion to look after Damon and Elena. "I'm going to try to find my family, there's nothing left for me in Mystic Falls and I've lost so much time away from them already," She explained resolutely.

Jeremy just nodded to her. He didn't have any words and couldn't blame her. She would be leaving and she had no idea just how many families would fall apart from this evening.

* * *

Sheriff Forbes stepped into the observation room with brisk and heavy steps. At first she thought it was just a prank going around the police station, but seeing the crowd of officers in the room had her seriously begin to wonder. She recognized Officer Grimes among the ones that stood behind the one way panel of glass, staring at the lone occupant in the interrogation room.

"Is this really her?" Officer Grimes asked Liz upon entering the room. He gestured towards the brunette handcuffed to the chair in the room. It was set back just enough away from the table that she couldn't actually reach it and an empty chair sat opposite from her.

Sheriff Forbes stopped, feeling a sense of déjà vu while sizing up the woman under arrest. It threw her the similarities, but she recognized her immediately.

"Yeah, that's her," Liz answered him and took the manila folder that Rick held out for her. She noticed the bags under his eyes and the bloodshot color to them. The weariness was evident in his frame and given everything his family was going through in the last two days, she didn't blame him.

She flicked open the folder and glanced at the file briefly. She could feel the gaze of the other half a dozen officers in the observation room on her. There was a few whisperings and she could tell that they were all waiting for her move.

"Alright, I'll take it from here," Liz snapped the folder shut and put on her professional mask. "Shut that camera off," She gestured towards the camera with the red light on in the corner of the interrogation room. There was a hesitancy from the recording officer, but she didn't wait around to tell him again.

The brunette picked up her head, snapping out of her bored daze when the door to the interrogation room opened. She watched Sheriff Forbes step into the room and the way her eyes darted briefly to the camera in the corner of the room. The light was off.

"Katerina Petrova, a.k.a. Katherine Pierce, a.k.a… well whatever other names you've stolen over the years," Liz explained with an unimpressed huff, dropping the folder down on the table and taking a seat in the empty chair.

Katherine let out an eye roll and refused to look directly at the Sheriff. Her hair was still a mangled mess of curls that hadn't been kept up. A loose bandage stood out obviously on her neck along with the bruises on her shoulders and arms. Some of her mascara was smeared under her eyes and she still looked rather pale in her recovery process.

"So which one is it exactly? There are so many different names in my report. Do you even know?" Liz asked her sharply, her blue eyes narrowing on the young doppelganger pointedly, trying to get some sort of reaction out of her.

"It's Katherine," She spat out sourly, still staring off into the corner of the room.

"Right," Liz's eyebrows rose briefly, drawing in a tone that showed she didn't really care. She licked her finger briefly before flipping open the folder file. "Well,_ Katherine_, I see you're wanted here for multiple accounts of manslaughter, kidnapping, identity fraud, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment, assault and battery, trespassing, destruction of private and public property, grand theft auto, impersonating a city official, obstruction of justice, interfering with a police investigation and illegal possession of a firearm…"

Liz cleared her throat after drawing out the official terms, earning a few faint smirks from Katherine at some than others. She added on finally before closing the file folder, "And that's all just within the county of Mystic Falls."

The room was silent while the Sheriff stared her down. Katherine reluctantly turned her head to her when she realized that she was waiting for some sort of response.

"So what, you're going to arrest me and put me on trial, Sheriff?" Katherine sneered at the ridiculous prospect. She still couldn't believe she found herself handcuffed in Mystic Falls Police Station at all. What a joke.

"No, but it does raise an interesting dilemma," Liz replied sharply, leaning back in her chair casually and not rising to the doppelganger's attitude. "I mean, there's no judicial system left and you're first person we've had in custody since it collapsed with such a laundry list of felonies."

"I feel honored," Katherine muttered dryly, dropping her gaze to inspect some of her fingernails. There was some smudge and dirt that she could do nothing to get rid of because of the way she was handcuffed.

"You should," Liz replied, just as dryly. "You're the first one to raise the question of what to do with you. And we don't owe you any sort of trial… I know the first cases of justice in some societies can be rather _messy_. It's really a trial by error thing, you know? Should they hang? Should they receive a firing squad? Maybe drawn and quartered?" She mocked her, even though she knew there was still a half a dozen officers watching and listening on the other side of the glass window.

Katherine inhaled sharply and rolled her head slightly, her neck cracking a bit from the motion. The calmness in Liz's tone attested to her interrogation experience and the mild hint of curiosity that almost seemed genuine in her tone.

"I'm aware," Katherine snapped out impatiently before looking her in the eye, adding on in a condescending tone, "I don't know if you've heard or not, but I was kind of alive during those time periods."

"Good," Liz drummed her fingers casually against the steel of the table, letting the sass from Katherine roll off her shoulders. "So then you know you're going to be here for a while until we decide what to do with you."

Katherine let out a scoff, shaking her head momentarily at the absurdity and looking away from the Sheriff. Who did these people they think they were? "Really? You're just going to hold me in one of your quaint small town cells here?" Katherine sneered, glancing around the place. Mystic Falls couldn't container her before, why would it now?

Liz's eyes narrowed and she cocked her head at her with interest. Even though the doppelganger was very much human and fragile now, the girl still carried herself with an air of confident and arrogance. It was humorous to Liz given what she knew.

"Who do you think is coming to save you?" Liz asked her legitimately, unable to help the smug smirk on her face at the same time. "No one knows that you're here and the ones that do don't care about you."

Katherine snorted and looked away from Liz stubbornly. She briefly tugged the handcuffs, wishing she could fold her arms over her chest to show just how unaffected by the Sheriff's taunting she was.

Liz's gaze bore into her unflinchingly, searching her expression and knowing that she was still listening to her anyway. "Tell me, do you even remember how you got here?"

That caused Katherine's expression to freeze and the smugness began to fall off her face as she really thought about it.

How _did_ she get here? She remembered being at the Mikaelson mansion, waking up and the fight breaking out. She vaguely recalled the Bennett witches showing up and a casket being involved. But everything after that was just drawing up a complete blank. How was that possible?

"Yeah, compulsion's a bitch, isn't it?" Liz harped on her, breaking the formality for a moment when she recognized that expression on her face. "It's amazing how you can lose days at a time."

Katherine met Liz's gaze and for the first time looked like she was a little bit spooked. She had been compelled before, but she was usually aware of it. And this time she was compelled as a human, making her remarkably more vulnerable than before.

"But I'll help you out a bit, since that's what we law enforcement officials do," Liz drawled out tauntingly, keeping a flat and serious expression with her tone. Maybe all the sarcasm from hanging around Damon was starting to wear off on her. "Elijah and Stefan personally brought you here… And Elijah's words were, and I quote, 'She's your problem now.'"

"Elijah said that?" Katherine asked, her demeanor lacking the confidence she had just moments before. A quiet sense of shock dripped through her eyes and her tongue.

Liz nodded, "And he hasn't been back since." It was oddly gratifying to see that she hit an apparent sore spot.

Katherine didn't have an immediate comeback for her as the reality of the situation was really starting to sink in.

The Sheriff rose to her feet and cleared her throat. "So get comfortable, you're in here for the long haul and there's nothing stopping me from doing this," She declared while flicking open the holster on her belt. She pulled out the pistol in a fluid motion and leveled it at Katherine, regardless of the room full of people behind her and the way the doppelganger's expression steeled at the sound of the safety being clicked off.

"Go ahead, kill me," Katherine egged her on, trying to appear unafraid of the weapon. At least being killed this way would save her from this new miserable mortal existence. She already hated how weak and dull her senses were compared to being a vampire.

"I already am," Liz replied vaguely before lowering the gun a fraction. She pulled the trigger and the shot rang out loudly in the small room.

Katherine let out a shriek of pain and lurched forward in her seat, held back by the handcuffs. Her hands and shoulders shook as she opened her eyes again, gasping in deep breaths. She looked down at her leg, particularly the way the bullet mangled her knee. It was the pain that was getting to her. It was so much more intense than what she felt as a vampire. She stared down at the wound in her knee, which was already bubbling up with blood.

"That's for my daughter," Liz spat out before putting the gun away and moving towards the door. Two officers already had the door open in alarm, clearly not expecting the Sheriff to actually shoot her.

She paused and gave them the simple orders, "Stitch her up, make sure she doesn't bleed out but don't bother wasting the anesthetic on her."

She shot the shuddering, borderline hyperventilating form of Katherine one last cold glare before slipping from the room.

* * *

"I don't bloody care about making him suffer!" Rebekah's voice came out as a shout as she moved down the hallway of the second floor of the Mikaelson mansion, heading towards the ornate staircase in the front of the house.

Elijah was hot on her heels, trying to appear more composed than he actually was. He wore one of his usual suits, having put on it for no other reason than to have some semblance of normalcy and routine. He sighed and didn't say anything while she carried on.

"He should have killed the traitorous bastard!" Rebekah snapped out, proceeding down the stairs briskly.

"Rebekah!" Elijah's voice bellowed and stopped her half way down.

She turned to face him, seeing Elijah descend the last few steps between them slowly. The rage in her expression was mixed with the hurt and the tears that threatened at her eyes.

"That is your brother you're speaking of," Elijah reminded her in a commanding tone. "If for no other sake than the name of our family, contain yourself."

Rebekah let out a scoff. "_What_ family, Elijah?" She gestured vainly with her hands towards the house around them. "Look around you!"

Elijah locked his jaw, trying to restrain himself from the emotional outburst that Rebekah was having.

"Esther is gone. Mikael is gone. Henrik is gone. Finn is gone. Nik is gone," She strained every name, a blow to the diminishing Original family with each death. "And Kol is losing it every moment that goes by. Look how you handled losing her! You never got over it. You still can't even say her name," She gestured towards Elijah's shoulder and the other unspoken fallen Original mate.

Elijah bowed his head to hide the wince that passed through his eyes. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Rebekah was right. He still wasn't the same person he used to be ever since losing her. He was the balanced and stable one of the family, they were only just beginning to see how the most impulsive and unpredictable of the family was handling this.

"What does that leave? You and me?" Rebekah scoffed and waved an incredulous hand between them as she spat out the words without relent. "Forever and always, huh. Where were you when Nik had me daggered, Elijah? Where were you then?"

"Rebekah –" Elijah started, but the blonde threw up a hand and spun on her heels already. She marched straight for the front door, moving at a speed that was almost a blur and slammed it heavily behind her.

Elijah remained rooted to his spot on the staircase. He gripped the railing tightly and closed his eyes a moment. He had to remind himself that she was just lashing out because she was hurt. Even though there was a modicum of truth to her words.

He only had a few moments of silence before there was a knock at the front door.

Reluctantly, he descended the stairs and moved to answer the door. The sight of Damon Salvatore stopped him and caused Elijah to pick up his shoulders, steeling him for the attitude of the young vampire.

Damon leaned with both hands in the door frame. He noticed the way that Elijah didn't open the door to allow him to enter or his brother that was standing just behind Damon.

"Mr. Salvatore," Elijah greeted simply, lacking any pleasantry to his tone.

"Where is she?" Damon asked bluntly. His voice carried a hint of desperation that normally wasn't there. The rudeness didn't stem from his arrogance or sarcastic personality. It came from the same weariness in his eyes and the way he carried himself that Elijah had witnessed in many people lately, including himself.

"Damon, it would not be wise to go near her," Elijah cautioned him, not that he really cared about the wellbeing of the Salvatore, but he didn't have an interest in seeing any more bloodshed.

"It's been two days!" Damon protested, putting a hand against the door to try to push it open further, but it wouldn't budge under Elijah's grip.

"And he just desiccated his own brother in her name. How do you think you would fare against him?" Elijah retorted, dropping his voice into a warning.

"Damon, let's just go," Stefan suggested, putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. He only came to avoid exactly what would happen if he didn't interfere.

Damon shrugged his hand off without looking at him, but took a reluctant step away from the threshold of the doorway anyway.

"Her family is holding a service for her at the Grill, are they not? I suggest you go and pay your respects there," Elijah suggested, closing the possibility of either Salvatore entering the house. The suggestion came out more as an order than anything else.

Elijah only caught a glimpse of Damon's glare before he shut the door. There were some muffled words and swears from the other side, but he couldn't bring himself to care about them. Elijah drifted back into the foyer and sank to a seat amongst the steps of the staircase.

There was an ache in his shoulders from emotional weariness. It was an ache from trying to remain stoic and strong while he felt the drowning of emotion around him. This was one of the few times he damned being the eldest in the family and the one trying to hold everything together. He felt the loss of Maggie just as everyone else did, but he had to keep it together for his younger siblings.

And look how poorly he was doing, he thought bitterly.

It was suffocating, just tightening around his throat to think about it. He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling up the normally impeccable appearance as he bowed his head in his hands. It was just too much and it was making it hard to breath.

He reached up to the tie around his neck. He roughly undid the knot and yanked the fabric away before tossing it against the floor. She had once told him that it was a noose and he was beginning to think that maybe she was right.

Some footsteps echoed through the hard flooring of the house. Elijah looked up from his hands to see Kol crossing the foyer from the east wing of the house. He still wore the same clothing from that night, which had a few blood stains on the jeans and tears in the sleeves, but he didn't pay it any mind. The younger brother stopped momentarily to look at the trodden appearance of Elijah. Their eyes locked, but nothing was said between them.

Elijah's heart sank further to see the blank stare. There was no trace of humor or confidence. There was no mischievous glint in his eyes, like he was in on some secret that no one else around him knew. His face didn't twitch or flicker in the slightest bit of recognition at Elijah.

Where was the young boy he remembered? The one that constantly harped him on and Niklaus to play with him? The one that always complained of being bored? Where was that sly smirk from knowing he was up to something? Even more, where the complete disregard for the trouble he would get into from it?

Elijah wanted to reach up and shake his shoulders, just to bring any sort of emotion or life from him. Because he couldn't take this empty shell that was staring back at him.

Kol turned his head away from him and kept walking. Elijah didn't need to ask to know that he was heading for the living room.

* * *

Kol stepped into the living room with that vacant expression and took in the state it was left in since that night. The furniture was left in broken pieces. The couch was turned over and missing a section. The coffee table was turned over onto its side, but only half it remained. The rest was a mangled mess in the corner of the room. A loveseat had been thrown through one of the windows. Glass lay shattered on the floor and the shear curtains drifted into the room from the breeze outside.

The painting easel had been broken into several pieces and scattered amongst the room. Some of the splinters had blood stains from being used as makeshift stakes against each other. The frame of the canvas had crumpled and a large tear ripped through most of the fabric. Playing cards were scattered throughout the room, a mocking reminder of the whole precarious situation.

Kol approached the wall next to the fireplace carefully. There she was.

Her head was still slumped over with her hands limply at her side. The grey tone of her skin was still very evident. The mahogany wood protruded from her chest, left in the same position from the moment he turned on Niklaus.

Kol's expression broke into a tight lipped grimace as he stopped before his beloved. Her hair hung down, acting like a curtain between him and her death. He reached up with one hand and finally found the strength to pull the stake out of her chest. He dropped it carelessly while his other arm came up to catch her body, it slumping forward to him.

It was cold and so rigid though.

Kol caught her around the shoulders and carefully moved her towards an open space on the floor next to the fractured coffee table. He laid her down on the floor on her back. He sank to his knees beside her. It offered a little comfort to not see her staked at least.

He tucked her hair away from her eyes and behind her ear delicately while leaning over her. At least her skin seemed a little less grey with the direct sunlight coming through the window. There were still the evident black veins around her neck though.

The pain in his chest radiated without relent. He didn't know whether it was physical or emotional anguish, but what did it matter? His mate lied dead on the floor before him and he was left with nothing.

His thumb stroked over her cheek, wishing it didn't feel so dry and cold. He wished he would still feel the heat of her blush or the skin move from the dimple of her smile at the gesture.

Kol squinted and his vision blurred as the grimace grew more twisted. His inhale grew ragged and forced when his shoulders began to shake.

* * *

Maggie's boot scrunched on the leaves and twigs as she walked through the woods. Maybe it sounded silly, but she knew these trees. They changed year after year, going through the seasons and the abuse of the weather. But they were still fundamentally the same framework of branches and twisting vines. She squinted as she stepped out from the tree line and into the clearing.

She had to use her hand to keep some of the sun out of her eyes. That's when she noticed what she was wearing. It was one of her favorite pair of jeans, a light small print floral jacket she had long since discarded and a peach top underneath.

Frowning in confusion and curiosity, she looked around her while her eyes adjusted to the brightness. She knew this land, it was the land she grew up on. Looking up the hill, she spotted the pristine farmhouse and barn at the top. A short distance away from it, not where it had been left the last time she was there, was the beige RV parked where it had been before they fled.

She started walking towards it, if for no other reason than to find out why she was in this unrealistic setting of her home. Everything was much brighter than she ever recalled it being. The grass was wild and tall, but lush. The foliage of the forests around them was rich. The sun was blinding on her now dulled human senses. The sky was a crystal blue, streaked with faint clouds.

She was distracted by the sight of a horse hovering near the side of the RV. It was a deep chestnut color and a smile grew on her face at recognizing it. For some reason, she was saddled up, bridal and all ready to go. But she wasn't tied down. Her mouth was roaming along the grass, taking nibbles here and there.

"Hey Nelly," Maggie greeted her skittish friend. The horse picked up her head as her fingers brushed against her mane. For a moment, Maggie didn't bother asking why she was here or what was going on and just reveled in how real Nelly felt. She felt the coarseness of her hair as she scratched reassuringly and heard the animal winey.

Maggie pressed her cheek against the side of Nelly's neck and hugged her loosely, closing her eyes a moment to listen to the sound of the horses' breath and crunching of the grass between her teeth. She had often wondered what happened to Nelly after that night.

"It's about time you got here," A voice interrupted Maggie's moment with the horse.

She opened her eyes and squinted, following it to the source at the top of the RV. An older man sat in a lawn chair on top. He had a shotgun loosely in his lap and a pair of binoculars around his neck. Maybe it would be intimidating to other people, but the Hawaiian shirt and floppy tan brimmed hat he wore completely ruined it.

"Dale?" Maggie gasped, recognizing the scruff of the older man and the warm beady eyes after he lowered the binoculars. "What are you doing here?"

The old man didn't take any offense to her words and just chuckled knowingly. "I would hope you could figure that out by now," He countered with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

"Am I hallucinating or are you really here?" Maggie inquired quickly, thinking as a ghost. The last time she had seen any deceased members of her group, she was in a daze from the hybrid venom.

Dale gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "Some people would argue those are one in the same," He answered vaguely.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Maggie asked, even though she knew the answer already. Looking around this place, it just couldn't be real, especially not after the last things she could remember happening. There was something oddly blunt and accepting in the way the words came off her lips. Like if what was done was done.

"For a while now, technically," Dale said, pointing out the fact she was a vampire after all before this happened.

"But Klaus staked me," Maggie mumbled, more so to herself, acknowledging the truth of what happened. She remembered seeing him come at her and experiencing the wood piercing her heart. It just seemed so surreal looking back at it now.

"Yeah, well there is that too," Dale nodded casually, as if she had only pointed out an interesting side face. "Come join me," He gestured to a seat next to him on the top of the RV.

She felt oddly calm and wondered if it was because of this place. She didn't feel like she had anywhere to be or go, so she couldn't really think of a reason to refuse his offer. So she obliged and climbed the ladder on the end of the RV to get to the roof with him.

She opted to sit on the edge of the roof next to him with her feet dangling off the edge. At first, they were quiet while Dale gave Maggie a chance to look around. Her eyes traveled over the rolling fields and hills of the Greene family farm land. She couldn't help but glance over her shoulder briefly at the farmhouse and barn as well. They were white and untouched, not showing any of the wear and tear of the outbreak. The obvious fact remained that they were standing at all after Rick burning the barn down and her burning the farmhouse. It was remarkably picturesque, but soothing.

"I have to hand it to you… Your over confidence really got the best of you this time," Dale broke the silence while gazing out towards the tree line, like if he was searching for something. That was the way she remembered him most, always "l_ooking for walkers_" but mostly taking an afternoon snooze.

She looked back at him, squinting up from the brightness and the angle. The obvious question remained on her face.

"Trying to win a power play with a thousand year old hybrid?" Dale clarified bluntly, but not hostilely. Just the way he always was, he called it like he saw it, but he wasn't mean about it.

Maggie frowned slightly as she thought about the way she had tried to outwit Klaus at his own game. "Yeah, I suppose in hindsight that wasn't the best idea I ever had," She admitted and she couldn't even be mad about the fact, she found.

Dale chuckled slightly, "No kidding."

Maggie couldn't help but rub a hand over her chest. It didn't hurt like it did when the stake went through, but it still felt wrong. Like if something was still there.

"I actually had a pull out a flush to be the one to meet you here," Dale announced, finally answering her initial question and remembering the card game that was involved.

Maggie looked up at him again, "What do you mean?"

"We've all been watching, keeping an eye on you and the others. Sometimes we take bets or play to see who gets to guide the next one along," Dale explained with a small grin. It sounded like a round of friends around a Friday night poker game, but he wouldn't have preferred it any other way.

"Wait, _we_?" Maggie perked up at that term.

Dale nodded simply, "Everyone. All of us."

She got the feeling he meant the ones that didn't die from supernatural causes… which left most of her family, her friends and her neighbors. Almost everyone that she knew, her entire life.

Dale pointed towards the horizon, down the path the driveway took. Maggie could faintly make out the silhouette of the great white oak tree on the top of one of the hills. It stood in all of its glory, untouched by scorching flames. She had to really squint to make out the figures that were moving around in the distance. There were people and they were just a little too far away for her to recognize who they were.

But a gut feeling told her. She knew who would be up there. Her brothers, her friends, her neighbors. There was one member that caused her chest to tighten just at the prospect. That three letter name she hadn't murmured in a long time, but the comfort and security it brought was completely unmatched to any other relationship in the world.

"_Mom_," Maggie whispered longingly towards the hills.

She felt the urge to take off right then and there to go see them. But she also felt the contentment of the realizing that time worked in a funny way here. She felt like she didn't have to rush, she had all the opportunities that was denied her.

And oh how she wanted to see them all again. They were just a little too far away right now, but she _would _be close to them soon.

"What do I do now?" Maggie asked, recognizing that Dale was her apparent mentor through this. Oddly, she probably wouldn't have asked for anyone else.

Dale inclined his head slightly as a nod. "Well, you remember what I told Shane about the decisions we make?" He countered with a question.

Maggie bit her lip while she rifled through her memories of Dale, particularly the last few days before he died. Eventually, she nodded her head and reiterated his words, "'cause at least I know when the world goes to shit, I didn't let it take me down with it."

"Exactly, I would hope by now you know we've always have our choices," Dale offered sincerely and then gestured vaguely towards Nelly. "And I think if you really wanted to, you could ride Nelly as far and long as she'll take you."

Maggie's gaze traveled to the horse still lazily milling about in front of the RV. Her brows furrowed as a humbling thought came across her then. She had ridden into the lives of the Atlanta group on Nelly, searching for Lori to tell her what happened to Carl. Maybe it was appropriate for her to ride out of it in the same manner, she thought.

If was death, maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

Maggie felt a sudden pull in her chest, causing her to let out a gasp. She clutched at the spot over her heart, blinking in confusion around her. She didn't feel any physically different, but it felt like the wind had been sucked out of her.

"Did you feel that?" Maggie squinted up at Dale in alarm. A gentle cooling breeze rolled over the land.

The old man had the binoculars raised to his eyes again however and acted as if he didn't hear her, certainly didn't feel the same thing she did.

Her heart rate calmed down after a few moments and no answers came to her for the mysterious occurrence.

"I will be able to move on with everyone else?" Maggie wondered aloud, realizing that was what they were really talking about after all. She looked around and back towards the farmhouse. She noticed the grass around it seemed duller and in fact it was drying up before her very eyes. The leaves on the trees closest to it began to fall, brown and crisp before they even touched the ground.

"Well no, you did die a vampire so you'll be on the Other Side," Dale corrected bluntly, giving her a knowing look at the supernatural fact. It still seemed weird to hear him talking about vampires, but Maggie didn't question it.

"But, I'll let you in on a secret," Dale leaned closer to her with a faint smirk. "We'll still be able to contact you." He winked.

Maggie stared at him with a sense of wonder at what he was promising. She was silent while the house behind her began to pale and the paint flaked off from the wood siding. The barn bleached out from an accelerated rate of abuse from the sun. She didn't see or hear the way it began to blacken before the first roof panels collapsed.

"So I could watch after Hershel and Beth and still see everyone?" Maggie questioned, her eyes growing wide with the appeal of the situation. She did promise to watch over them and she could do that without the temptation of the bloodlust here. She felt normal here. There was no burning in her throat or fighting the worst part of her nature.

But there was one thing left missing.

And Maggie found it when she looked down at her hands. She saw it in the form of the silver and blue band of metal and stone on her right ring finger. She inhaled sharply at the reminder and she didn't need to look over her shoulder to know the scar was there too.

"But to do that, I would have to let him go," Maggie whispered when the realization dawned on her.

"Unfortunately yes," Dale admitted in a quiet tone. He knew how hard it was to let someone go and arguably, he never did. Maggie remembered the stories about his wife, her suffering and how long it took for her to pass, but even though he went through all of that it was still worth every moment.

"I don't know if I can, Dale," Maggie said in a fearful tone and she wasn't sure when the tears had started, but she felt the first one rolling down her cheek.

She rolled the ring over on her finger, unable to take her eyes away from it. "I met this boy," She then paused and corrected herself, "This man. This beautifully complicated and dangerous creature. He saved me, Dale. I _need _him. I can't let him go."

"I won't let him go," She declared firmly, looking up to Dale fiercely. "He's my mate. He's my Irma."

Dale gazed back at her sympathetically through her declaration, particularly the mention of his late wife.

While Maggie's eyes were adverted, the landscape around them began to change rapidly. It was like the saturation drained out of the land slowly, starting with the farmhouse and spreading out like a plague. Maggie looked over her shoulder to farmhouse. It was boarded up now and riddled with bullet holes. Exactly the way she had found it before she burnt it down.

What struck her more was the black SUV that was now parked in front of it. An empty red canister sat by the back tire and the truck was popped with a few suitcases in the back. She knew what moment it reminded her of.

If she was here next to Dale… then he must be…

Maggie knew what she had to do then. "I have to fight for him," She murmured and rose to her feet, getting ready to jump down from the RV. She couldn't run away with Nelly now. A part of her acknowledged the fact she maybe wouldn't get another chance to run away with Nelly, but she had to take this instead she decided.

"He's the one that saved my Bible, isn't he?" Dale questioned her thoughtfully. Even though he had been watching, he wanted to be sure he was the one she was talking about. His eyes followed Maggie's movements down the ladder.

She stopped on the ground and nodded to Dale to answer his question. Now that he pointed it out, she marveled at how meaningful it was that he had been the one to pull Dale's Bible from the wreckage. Dale had been the moral compass for the Atlanta group and he was the guiding light for Maggie.

"Thank him for me," Dale requested softly, seeing the way Maggie was ready to leave.

She just nodded quickly, sensing her time was coming to a close here and she had to act. Maggie started sprinting directly towards the farmhouse. She was several strides away before she wondered; how she was supposed to tell him anything if ghosts couldn't talk to vampires?

As soon as she started approaching the house, she felt the burn in her throat. It came back with ferocity. Then she felt it in her chest, the way her lungs heaved from the exertion and it got worse with each step. It seared through her.

She stumbled on her feet, clutching at her chest. Each breath was stabbing into her and it radiated out to her joints. Something told her it would go away if she just turned back. But she couldn't and she didn't even look over her shoulder back at Dale to see what became of him and the RV. She didn't look to her right either, to see the way the barn had crumpled into the blacken corpse of timbers.

Her hearing became worse, starting with a ringing as she forced each step. The smell of burnt wood began to flood her senses, mixed with the undertones of chemicals.

Her sprinting had to slow to forceful steps, like a weight was pulling her down and the air was even more suffocating around the house.

Her boots dragged against the ground and she kept her eyes fixated, determined to reach the screen of the front door. She didn't bother looking around her to the way the land was crumbling back to its abandoned and abused state.

Faintly, she heard a voice drifting through. It was masculine and broken, but enticed her further.

Each step was the claiming of a little bit more land and closing the distance between her and the porch.

Each one was a struggle, just like the little bit of land they fought for that was free of walkers.

Each little bit of space that they didn't have to look over their shoulders constantly.

Each moment she had to fight to save her humanity through her transition.

And he was the one that helped her do that. He was the one she had to reach when her boots pounded heavily against the wood of the porch. Tears rolled down her cheeks from the protesting in every joint of her body, moving stiffly and in rigid motions. The burning in her throat reached the point it felt like her split open and she was swallowing her own blood, the copper taste coated her senses. Her hands wearily reached out to brush against the door.

* * *

The tear that rolled down Maggie's cheek didn't come from her eye, but rather the ones hovering over her, clenched shut. Kol leaned his forehead against hers while his hands framed her face, wishing it would bring the warmth and smile that she held only for him.

The silence of the room ripped into him. It lacked her laugh or scowling at his immature behavior. There were no more shouts of Klaus being ripped at by his own siblings or the sound of wood breaking in the chaos only two days ago.

Now he was faced with the cold fact before him and the hot tears that rolled down his face.

"How dare you…" He murmured in a broken but angry tone, leaning back enough to open his eyes and look at her closed ones.

"How dare you come into my life, make me fall in love with you, and leave me," He whispered fiercely.

Kol leaned into her ear, as if he could still entice a response from her. "Do you hear me? You are my mate, _mine_."

Kol rolled back on his knees, upright with his hands in his lap helplessly. His eyes travelled over her body slowly and remorseful. For the first time, he just let himself break with the grief of it. His shoulders shook as the sob boiled up in his throat.

His eyes went back to hers, wishing he could see that emerald gold-flaked color again.

"You will _haunt _me," He promised. His hands moved to pick up one of hers. It was stiff and her fingers were uncooperative while his clasped around hers.

He stared in mournful silence at the face of the woman he refused to let go. He couldn't let her go. At least, in the sunlight she wasn't so pale. Maybe if he squinted just the right away, he could picture the color in her cheeks and pretend that she was just asleep.

Time didn't have a meaning to him. No one was going to interrupt him and they didn't matter as far as he was concerned.

He felt a twitch in his hand. Kol looked down at his hands clasped around hers. He didn't think terribly much of it. He had been watching her for so long and he knew that people started to see things when they willed themselves to.

The mind chose to see what it wanted to.

His mind wanted to see a flicker of her eyes, the twitch of her fingers or the corner of her lip turn.

But then the thought occurred to him. His mind was half gone, if not already there. What did he have to lose?

He pulled one hand to touch her lip. It was dry and chapped. Her mouth was closed and the jaw locked from the rigor mortis.

It took some careful prying to get the muscles to relent enough to part her lips without causing any actual damage.

Maybe it was an insane hope, but he lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit in. The momentary sting seemed nothing to watching the blood drip down his wrist and carefully letting it fall into her mouth. The first few drops were painstaking and unanswered.

He clenched his fist to increase the pressure behind the open veins, but he didn't take his eyes off his careful inspection.

There was a flicker and Kol responded before he thought better of it by pressing his wrist down against her lips. The jaw gave away easier this time and then Kol felt teeth clamp into his skin.

A rushed gasp escaped from Kol and his eyes widened, feeling a pull on his wrist and seeing the muscles in her neck roll through a swallow.

His hand went numb along with any coherent thoughts in his mind as soon as a hand shot up to clasp his wrist to her mouth. A hand that wasn't his, but wearing his daylight ring.

Kol shifted immediately on his knees, keeping his wrist to her mouth while his other arm slid under her shoulders to cradle her head in his arm. He pulled her body towards him as he sank back into a seat, his back against the fractured coffee table, watching the way the black veins receded from her face. The grey color began to fade away into a pale yellow ting.

Her skin color picked up a few pink and bronze hues when the second hand clasped on his forearm. It didn't matter to him that his arm was numb up to his shoulder.

What mattered most was the moment that her eyes rolled open, not full of black and red but those paralyzing emeralds. They searched him out and found his immediately.

Her strength was weak and did nothing to stop him from pulling his wrist away from her mouth, despite the burning bloodlust in her throat. Her body ached through each joint, feeling like she had been trampled. His numb hand pulled her knees up, cradling her body in his lap against his chest.

Maggie's hands reached out to Kol's shirt, clutching at the fabric to hold herself there. His mouth hung open, panting heavily from the sudden adrenaline coursing through him. The amber color of his eyes held a shade of bewilderment, hope and relief she had never seen from him before and hoped she wouldn't have to.

"Kol," Her whisper came out hoarse and dry, but it was just the sound he needed.

He didn't hesitate any longer to lean down and press his lips against hers. For a brief blissful moment, he reveled in the fact her lips were warm and moist again. Best of all, they moved with life against his. He felt a few fingers brush against the back of his neck, pulling him closer to her.

His hands shook when he pulled away, unsure where to begin, how to contain himself, or what to do. His hand on her knee moved up and down her high and waist, as if really seeing that the muscles and joints were moving beneath it on their own accord.

"How?" Kol whispered. He had never seen a ghost before, but she felt very much alive and real in his hands.

Maggie shook her head faintly, not completely sure herself. "I don't know," Her voice came out scratchy, "The bond… my blood, I mean, your blood." It was the only explanations she could possibly come up with.

Kol nodded quickly as soon as she said. He also decided it didn't really matter which, because he would be damned if he ever let them have to worry about which it was ever again. "Right," He let out a quick exhale and the first broad relieved smile broke out on his lips. He couldn't tell if he felt like laughing or crying more, feeling overwhelmed by it all.

But he did feel certain about the slight turn in her lips, the hands clutching at him and seeing the way her chest rose and fell with each breath.

"ELIJAH!" Kol belted partly over his shoulder while refusing to take his eyes off Maggie. "We're going to need some blood bags in here!"

He wasn't going to let her out of his sight for a moment and she definitely wasn't strong enough to stand up yet.

The eldest Original blurred towards the living room immediately, having clearly heard the shout throughout the house. The sudden expressiveness in Kol's tone alarmed him even further.

"Kol," Elijah acknowledged while he stepped into the room. "What do you mean…" His voice trailed immediately as soon as he came around enough to see Maggie cradled in Kol's arms. "…we?" He finished numbly, his eyes widening at the sight of her.

Maggie leaned her head against Kol's shoulder, mentally exhausted from her hallucination or whatever it had been. She wondered if she really saw Dale Horvath or it was just her mind, but maybe they were really one in the same. Either way, the pain of the march towards her farmhouse seemed distant now that she could see and feel Kol again.

"Now, Elijah!" Kol reminded without even bothering to look at his brother. His lips quivered, dancing between shock and relieved smiles as he drank in each micro expression from Maggie.

Elijah snapped out of his daze quickly and blurred from the room, heading for the kitchen.

When it was just them again, Maggie whispered with an oddly content and tired voice, "I heard you." She realized it was his voice that she heard the closer she got the house, those broken and pained words.

Her hand reached up slowly to his face and brushed against his cheek. She caught some of the moisture on her fingertips and pulled it away gently. Kol's eyes followed her action and lingered on the tears, his tears.

"Don't you _ever_ make me cry for you again," Kol warned her, struggling to remember the last time anyone had affected him so greatly.

Maggie gave a small smirk at his conviction. "As long as I don't have to die just for you to tell me you love me," She pointed in a teasing, but truthful tone.

Kol blinked and his mouth fell open. For all the tender moments traded between them and her all but saying it for him, he didn't realize that his stubborn emotion-opposed subconscious mind hadn't let the words pass from his own lips until today.

"Deal," He murmured her favored word quickly before pressing a kiss into her hairline. He took a moment to close his eyes and inhale the scent of her deeply while mentally promising he wouldn't be such a fool again.

"I love you," He whispered sincerely, while embracing her closely. "I love you so much."

* * *

It took a delicate balance of Kol drinking the blood bags and Maggie feeding to get her strength back. Elijah assisted Kol with the blood bags, remaining mostly silent throughout the process but sharing his equally stunned and relieved demeanor. Part way through it, Kol gave him directions and keys to their apartment so Elijah could retrieve a few special bags Kol had left there previously.

A few times Kol got a little carried away and had to chase away the numbness of Maggie's venom with her blood. Needless to say, the process was time consuming, but neither mate complained about that fact. When Maggie was strong enough, Kol moved her out of the demolished room and away from the immediate reminders to his old bedroom.

Kol didn't say anything about the fact Maggie hung onto him the entire time, like he might slip away from her fingers because he was honestly doing the same thing. Maggie didn't say anything about the way Kol would quietly kiss just under her ear before whispering loving declarations, as if he could make up for the times he didn't say it when he should have.

Maggie emerged from the bedroom after changing into one of Kol's old t-shirts. She didn't particularly like the idea of walking around in a shirt she died in with the gaping hole from said stake. It took a little convincing that she would be okay long enough for him to go take a shower. Maggie could feel how justifiably spooked he still was from seeing her die before his eyes. But honestly, he needed at least the fresh clothes because she knew it wasn't just his own blood on them.

She could hear the water running through the pipes of the house while she slipped into the kitchen, rummaging up the first bottle of alcohol she could find. It ended up being a wine bottle, which didn't surprise her the other Original siblings would keep something classier than Damon's shady moonshine. Maggie took a sip from the red liquid while throwing opening the sliding glass doors.

It felt good to have that burn go down her throat, soothing the vampiric one in its wake and reminding her that she was really alive. Just like the fact the breeze was really falling against her face as she leaned in the framework of the doors, instead of it just being a hallucination in her mind this time. She grinned at the way the sun was heavy in the sky, casting golden rods.

"Maggie?" A voice called out to her, causing Maggie to stand up, leaning off the frame of the doors.

She turned to see Elijah approaching her. He had long since shed his suit jacket and had his sleeves rolled up from helping Kol with the blood bags.

"Hey," Maggie greeted him with a small smile. Despite their earlier confrontation, she was relieved just to see a familiar alive face.

"At risk of sounding terribly cliché, but genuinely sincere," Elijah spoke, coming to a stop next to her casually. "How are you feeling?"

Maggie grinned at the way he spoke. "I feel good," She said honestly, thinking she felt like she was back to her slightly cannibalistic vampire tendencies. "Would it be cliché to say I've never felt so happy to be alive?"

"I think it could be forgiven given the circumstances," Elijah chuckled softly, not bothering to hide the way he was still amazed to see her up and about as well.

Maggie took a sip from her wine glass and watched the way the breeze filtered through some of the trees and flowers in the garden. She could feel the way Elijah's gaze was still on her profile.

"Maggie," Elijah murmured her name gently and Maggie turned to see him gazing at her differently.

"I can't properly express how sorry I am for what I did earlier," Elijah began and Maggie shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

"Elijah, you don't have to –" She was stopped by Elijah raising his hand and shaking his head briefly.

"Actually, I do," He corrected her firmly without raising his voice or harshness in his tone. "You almost _died_ not knowing."

Maggie opened her mouth to protest, but ultimately just closed it again. He had a point, no matter how blunt and hard it was to hear. She just nodded numbly for him to proceed.

"You were right about me," Elijah stated sincerely, searching her wide-eyed apprehensive expression. "I held onto this misguided hope of something more than there was. I was so blinded by the thought my brother was taking advantage of you, I didn't see the truth of your relationship and I will have to carry the regret of my actions with me for that."

Maggie stopped from continuing on by putting her free hand on his shoulder to get his attention properly. "I know, Elijah, and thank you," She appreciated the apology, but ultimately couldn't help feeling a little bad for him. She wasn't terribly thrilled to hear that Elijah thought Kol was taking advantage of her, but given his past history, she figured she couldn't really blame him and ultimately let it go.

"I'm sorry I can't be that woman for you, but I hope I can at least be a friend to you," Maggie added on, hoping Elijah wouldn't come to resent her since it looked like she would be hanging around the Originals for indefinitely because of Kol and Rebekah.

Elijah cocked his head slightly as he considered her words. Knowing his brother, he doubted remaining simple friends would be a possibility. "We'll see what the future brings," Elijah suggested instead.

Maggie had to admit his words didn't sound exactly promising, but she caught a hint of a smirk on his lips that she didn't quite understand.

"Speaking of…" Maggie opted to step away from Elijah and put some distance between them while she dropped the now empty wine glass in the kitchen sink. She rinsed it out before turning back to him hesitantly with one massive question on her mind, "What happened to Klaus?"

"The Bennett witches desiccated and spelled him into one of our family coffins," Elijah answered her, even though there was further level of sadness in his tone. "I'm not even aware of where his body is now," He added on frankly.

Maggie's eyebrows rose as she folded her arms over her chest. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or not to hear that, given what she had to go through to get there. It just didn't seem real yet. "And you're okay with that?" Maggie questioned, seeing that Elijah wasn't entirely excited over the prospect either.

"I don't condone the entombment of anyone in such a manner," Elijah replied with a sigh. "But even I have to recognize that Niklaus attacked another's mate and it was within Kol's right to decide what became of him. He wanted him to suffer something worse than death, he told me." Elijah unknowingly reiterated words Maggie had spoken to Kol before.

Maggie frowned thoughtfully at the way he referred to this unwritten rule. She briefly wondered if there were other cardinal rules and etiquettes that older vampires typically followed for the mating bond. She was just thankful she still had the chance to learn about them later.

"And given what we've known about Kol's ability to keep a secret," Elijah couldn't help but refer to the origin of Maggie's bloodline and thus the rest of the Mystic Falls' vampires. "I'm sure where he's hidden Niklaus' body will be safe for all for some time to come," Elijah took consolation in the simple fact he trusted his brother wouldn't attempt to destroy Niklaus completely or let him become lost forever.

Maggie nodded while biting her lip, thinking back to that evening. "And what about Katerina?" She wondered, not that she particularly cared about her, but recalled last seeing her alive.

There was a little more reluctance in Elijah's voice before he answered, "Mystic Falls will decide her fate." It seemed fitting after so much damage she had single handedly caused this town over the decades.

Only when the silence fell between them did Maggie realize that the water had stopped running through the pipes. It didn't stop her thoughts from running like it though.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do?" Elijah asked curiously after he couldn't read what was passing through her expression.

"I honestly have no idea," Maggie murmured quietly, not sure where to begin. How do you make your appearance after being dead two days? Where do you go first? What do you say to the ones that thought you were lost?

"I hear there's a service at the Grill this evening," Kol's voice piped from the hallway as he walked into the kitchen.

Maggie looked up to see him wearing one of his mischievous smirks while he ran a hand towel through his hair quickly. He was dressed in fresh clothes and she could smell the soap wafting off of him. Absently, Maggie couldn't help but think that was the quickest shower she ever heard him take.

Elijah's eyebrows quirked at the suggestion and Maggie turned to face her mate while she caught his meaning.

"Are you suggesting that I crash my own funeral?" She tried to fight the incredulous grin off her face.

"It's something_ I_ haven't even done before," Kol grinned while tossing the towel lightly on the kitchen island. His eyes darted over in time to see his brother pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes in a slight grimace behind Maggie at the reminder their family had been too busy draining half the village for funerals.

"It could be fun," Kol gave an innocent shrug of his shoulders.

* * *

"And here's to the time she slapped my lovesick idiot of a brother at the Founder's celebration, in front of _every_one," Rebekah raised her shot glass in the air in tribute.

The lights were on in the Grill and several liquor bottles were lined up on the counter with respective shot glasses for each person standing at the bar. The mixture of people ended up being a bit from the Originals, the Atlanta group, and the Mystic Falls gang.

Jeremy and Matt stood behind the counter, for once not giving any nervous glances about the alcohol in their hands to the two police officers sitting on some of the stools. Sheriff Forbes sat next to Rick Grimes. Carl was at one of the tables adjacent to the bar with Judith in a car seat and Beth hovering between occasionally joining the tribute shots and watching the baby.

Carol and Daryl stood next to Rebekah, attempting to match the vampire drink for drink but realizing they were better off going every other one. The only human to do their best to keep up with her was Alaric, but that was probably more so to do with all the practice he had keeping tabs on Damon.

The only ones that were able to match Rebekah and frequently contributed toasts were Damon and Stefan. The last one to arrive, surprised them the most, but he quietly took up a spot at the bar with the others and that was Tyler Lockwood.

Hershel sat at the bar, nursing a full glass of bourbon with the crutches leaning next to his seat. He sat in mostly sullen silence and listened barely to what was going on around them. People frequently dropped in and out of the Grill to spare a few words for the family. They were mostly other police officers from the station that knew Rick or students from the school that knew Beth and Carl.

At Rebekah's toast, there were a few murmurs before most of the adults downed their shot. A few glasses clinked on the counter while Jeremy and Matt started to fill up the next one, occasionally taking one with them. No one said anything about the tears that threaten Rebekah's eyes and the ones that had already fallen amongst the other females in the group. Even Damon was short on snarky comments, his gaze remaining mostly downcast like several of the others.

"And here's to the girl that made a legitimate hobby out of stealing Damon's car," Stefan contributed, raising his glass in the lead for the others with a faint smirk on his face. The words earned a small grin from Damon as he stared down at the counter.

They opted to remember the better parts and celebrate her in a truly Irish way. The suggestion actually came from Sheriff Forbes when they had entered the Grill. They were unaware of the previous similar service held here before, but this time it had the family that should have been there.

Another round of empty shot glasses clinked against the counter. Alaric leaned back in his seat, having to sit out on the next one while the vampires kept going. Even Jeremy paused for a few minutes to go see how Beth was doing.

"And the only girl to make fatal weapons out of basic kitchen utensils," Damon contributed his shot, unable to help rolling his shoulders vaguely at the memory of a certain corkscrew in his back.

Alaric couldn't help but grin a little, remembering hearing about each incident and getting railed into by Damon for letting Maggie slip a fork by him.

There were a few murmurings before the vampires and the hybrid knocked back their shots. Tyler remained mostly silent, having come when he realized that Maggie wasn't actually threatening his life. He stayed quiet and took in the stories of her, hearing a side of her that he had never seen but certainly painted an interesting picture.

The front door of the Grill opened, signaling the arrival of a newcomer. The quiet chatter amongst the adjacent tables ceased immediately and slowly grew to the bar. Damon received a nudging elbow to the side from Alaric before he begrudgingly turned to see what shut everyone up.

Kol stopped just a few feet away from the door with his hands lightly stuffed in his pockets, taking in the array of people that came for Maggie. There was a mix of surprised expression with particularly sympathetic ones, mostly from the Atlanta members.

"Fancy a drink for two more?" Kol's voice broke the silence with his signature smirk, his eyes flickering with amusement at the reaction from the group.

A scowl grew on Damon's face, not that he was against Kol showing up because he wasn't surprised at that, but he hated the attitude on his face. "Why is the sick fuck smiling again?" Damon muttered under his breath, seeing the look on Kol all too similar to the one he had at the waterfall the first time Maggie died.

No one else said anything while the door creaked open behind Kol once more. Rebekah cocked her head, half expecting Elijah to be the next one with Kol's suggestion of two.

But no one in the room was expecting the brunette that stepped out from behind Kol instead. Maggie bit her lip shyly as she stopped next to Kol and looked around the room, seeing how it grew still physically on top of the audibly.

It didn't surprise her to see that Elena was nowhere in sight, neither was Caroline or any of the Bennett witches. But she was humbled by the amount of people that were staring at her and she was worried some of them might faint with how pale they were growing.

"Please tell me someone else can see her," Jeremy whined from behind the bar, not sure if he could take mistaking Rose for Maggie again.

Maggie pressed together tightly, trying to fight the growing smile off her face.

"Yeah, man," Matt replied to his friend without looking away from Maggie, his fingers slipping from his shot glass on the counter.

That seemed to be enough to snap many of them out of their daze and there was the scrapping of wood against the floor from chairs shifting in the next moment.

Maggie caught the blonde locks that threw herself into her arms next, feeling the arms wrapping tightly around her older sister. Beth squeezed her tightly and Maggie saw over her shoulder Rebekah approaching quickly behind her along with Carol, Daryl and Carl. Jeremy and Matt moved around from behind the counter as the others stood up from their bar stools.

"How?" Beth pulled back when she realized her sister was very alive and real. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from having been crying frequently over the past few days.

"He saved me," Maggie whispered genuinely, and then paused to look around at the others. She announced a little louder the question in their eyes, "Kol brought me back."

The Original mentioned stood back a few feet, letting Maggie's family gather around her and he just gave an innocent shrug of his shoulders when some eyes moved to him, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Well I don't care how he bloody did it," Rebekah piped up and pulled Maggie into her arms next, giving her an almost bone crushing hug. "But don't you ever do that again!"

Maggie let out a choked noise that somewhere between a relieved sigh and a laugh. "I'll try not to, Bekah," She promised quickly before being pulled out of the hug and into the arms of the next person.

Despite herself, Maggie felt a few tears run down her cheeks and she tasted salt on her lips with each relieved smile and embrace. She hugged some longer than others and traded quiet words, like Carol, her father who she met him at his seat instead of making him stand, Rick, Carl, and Jeremy. She even got a hug from Daryl, Alaric, and Stefan. She got a nod of acknowledgement and quiet appreciation from Tyler, which she returned gratefully.

After Daryl hugged Maggie, she noticed the way he moved onto Kol next. The redneck held a hand out to the vampire, who regarded it for a brief moment before taking it and Daryl clapped his other hand on the back of his shoulder. At one point, she saw Rick Grimes place a hand on Kol's shoulder and she faintly heard him murmur a few words of thankfulness.

When it was Damon's turn, Maggie looked at him apprehensively a moment, really unsure how he would react. He looked her up and down briefly before pulling her into him before she could utter a word. His arms wrapped tightly around her and he tucked his chin against her shoulder. Maggie relaxed and returned it carefully.

"I should have been there," Damon whispered, regretful that he couldn't stop it. Stefan had been the one to pull him back from the fight and he continued to pull him back from trying to get to her after that. He didn't care if Kol was dangerous and unstable. "I really tried to," He added on.

"I know, Damon," Maggie responded to him just as quietly, having been filled in on some of the details in the SUV on the way here with Kol. "It's okay," She said meaningfully before pulling back enough to place a simple kiss on his cheek.

Damon let out a small sigh from the gesture and she could feel the relief through his chest before he pulled back from the embrace. His eyes briefly flickered over her shoulder, expecting a hostile glare from Kol at touching his girl, but the Original just calmly sipped a drink from the bar while watching the two.

* * *

Maggie remained at the Grill for a few more hours. She didn't truly appreciate just how many people she would have been leaving behind if she had moved on until she saw them all here. Slowly, as the time came to a close, people began to trickle out, starting with Tyler Lockwood, then Sheriff Forbes and Alaric. Her family offered for Maggie to come back to the Greene house and spend the night at the house, but Maggie declined. A selfish part of her simply looked forward to spending the evening alone with Kol in their apartment.

The Salvatore's left after that and eventually along with most of the Atlanta members. Finally, Maggie gave an exhausted sigh as she sank down in one of the four seating tables. Jeremy Gilbert sank down into a seat to her right with a glass of water in his hand.

"You don't have to stay and help me clean up," Jeremy offered her, unable to help thinking it was a little morbid for her to clean up her own memorial service. "You can go home with the others," He suggested.

Maggie gave a small shrug of her shoulders. "Nah its fine, it's been a long day and probably best I don't push it around too many humans," She declined, not quite sure where her control was at given the circumstances.

Jeremy nodded shortly, having to take a moment to remember that she was still a vampire after all and not another ghost he could see.

"Where's Kol?" Jeremy asked, taking a moment to look around the Grill and realizing it was silent except for them.

"He's outside talking to Elijah and Rebekah," Maggie gave a nod in the direction of the front doors behind her. "They're figuring what's going to happen next for them," She added on, also thinking the conversation was more about coming to some sort of closure over losing another family member, no matter how much he deserved it.

"And what about you? What are you going to do?" Jeremy wondered aloud. It was still surreal for him and his sister to face the reality that was Klaus was gone and they would breathe a little easier now.

Maggie shrugged her shoulders vaguely. "I think Kol and I are going to go away for a little while and just have some time for the two of us," She said. She was a little apprehensive about leaving her family behind before, but after seeing everyone here today, she knew they would be safe with so many people looking out for each other.

Jeremy was about to nod again, but his head turned suddenly to the empty seat opposite from Maggie. "Oh hey," He said to the empty space.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow at Jeremy, who continued to stare as if he was hearing something.

"What are you – oh, yeah I can tell her. She's right here," Jeremy gestured a hand towards Maggie without taking his eyes off the blank spot.

Maggie's brows furrowed and she cocked her head in increasing confusion.

"Wait, you can, or I can do that? Are you sure?" Jeremy scratched the back of his head lightly as he questioned.

"Gilbert," Maggie spoke up, getting impatient at wondering what was going on. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, Lexi. She wants to talk to you," Jeremy explained sheepishly, looking back at Maggie. The doppelganger sat up a little straighter in her seat immediately at the name. "I guess I've been a practicing medium long enough now that she can channel me for a little while or something like that."

Maggie opened her mouth to ask what he meant by channel when another voice beat her to the punch.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Jer-bear," Lexi spoke up from the now occupied seat across from Maggie. The blonde leaned back casually in the chair with a smug smirk at the little pet name for Jeremy.

Maggie's eyes snapped to her and she let out a loud swear of surprise, shooting up from her seat so fast that the chair was sent tumbling backwards.

Lexi's eyebrows rose at the colorful vulgarity slipping from Maggie's mouth and the hand clutched over her chest.

Maggie stumbled back a few steps until the heels of her boots butted up against the fallen furniture. "Alexia," She gasped. It only took her a moment to see past the straightened hair and the leather jacket, but it was unmistakably her now. "Wait, _you're_ Lexi?!"

Lexi cocked her head with interest at Maggie's reaction.

"Hold up," Jeremy cut in, raising his hands between the two of them. "You know each other?"

Lexi shook her head once in a controlled and slow motion. "I've met Rose, but I definitely haven't met you," Lexi answered him without taking her eyes off the spooked doppelganger.

"No," Maggie stumbled over her own tongue while she tried to assemble coherent thoughts. "I remember seeing… some _pictures_," She cleared her throat, thinking more like memories, but she wasn't sure how much to give away in front of Jeremy.

Lexi's eyes began to narrow while Maggie fumbled around with the chair behind her, haphazardly putting it back on its leg.

"Of, um… carriages in London," Maggie paused, mentally wincing at realizing that probably wasn't the best example. She pulled the chair back up to the table. "And fountains in Rome," Maggie hoped that would cue Lexi in more. "Trains in Paris… and a ship going to Istanbul," Maggie ran her hands along the top of the table anxiously before finally looking up at Lexi at the last one.

A knowing smile slowly grew on Lexi's face with each example, bit by bit until it finished with a full one. "Well, there you have it," Lexi murmured with a new appreciation.

"I didn't know you went to Europe with Stefan," Jeremy chimed in from his side of the table. He had always thought the Salvatore's remained in the United States.

"I didn't," Lexi stated bluntly and simply.

"Oh," Jeremy mumbled, and that sent him into another furrowed brow expression of confusion.

Maggie's mind was still racing and it showed in the anxious way she tapped her fingers against the table, sitting completely upright. She was putting two and two together, while mentally kicking herself for not seeing it sooner. She just always thought Lexi was short for something else, like Alexis or Alexandria.

"You met Rose?" Maggie cleared her throat, partly to get the conversation away from Jeremy asking who they were talking about.

"Yeah, she was a close friend of mine," Lexi nodded casually, earning another eyebrow raise from Maggie. "We met back in the 60's."

"Really…" Maggie's head shook a little incredulous, her mind racing through all the possibilities that could have been. If Kol hadn't walked away from Lexi back in Paris, maybe he would have been around if Lexi had tried to undagger him. Things could have ended a lot different that day he saw her in the airport. "Oh the irony," The words slipped from her mouth before she could help it.

Lexi let out a chuckle at that, having been able to understand the look on Maggie's face. "I know, right?" She agreed, having been watching lately and still reeling on the Other Side at the fact one of her close friends was the one he had been hunting all those centuries ago.

"I have to say I have been dying to meet you," Lexi declared, leaning forward in her seat and putting her elbow against the table, her palm against her cheek as if she was studying a fascinating film.

Jeremy cringed from her word choice.

"Oh lighten up, Gilbert," Lexi added on halfheartedly before looking back to Maggie. "Especially since you single handedly got him to turn it back on, and so quickly too."

"Well, I don't know if I…" Maggie began to mumble, but let her voice trail off. She certainly wasn't expecting to get praise from a ghost and didn't really know how to respond to it.

"Oh you did!" Lexi pointed a finger, nonthreateningly in her direction with a grin. "I have to say, the ripping the heart out move - nicely done. No way I would have gotten away with that."

Maggie meekly rubbed the back of her neck, despite still feeling like her heart was about to pound out of her chest.

Jeremy let out a groan when he thought he caught onto what was going on. "Oh please tell me you guys aren't talking about Damon," He shook his head.

"Hell no!" Lexi denied quickly.

Jeremy frowned and opened his mouth to ask then who, but stopped when all of them heard the front doors of the Grill open.

"Margaret?" Kol's voice called out in alarm, stepping into the Grill and searching around briefly before spotting the table. His steps were brisk from sensing the anxiety and sudden rush coming from Maggie through the bond, cutting the conversation with his siblings short to check it out.

Maggie turned in her seat and Lexi lifted her head up from her hand.

"What is this?" His questioning lacked his usual harshness as he numbly took in the gathering at the table. His eyes lingered mostly on the blonde, blinking and not really sure if he was truly seeing what he thought.

Maggie shook her head, not being able to provide him much of an explanation. "I had no idea," She said quietly, even though probably didn't make all that much sense.

Kol took unease steps towards the table, his eyes flickering briefly to Maggie as he came to her side before going back to Lexi. A warm smile grew on Lexi's face and the vampires ignored the way Jeremy cocked his head slightly with his mouth hanging open a little.

"Hi Kol," Lexi greeted him gently.

Hearing her voice, the low gasp escaped from his lips in the form of, "Golubka."

Kol blindly reached out to the empty chair on Maggie's left, pulling it out before sinking into the seat quickly. Maggie could feel the way his knees were on the verge of giving out from under him because of the shock.

"I can only stay for a little while. I'm channeling Jeremy," Lexi answered the obvious question in his eyes and gave a nod towards Jeremy's direction as she spoke.

Kol was silent at first, just drinking in the details of Lexi, seeing her for the first time in present day attire and how she had changed. Maggie couldn't help but give a small smile at the mix of emotions she could feel radiating off of Kol, it was mostly overwhelming shock, but all of them were positive. There was only a small ting of regret laid in there.

"I… I had no idea what they were planning to do to Finn," Kol finally murmured, refusing to look across at the table at the one of the conspirers of his brother's death and by extension Lexi's and her mate.

Lexi just nodded quietly, "I know. But I think it worked out better this way, I didn't have to wait long for Lee to join me."

At that, Kol cocked his head suspiciously, repeating the word, "Wait?"

Maggie's face fell and her stomach lurched, she only put it together a moment sooner than Lexi did and it went straight over Jeremy's head.

"Yeah, Damon staked Lexi. What does Finn have to do with that?" Jeremy piped up while trying to figure out why they were talking about Finn's bloodline.

Kol turned his head sharply to the Gilbert for the first time, searching his expression for any sign of mistruth. The lack of objection or correction at the table to that simple fact made the silence even more unnerving. Maggie could feel the quiet rage starting to boil in his veins. Any lightness in his eyes grew dark and his jaw locked in a threatening and murderous gaze Maggie had only seen a few times before. It caused Jeremy to scoot back a bit in his chair.

"Where is he?" Kol growled out, placing his hands against the table to rise out of his chair.

Maggie had to blur in order to catch him. She placed her hands against the top of his shoulders to shove him back down in the chair. "Oh no _no,_ you don't," Maggie denied, feeling exactly what he wanted to do and having to muster a considerable amount of strength to keep him down.

Kol shot her a glare out of the corner of his eye for her interference while he tried to resist her. Momentarily, Maggie was grateful that she had been feeding off of him most of the afternoon because she was convinced that was the only way she was able to win the power struggle and force him back into the chair.

The only indication Lexi and Jeremy had of how much force Maggie had to use was the groaning protest coming from the wood of the chair.

"Your best friend just reached out from the Other Side, you're going to stay here with her and worry about killing Damon later," Maggie reprimanded him. It wasn't that she wanted him to kill Damon, but he didn't want him regret taking off later because he was overwhelmed by all of this and miss his chance to talk to Lexi.

Kol shot her a scowl at her bossiness, but Lexi picked up on her line of thought before he came out with a response.

"Better yet, don't kill Damon!" Lexi ordered, earning a dubious look from Kol and an admittedly surprised one from Maggie and Jeremy.

"Because then I would have to deal with him here on the Other Side and if that happens, I will go all poltergeist on your ass, Mikaelson," She waved a warning finger at him. A smirk was itching its way on her face, despite how serious she actually was at the idea of having to deal with the irritating Salvatore. At least this way he can't see or hear her.

Maggie could feel Kol stop fighting under her hands at Lexi's words and there was a silent pause before he let out a short, strangled chuckle at her threat. Maggie noticed his hands smoothed out from the tight fists on the tabletop and the whiteness eased away from his knuckles. She worked her thumbs reassuringly into his shoulders, trying to get him to ease up.

"How about Jeremy and I will go clean up the bar," Maggie suggested, leaning down to Kol's ear but the others could hear her. She gave a pointed nod for Jeremy towards the bar, snapping him out of his stunned daze. "And you two stay here and catch up?"

Lexi looked up from Kol to give Maggie an appreciative small smile while Jeremy scrambled out of his seat, moving across the room.

Kol gave a faint nod before reaching a hand up to clasp over one of Maggie's, giving it a small squeeze of acknowledgement. He refused to take his eyes off of Lexi, as if she would suddenly disappear if he looked away too long.

Maggie turned her head and leaned down to press a kiss gently against his temple before slipping her hands away from his shoulders.

She stood up feeling more confident he wasn't going to take off because she doubted anyone could pull him away from that chair now. She crossed over to the bar to help Jeremy clean up the glasses, giving them the courtesy distance for their conversation.

"I hate what you've done with your hair," She finally heard Kol speak again, a little lighter this time and a small hint of teasing. Lexi let out a mock offended scoff and Maggie heard her call him an ass.

She didn't need to turn around or look at the two to know that Kol was finally smiling.

* * *

_Author's Note: I thought about being mean and waiting a week to post this, but after such the strong and quick reaction to last chapter I didn't want to make you guys wait!_

_There it is, the last chapter and the next chapter will be a short epilogue wrapping up some loose ends. (I'll post more details about the sequel in that AN)_

_I want to first off apologize to the "Guest" user that left a review on Chapter 52, who I had to very pointedly ignore your question about Maggie getting staked with regular wood, I hope you can understand now why there was no way I could respond to it without giving away this chapter. But excellent insight!_

_So to translate into short terms what happened – Kol's blood was enough to sustain Maggie's life from the regular wood staking. However, Maggie is not strong enough to revive herself, so her body desiccated from trying to sustain her life, but she had to fight for it. So she could have given up and passed on, but she obviously didn't. I figured this was a good way to make her stronger than the average vampire without giving her the unfair advantage of being exactly like an Original._

_Fun TWD facts – Shane and T-Dog are the only season 2 TWD regulars to not make a direct appearance in this story, but all characters were mentioned. Maggie made her first onscreen appearance in TWD riding Nelly. I hope my TWD fans out there feel that I did Dale justice, especially with the Irma reference. _

_I'm definitely looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Sheriff Forbes' scene with Katherine. I've always wanted to see a confrontation with Forbes going all maternal over Caroline and I hope it didn't seem OOC. The scene with Rebekah and Elijah is a nod to the conversation in the backdoor pilot of The Originals. _

_And of course, let me know what you think of the Kolie! Also what you thought of Kol finally getting some closure with Lexi._

_Review responses –_

_Peace and Luv: Thanks for the review! I don't like to make people beg, so here it is! I'm glad I was able to make Klaus the villain he's meant to be. It won't stay that way, we'll see what the sequel brings. ;)_

_Poohxnyah: I hope you kept those tissues close by! I know I needed them._

_L: Haha, sorry, I believe that last chapter takes after TWD style of writing rather than TVD writing – meaning that literally any character is fair game to die (keep that in mind for the sequel) and the main three are not untouchable like they are in TVD. I hope this chapter makes up for it!_

_Eby Mikaelson: Klaus has seen Maggie as a threat from day one. First it was a threat to his existence because of the ritual. For a little while he was okay with letting her live because he thought she could be used against Damon for torment, but then seeing that she was stronger than he was led to believe and his brothers were fighting because of her – that was the final straw for him. He was not aware of the mating bond or how close Maggie and Rebekah were. I think if he was, that definitely would have affected his decision._

_Cricket V: I killed Maggie once before, what's one more time? ;D I hope this chapter answers most of your questions. What do you think of my treatment of Katherine? I would love her for to get what's coming to her, but in a drawn out way decided by the people and the lives she ruined. I hope this update was quick enough for ya!_

_Guest: I actually missed the original airing of the show, so I came online and found people posting spoilers about it. I thought people were pranking me at first when they told me what happened, how crazy is that?_

_M: Please don't sacrifice any newborns! That wouldn't be a good thing for a school teacher to have on their resume!_

_Sorry, I wasn't planning on Rose meeting Maggie face to face in this story, but that's not to say it isn't possible. (I might have gone with it if I stuck with the original plotline of Maggie being with Damon, but Lexi seemed better given Kol) I'm hoping the alternative in this chapter is just as good, if not better! I would love to see an onscreen version of Klaus getting his butt handed to him by two Originals, Damon and three witches. _

_I hope this chapter makes up for any alarm and distress I caused!_

_Please review and let me know what you think, everyone!_


	60. Epilogue

_Note: I do not own TWD or TVD… just having fun._

_Chapter Songs: _

_Liz Lawrence – When I was Younger (Scene: Leaving the Grill)_

_Carey Brothers - Belong (Scene: Rebekah and Daryl)_

_OneRepublic – Say [All I Need] (Scene: New York)_

_Robbie Williams – Beyond the Sea [Bobby Darin Cover] (Scene: Song referenced in the last paragraph and previously in Maggie's conversation with Damon on the phone.)_

_Epilogue_

She stood up feeling more confident he wasn't going to take off because she doubted anyone could pull him away from that chair now. She crossed over to the bar to help Jeremy clean up the glasses, giving them the courtesy distance for their conversation.

"I hate what you've done with your hair," She finally heard Kol speak again, a little lighter this time and a small hint of teasing. Lexi let out a mock offended scoff and Maggie heard her call him an ass.

She didn't need to turn around or look at the two to know that Kol was finally smiling.

* * *

Kol swirled the last of the whiskey around in his glass. It was just a simple sip, one that he had been nursing for a while now. His vampire senses could pick up the faint hum coming from the last light left on over the bar. It was so quiet now. He could hear the rumbling of the refrigerator in the back and the occasional tumbling of newly formed ice in its machine.

There were no more heart beats in the room or the shuffling of his mate in the kitchen. It took a bit to shoo them out after talking to Lexi. He just needed a bit to think to himself, having gone through so much in the past twenty-four hours. After talking to Lexi, he was conflicted. It was bittersweet because he didn't know when, if he would see her again. At the same time, he didn't feel the same discontent he thought he would at seeing her go.

It was late, much past normal hours now. He told Maggie to go back to the apartment and he would catch up with her.

With a final sigh, Kol knocked back the rest of his glass and rose up from the bar. He left it there and went to switch off the last light before heading for the front door. He fished the keys he borrowed to lock up behind himself.

Hearing the lock click in, Kol turned away from the doors and his eyes scanned the now empty parking lot. He was about to turn to start walking towards their apartment when he stopped at the figure standing under one of the street torches.

So much for going back to the apartment, Kol thought. But the truth was, after being desiccated for two days, closing her eyes was the last thing Maggie wanted to do at the moment. Even though she drove the SUV back to the apartment, she couldn't help but walk downtown and simply enjoy the tranquility of the evening air.

Maggie turned her head away from her absent gaze across the town square when she heard Kol approaching her. She had her hands stuffed into the jacket pockets of the one she never gave back to Kol. She bit her lip lightly while she tried to gauge his expression, getting mixed signals with his impassive stare.

Once he stepped out of some of the shadows, his features seemed softer in the torch light, lacking any harshness. "Hey," Maggie greeted him gently. She tried to form the question that was on her mind, but struggled, "Was it…?"

"Yeah," Kol replied quickly before a lazy, but content grin grew on his lips.

Maggie let out a visible relieved sigh and reached her hand out for him to take while turning her body in the direction of their apartment. "Good. Come on, let's go home," She suggested.

Kol took her hand automatically, but he didn't budge a step, causing Maggie to falter slightly and look back at him in confusion. He cocked his head with intrigue.

"What is it?" Maggie asked, looking down at their hands briefly and sensing his hesitation.

"You called it home," Kol pointed out. It wasn't their apartment, the house, Alaric's old place, or anything impersonal this time.

Maggie blinked, realizing how thoughtlessly the term fell from her lips. A small smile appeared and she gave a simply shrug of her shoulders.

Kol moved to walk with her, but his imploring gaze never left her.

They took their time to walk down the sidewalk, instead of blurring off into the night. It was oddly calming despite how dark it was. The threat had come to pass for Maggie and there wasn't anything that could harm Kol in Mystic Falls.

"When I was under," Maggie explained, thinking that was the lightest way to put it. "I had honestly thought my idea of home was back on the farm with the people I left behind there… But I realized that wasn't true, it's here."

"In Mystic Falls?" Kol questioned dubiously, unable to help the slight smirk. This town wasn't associated with many positive memories for most supernatural creatures, after all.

Maggie gave a snort and shook her head, "No."

"Home is with my father and my sister," Maggie declared seriously while gazing absently ahead. "With Carol and Daryl… Carl, Rick and Judith… Rebekah."

Maggie paused before looking at Kol and adding sincerely, "With you."

Kol's mouth parted a little from the weight of her last two words. For a brief moment, he couldn't help but think about how she was really looking at him like that again. She was really walking step by step at his side and he didn't have to try to let her go, because he never would.

His lips picked up into a slow, but genuine and warm smile. He gave her hand a squeeze before slipping it from hers to wrap her around her shoulders instead, pulling her body into his side.

Maggie grinned, moving her arm around him naturally in response. The lighter vibe she got from him was infectious and she was relieved the pain and suffering that radiated off him before was gone.

* * *

Maggie frowned at the antique luggage piece, which was surprisingly filled to the brim and overflowing. He wasn't even done packing yet. Her fingers ran over the edge and some of the stamps of the different destinations, from many decades ago. It was the sort of thing that she saw reproductions of in museums, not sitting on a bed, splaying open while the owner went routing through some of the bookshelves in the room.

"What is _this _doing in here?" Maggie questioned out loud, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at the book on the top of the pile, most recently placed. She picked up the red leather bound offending material and waved it in the air.

"That's my journal," Stefan pointed out frankly, turning and pausing in his mental debate between shoes and boots. His eyebrows rose in a matter of fact way, not seeing why Maggie was perturbed by it.

"And I thought the whole point of you leaving was to put the past behind you?" Maggie challenged bluntly. She didn't see how carting around an endless reminder of the past in his suitcase was going to help that.

Stefan shook his head, going back to the shoes. "Memories are too important to be forgotten. I have to write them down," He gave the explanation he had used several times in the past, but oddly never with Maggie.

Maggie wasn't moved by it. She gave a roll of her eyes and made a show of flicking open to one of the latest entries. "Precious memories, right," She drawled sarcastically before finding an entry. She made a point of clearing her throat and reciting in her best impression of broody Stefan's voice, "I'm not sure what hurts me more. The fact I can't even call it a betrayal because we've drifted so far apart and I've seen this coming for some time or this sickening feeling of being trapped in history repeating itself. I need to find a way to break free from it, make a start for myself. So I began with a ménage a trios with her blonde enemy and equally blonde BFF."

Stefan's head picked up quickly at that last sentence, to see Maggie fighting a smirk off her lips. "Really, it says that, huh?" Stefan countered dryly.

Okay, so maybe she paraphrased a little bit and added some to spice it up.

"Was including Caroline pushing it?" Maggie snapped the book shut with faux sensitive to his criticism. "You two are like that…" Maggie raised her fingers, crossed over each other while pretending to muse over her edit of his journal entry.

She never really saw Stefan and Caroline together, but she read enough about them from when she stole his journal earlier. They were remarkably close, but not in a romantic way. "That would be like me making out with Jeremy," Maggie's eyes widened and made a face with a mock shudder. Her and Jeremy were practically siblings thanks to Beth.

She got a short chuckle from Stefan as he crossed the room. "Alright, alright, I get it," He conceded, shaking his head at her immature but pointed behavior. He reached out to take the journal from her hands, avoiding the sly smirk on her face in the process and he dropped a pair of sneakers were the journal had been on the suitcase pile.

Maggie grinned while she watched him go back and put the journal on its respective shelf before closing the cabinet doors, plunging the rest of his journals from over the decades into darkness.

"Where are you and Rebekah going first?" Maggie asked. At first, she wasn't sure if him leaving with Rebekah was such a good idea. It kind of defeated the point of escaping your past, even if he didn't remember that part, but given Rebekah's mission she warmed up to the idea. At least she knew they would have some fun along the way.

"We're going to head west first. What about you?" Stefan returned while he went to close up the suitcase.

"North," Maggie gave a casual shrug of her shoulders. She had already packed and so had Kol, but he was off seeing some people before leaving, like she was with Stefan. The four of them were going to make one more stop to the Greene house before heading out of town indefinitely.

Stefan nodded, "Who knows, maybe we'll cross paths somewhere in between." His words sounded like something most people only promised halfheartedly, but Maggie could hear the level of wishful thinking in it.

"Damn straight we will," Maggie stated firmly, in a no non-sense manner. "I made you a promise after all," She pointed out, remembering the Lockwood party and knowing Kol was the only one that had lost Lexi.

"Yeah, but that was when you and Damon were still sort of a thing," Stefan sighed and waved his hand lightly. "I don't expect you-"

"Doesn't matter, I made that promise and I intend it keep it," Maggie declared before waving a warning finger at him.

Stefan gave an appreciative grin at her determination before finally nodding.

He glanced over her thoughtfully in silence between them. Maybe she would be the right push for him to get everything under control. She wasn't the going out and partying to have the time of your life type that Lexi was. Nor was she the type to smother him in feelings, hugs and supportive hand holding. She would be the firm hand that would tell him when his brooding was reaching a nauseating level without being obnoxious like his brother.

"Toronto," A third voice cut into the conversation quietly from the doorway to Stefan's bedroom. It wasn't Elena or Damon because no one had to take a guess at where they were and it wasn't the boardinghouse.

Maggie quirked an eyebrow and the humor fell off her face to a controlled mask immediately. Gossip about Barbie and she shall eavesdrop.

"It's north and western… sort of, northwestern," Caroline stammered over her words, wringing her fingers in front of her. Compared to her normal head cheerleader façade, she seemed nervous and anxious. Maggie hadn't seen her like that since the first day she saw her when Damon burned himself in the sun. "And it's something new and different than going to Chicago," Caroline added on, glancing back and forth between Stefan's surprised expression and Maggie's impassive one.

Caroline stepped into the room, choosing to focus on Stefan. "I heard you were leaving," She murmured, explaining her sudden reason for showing up.

Stefan let out a small sigh, pressing his lips tightly together before nodding to acknowledge the simple fact.

Sensing the shift in the room, Maggie figured that was the end of her moment with Stefan. "I think I'm going to go," She decided, glancing between the vampires before heading for the door with the intentions of stepping around Caroline.

"Wait!" Caroline stopped her just as Maggie was about to pass her. She didn't dare reach out to her though.

Maggie halted and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Tyler told me what you did for him," Caroline said meaningfully in a reserved tone. It clicked in Maggie's mind then why she was giving her that wide baby-blue eyed look. "Thank you," The words were simple, but sincere.

Maggie had to refrain from giving a noncommittal shrug. "I didn't do it for him," She denied bluntly. "We had a common enemy, that's all," She was glad she could say had, as in the past tense.

Maggie turned her back to her, ignoring the slightly offended look she got in her complete rejection of human appreciation.

"Seriously?!" Caroline's voice rose and with it was some of her normal attitude in the form of an irritated huff.

This drew a surprised look from both Maggie and Stefan this time.

"Here I am, trying to be legitimately nice to you. Even though you broke my hand and refuse to help my best friend, which I can't even comprehend how messed up that is but I'm not going to go there. I'm trying to look past that because somehow my mother is crazy for your quasi uncle," Caroline suddenly blurted out. She only paused at that thought to briefly glance at Stefan, "By the way, _when _did that happen?" She didn't bother waiting for an answer, leaving a jaw slacken Stefan before snapping back at Maggie. "And believe me, she doesn't date or see people or even openly acknowledge the opposite sex so this is big and I'm not going to blow it. And she swears you're not this monumental bitch you're always acting like," Caroline waved her hands in front of her, in Maggie's direction referring to her as a whole. "And I'd really like to believe that because I want to be able to go to family picnics and birthday parties and dinners and not have to worry about getting stabbed with the cutlery. And I'm not saying we have to be buddies, but maybe we can just… put… up with each other," Caroline's breath ran out along with her words and her hands fell to her sides, smacking lightly against her thighs in the process.

By the end of her tirade, Stefan was standing behind Caroline, his mouth hanging open while his gaze flickered back and forth between the two females. He was honestly weighing which one he had a better chance of pulling off the other one when Maggie would inevitably strangle the life out of her.

Maggie's head jerked back with her eyebrows raised. For several painstaking moments, she didn't quite know how to respond. In the same breath she called her a bitch and insinuated she was a short tempered savage. In her defense, she only used a fork on Damon, not a knife.

Maggie looked her up and down frankly before clamping her mouth shut with an incline of her head. She stepped forward to Caroline and she could see Stefan tensing up behind her along with the apprehension on the blonde's face.

Maggie simply reached her hand out to Caroline. She spoke without batting an eye at the offensive words, as if she hadn't heard them. "Maggie Greene," She reintroduced herself without the conniving smirk she had last time.

Caroline's eyes darted between her hand and Maggie's expression numerous times. The mistrust was evident on her face and not entirely misplaced. But Maggie didn't let that deter her, she kept her hand in the air with an unblinking stare, as opposed to her normally hostile ones.

Caroline carefully placed her hand in Maggie's and the doppelganger could practically see her mentally reciting a prayer to not get her hand crushed. "Caroline," She murmured.

Maggie nodded and gave her hand a firm shake before letting it drop. She didn't necessarily like Caroline or what she said about her, but she had to give the girl credit for guts. If anything, she earned a little bit of respect from her for that. And that was a start.

"I'll see you around," Maggie stated simply and gave Stefan one last look before slipping from the room.

* * *

Most of the Atlanta group was gathered in the backyard of the Greene house. Kol stood by Maggie's side, having joined her after seeing a few people before leaving. Maggie shared a few hugs with Beth, Carol, and her father. Kol received a few handshakes from Rick Grimes and Daryl. Rebekah remained with them, surprisingly even getting a hug from Carol.

"You better take care of her, ponyboy," Carol waved a playful, but warning finger at Kol after releasing Maggie. The doppelganger had to fight off a smirk at hearing Kol's exasperated sigh.

"I'm never going to live that nickname down, am I?" He muttered barely loud enough for the other vampires to hear.

Maggie grinned and reached out to take Kol's hand in hers. She gave his a small squeeze, partly to remind him to throttle the urge to wipe the smug expression off of his sister in front of Maggie's family.

"You'll back for the holidays at least, right?" Rick was the one to speak up, glancing between Kol and Maggie. He wasn't sure what to think of the dynamic of the duo, but he did accept the fact they were a duo. They wouldn't be separated.

"Of course," Maggie gave immediately. She needed her time away, but it wasn't like she would take off without ever looking back.

When they first showed up, Maggie was surprised to see that Sheriff Forbes and Jeremy were not there. But as they traded their final words, she realized this wasn't the time for them and maybe they recognized that. It was her chance to see her immediate family before going. She wasn't saying goodbye though, but promising to see them later.

The three vampires heard the rumble of the SUV engine coming down the street before the humans did. The second black SUV pulled up behind Maggie's parked one, but the driver didn't get out of the vehicle. Maggie didn't need to look to know that it was Stefan behind the steering wheel, having just got back from the Gilbert house and saying goodbye to everyone there.

At that, Rebekah lifted her head up and glanced around everyone finally. "It's been a pleasure, but now you'll have to excuse me," Her voice was light and teasing, but Maggie knew the level of truth behind that façade of confidence. "I'm off to find my future husband," She declared with a smirk, earning a few smiles from Beth and Carol.

Even Maggie had to smile at Rebekah's sass. With a final nod, she was the first to head out of the backyard, with the intentions of walking around the house and joining Stefan in the vehicle. Maggie knew her and Kol would be the next ones to go.

She walked past the others, past Kol and Maggie, leaving Daryl the last one before the corner of the house. He hung back through most of the words exchanged, quietly observing the way he usually did with his arms folded over his chest.

He shook his head slightly as Rebekah walked past him and muttered under his breath, "A bunch of bullshit."

Rebekah stopped dead in her tracks and snapped her head towards him. "Excuse me?" Her eyes narrowed on him.

"You heard me," Daryl replied shortly, looking up at her this time. It was no secret that he wasn't thrilled with the idea of Maggie leaving. He never liked the idea of anyone from the group splitting up and it showed in how sullen he was, but he didn't vocalize it until now.

Daryl shrugged the strap of his crossbow on his shoulder before turning on his heel to take off with the intention of blowing off some steam.

Rebekah let out an indignant scoff at his behavior, the pair earning a worried glance from Maggie while Kol continued talking to Rick about possible travel routes.

"Actually, I don't think I heard you very clearly at all," Rebekah drawled out sarcastically, marching right after Daryl. She stopped the hunter by cutting into his walking path, forcing him to halt or he would have collided with her. "Why don't you tell me what's a bunch of bullshit?"

Daryl bit the inside of his cheek briefly before losing his patience. He never liked it when someone tried to stop him, Carol could attest to that, especially when he wanted to be left alone. "You," He snapped out.

"Me?!" Rebekah nearly shrieked, her head jerking back as if she had been slapped.

At this point, the two drew the attention of Kol too. The other Atlanta group members couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but they were purposely trying not to draw more attention to it. Maggie frowned in worry, not that she didn't trust Rebekah, but Daryl wasn't quite as durable as her and she could see how fired up she was getting.

"Kol," Maggie murmured quietly to her mate. "Do you think that we should…?" Her voice trailed with the obvious question.

But an arm shot out across her body to stop her. "Oh no," Kol denied quickly with a knowing smirk on his face. "Just wait," He suggested. This was going to go either one of two ways and he wanted to witness this train wreck.

"Yeah, you," Daryl reinforced, stepping up to Rebekah, towering over the blonde. "You and this stupid search, this running from all your shit." It was hard to tell if the vulgarity of his words upset her even further or not than what he was actually saying.

"_Stupid_ search? Please. What do you suggest I do? Settle for any hick in this town? The choices are rather lacking, so yes, I am leaving to find better options," Rebekah challenged, placing her hands on her hips. The hunter didn't flinch from her insult, he's certainly heard much worse and the spiteful words of the young blonde was nothing.

Daryl let out a snort that sounded closer to a scoff. He took a deep breath to keep his tone low, leaning closer to her state seriously, "Yeah, and how are you supposed to find anyone when you have no idea who you are?"

Rebekah's jaw hung for the second time before she snapped it shut. The audacity of this man! "Are you daft?" She spat out venomously, "I'm an Original. I know full well who I am."

Daryl shook his head and moved to step around Rebekah, but the blonde sidestepped to stop him again. "That's what you are… You don't have the slightest idea _who_ you are," He countered, managing to stun her long enough to breeze around her. "Fucking coward," He mumbled under his breath.

Rebekah recovered quickly enough to nearly shout at his backside. "The only coward I see is the one walking away right now," She retorted.

Daryl waved a half committed hand over his shoulder in dismissal, grumbling under his breath and not wanting to spare a glance back at the blonde. But he did anyway, he looked back to see she wasn't there and only caught the brief worried glance from Maggie and the pointed way Kol was holding her back by the arm with a smirk on his face.

Daryl turned his head back forward only to almost stumble over his feet at the way Rebekah was blocking his path once more. The glacial fire in her eyes was marked with suspicion. "How can you dare claim to know so much about me anyway?" She challenged him with a different approach. They spoke sparingly, but had seen each other on numerous occasions. How could he claim any such insight?

Daryl delayed in responding, having been tongue tied a moment. He stubbornly gave a shrug of his shoulders, trying to make it seem more casual than it was. "I've seen enough. I've seen you," He defended vaguely. He was quiet and everyone usually assumed him for an inbred redneck, but he wasn't dumb. He noticed things, especially the little details.

Rebekah glared at him a long and tense moment. Those were the first words that didn't come off as directly hostile and condescending. There was one thing she had to recognize in all of his statements, he was honestly saying what he saw and felt. He wasn't sparing her feelings or playing some ulterior motive. But by God, it was completely infuriating.

Rebekah reached forward to Daryl's shirt, if the torn off sleeves of the stained cotton could still be called that. She pulled him roughly towards her and before he could raise his hands, her mouth was on his. Daryl's eyes widened immediately and he stiffened, but that didn't deter Rebekah in the least. Her lips were on his long enough for him to feel how warm and soft, but pushy and demanding, like the woman in front of him, were.

But they weren't there long enough for his rational mind to catch up with what was happening or decide what to do in response.

He was too distracted to hear the low wolf whistle, it might have come from Carol. He didn't see behind him the way Maggie was a half-step in front of Kol, the hand that he was holding her back by a moment ago was swatting absently and repeated behind her, as if to get his attention. "Kol, Kol…" She muttered with wide eyes, like if he wasn't also seeing this.

"I know, darling," Kol snagged her nuisance hand out of the air, just to stop her from swatting at him.

Rebekah pulled back from the kiss and pushed Daryl away, almost roughly, to where he was a moment ago. "How's that for your fucking coward?" Rebekah questioned rhetorically with a fierce determination on her expression, spitting his own words back at him.

Daryl didn't have an immediate comeback for her. He was left blinking in a stunned daze when she turned to head for the black SUV with Stefan inside.

She was a few feet away when Daryl shouted after her with only half the energy and irritation he had a moment ago. "You're still running away," He pointed out.

Rebekah let out indignant snarl and stopped her foot. If it was any other situation, Maggie would have laughed at someone actually stomping their foot. "I'm going to find him, and I'm going to come back just to show you how wrong you are," Rebekah yelled back at him while she moved around the vehicle for the passenger seat.

Daryl rolled his tongue over his teeth and shifted on his feet in agitation. "Fine," He snapped back, sure that he would be the one telling her how wrong she was.

The blonde shot him one last glare and a huff before closing the door behind her. She folded her arms over her chest defiantly as she slumped down into the passenger seat. Stefan sat behind the wheel, one hand resting idly on it while his head turned quickly back and forth between the people of the scene he just overheard. He didn't bother hiding the fact his eyebrows were nearly disappearing into his hairline.

Rebekah glared forward at the dashboard, refusing to look up at Stefan or even worse at Daryl. No, she wouldn't let herself look at the man that had just openly acknowledged he saw her for her and not the vampire associated with her brothers and her family name.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Stefan questioned after the lengthy awkward silence and genuinely at that.

Rebekah's eyes snapped to him with a look that could kill. If Stefan hadn't been meticulous about drinking his vervain, he would swear she was trying to compel him as she hissed out the words, "Just drive."

* * *

**LATE AUTUMN**

* * *

The wind whipped against Maggie's face, sending the stray locks of her hair prickling against her face. She had Kol's jacket wrapped around her tightly and she found herself shielding her body away from the wind. It wasn't that the chill through the fabric actually bothered her, but it was the residual human instinct that caused her to shy into his shoulder.

Kol smirked at her and traced a light circle by his thumb with the hand that was on the small of her back. The other one hand grasped at the cold metal railing, he squinted vaguely into the sunrise, which casted blinding glistens off the of the water's surface. He briefly leaned forward and looked over the side of the railing.

Kol made an apprehensive face and shied back immediately, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Maggie.

"Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of heights," Maggie let out a teasing grin.

"I'm not afraid of heights," Kol denied quickly and indignantly, which didn't seem very convincing to Maggie. He gave a careful glance to the three hundred foot drop below them. "I'm just uncomfortable with how tall buildings have gotten since I woke up," He defended himself.

Maggie couldn't help but giggle a little before smirking at him. "But I thought she was here before you were daggered," Maggie quirked an eyebrow, nodding back to the torch behind them.

Kol's eyes flickered over the lady in question's face. His face scrunched up momentarily before he half shrugged. "Yes," He agreed to that simple fact before adding on, "And she certainly was a different color then too." He really didn't care for the pasty green.

"What else are you _uncomfortable_ with?" Maggie teased his choice of words, unable to help but enjoy being able to learn the pointless, but human things about him during their travel.

"Small spaces," Kol supplied quickly without hesitation while his eyes wandered over the horizon, the endless sight of the ocean before them. Even he had to squint from the wind at this height, but then again the torch hadn't been open for observation for many years for a reason that had nothing to do with the world going to hell.

Maggie winced slightly at that. "Coffin, of course," She couldn't blame him in the least for that one after a hundred years in a box.

Kol nodded and then added on in an afterthought, "And planes."

"You're afraid of flying?" Maggie's eyebrows rose with genuine surprise as she stared at the profile of his face.

"It took Niklaus two hours to talk me onto that plane going to Denver," Kol mumbled sourly at the memory. Niklaus had to compel his way past the security checkpoint just to make sure Kol would actually get on the plane and that's no easy task with all the security and cameras airports have.

Maggie cocked her head incredulously, genuinely amused and fascinated at the same time.

Kol turned his head, his voice raised a little to defend himself with a huff. "I'm sorry, but tell me what part of cramming yourself in a small metal tube that explodes and projects you into air at hundreds of miles per hour sounds like a good idea?" He whined.

Maggie had to bite her tongue and take a deep breath before giving him a somewhat serious response, "But it has wings," She pointed out.

"That don't even flap!" Kol's head shook a little with the emphasis of his words. Of all the adjustments he had to make in his culture shock, that was one of the roughest ones. It wasn't like if the plane going down could kill him, but do you know how long it would take to heal those wounds?

Maggie couldn't contain it any longer and let out a small laugh.

She heard a small growl from his chest and the hand on her back tightened around her waist. "I'm glad my genuine misery amuses you," Kol muttered and Maggie saw the evidence of an actual pout on his lips.

"I'm sorry," Maggie murmured, hardly serious as she smirked. She reached up to his chin to turn his face towards her, despite his stubbornness, and she placed a small kiss at the corner of his mouth. She felt his mouth turn up and the dimple against her lips as he eased up.

"I can think of a few ways you can make it up to me," Kol suggested cheekily, the pout instantly disappearing.

Maggie gave a roll of her eyes and wiggled away from the hand that threatened to go lower than her back. She slipped away from his grasp and walked around the observation deck of the torch, to the other side. Kol smirked, his eyes following her movements and imagining how he would make due on his words later.

Maggie stopped at the railing and looked over at the city skyline before them. It was remarkable for her to see all the buildings, standing proud but silent in the autumn morning. She was amazed Kol had managed to get that small sail boat functioning enough for the two of them to get out here and for her to see New York City from this viewpoint. The island was unusually quiet, even from walkers, but she figured this was one of the first places people would flee from and there wasn't much reason to return to it.

Several minutes passed between them, she felt Kol step up behind her, and wrapping his arms loosely around her while he tucked his chin against her shoulder. She idly thought to the city that laid deserted before them and how humbling was it.

"How do you do it?" Maggie wondered aloud, trying to imagine this new life before her. "Eternity," She clarified. She was still within her natural lifetime, she couldn't honestly fathom being alive to see nations rise and fall.

Kol's brow furrowed thoughtfully for a few moments before he murmured his answer, "I think the key is to not get stuck."

"Stuck?" Maggie cocked her head slightly at the word.

"Yes. I think it's a privilege to be a witness to the way this world is constantly changing and evolving, but you have to adapt with it. If you hold onto one idea or period, you're miserable just wishing for once was, or maybe never had been," Kol couldn't help but think of his siblings with that. Maggie remained quiet, but attentive while he spoke, dropping her hands from the railing to place lightly over his arms.

"Take this city, for example, I've seen it rise from the dirt. I've been here many times and I've watched it grow. But in all that time, I've never seen it this quiet before," Kol pointed out and it was true. While they were too far away to hear what should have been city noises now, there were still no sounding of boat horns because the harbor was empty.

Even while they were driving through the city, looking for a means to get out to the island before Kol resurrected the rusted and neglected sailboat they found, it was quiet. There were no car horns or transit bus brakes squealing to a stop. There was no rumbling of the subway underground or sirens in the distance.

It was just a hollow reminder of the vestige of humanity.

"And it won't always be this quiet," Kol continued on. "You've seen the walkers. They're decomposing. I give it three, maybe five years and the ones lost in the initial outbreak will be reduced to mere ankle biters. Then man can come back and rise from what nature has reclaimed from them."

Maggie nodded numbly to his words, she knew what he was referring to. The walkers they found in the urban areas, where the outbreak hit too hard and fast for people to get out were the most decrepit looking things. They were more lethargic and they didn't seem to gain anything nutritional from what they bit, just acting on reanimated instincts.

But Maggie decided not to dwell on that, she leaned away from Kol enough to look at him over her shoulder. She couldn't help but be impressed by his answer. "Careful, Kol, you're on the dangerous edge of sounding profound and well adjusted," She teased lightly, but surprised by the moment of maturity from him.

"Don't tell, Elijah," Kol retorted in a conspiring tone. "He'll start challenging me to rounds of philosophical discourse," Kol gave a look of mock horror and a shudder.

Maggie let out a small laugh and shook her head.

A grin grew on Kol's face at Maggie's reaction and his arms tightened just a little around her waist. This was the best part he decided of this traveling. Many of these places he had been before, but Maggie hadn't. It was the first time for her and the first time for him in this century.

Maggie settled down as she rolled around Kol's words in her mind. She wondered what would be next for her. Of course, Kol would be at her side through it. She supposed she would continue to watch over her family and their descendants. They would deal with the next doppelganger together. She figured it was a good thing Jeremy wasn't actually related to Elena, she didn't even want to imagine the headache of converging doppelganger bloodlines.

"I hope I don't get stuck," Maggie murmured aloud, knowing it would be hard to watch everyone she knows grow old and wither away eventually.

"I won't let you, supruga," Kol whispered back to her reassuringly before leaning in to place a soft kiss against the side of her neck.

Maggie warmed at the gesture as she leaned back into Kol's chest. It was easy to feel safe with him around her like this. She bit her lip lightly at the affectionate name. "What does that mean?" She finally had to ask. "Supruga?"

Kol smirked at the way she tested out the word herself, pronouncing it slowly and inexperienced. "It can have many meanings in different cultures," He expressed genuinely. There wasn't any one answer. "It could mean simple female or lady, but also spouse, my spouse that is female, or wife."

Maggie shivered from the way he whispered his response into her ear. Each explanation was drawn out tender, leaving Maggie to bit her lip to help hid the smile. The last of it caused her eyebrows to rise though. "That's a little presumptuous, don't you think?" She countered him.

"How do you figure?" Kol's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head. "You're my mate, what else would I call you?"

Maggie was left fumbling at the way he stated as if it was the most obvious and simple thing in the world. "Yes, your mate as a vampire, but…" Her voice trailed when she realized what she was trying to say, leaving her blushing. Was she really concerned about that? Beth had always been the one dreaming of marriage and babies in her family.

"Ah, _that_," Kol's voice picked up with a knowing smirk when he caught onto where she was going.

Maggie nodded simply.

Kol half expected her to say that it didn't matter to her or that she didn't care. He waited in silence for her to dismiss it, but she didn't say anything, which struck his curiosity. Maybe it did bother her. She did care and her simple confirmation of thinking about it was enough.

Kol's chin remained resting on her shoulder lightly. "Hmm… Margaret Mikaelson," He mused over the name before grinning, "I do rather like the sound of that."

Maggie gave a roll of her eyes at the way he was pondering it like a passing fancy. "That better not be your heartfelt proposal, Kol," She jested, half warningly, doubting any seriousness in him right now.

"And what if it was?" Kol replied quickly, quirking an eyebrow while his tone started to sober up. He felt Maggie stiffen up in his arms immediately, while her gaze very pointedly remained on the horizon before them.

"What would you say?" There was even less of a teasing edge in his voice that time.

"I…" Maggie struggled, her shoulders growing tense. On one hand, she wanted to turn around to see his expression. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she really could handle it if he was being serious. She was learning about being a vampire and everything with it for the first time, so that was hard to wrap her mind around. But marriage, that was something that had meaning to her and she grew up with that concept. She's seen examples of the best and the worst; she knew just how important it was.

"I would say, where's your ring?" She tried to keep her tone light, but failed.

Kol smirked, playing along with her hypothetical teasing. "Well, the way I see it, you're already wearing it," He pointed out.

Maggie's eyes widened and at that, she turned around in his arms. He dropped his hands to allow her, resting them on the railing behind her to keep her pinned, or trapped from running away. The smirk remained on his face as he watched the realization dawn on her.

She glanced down at her hands between them, fingering the daylight ring on her right hand anxiously. She supposed in a way he was right. She blushed a bit at the memory of the day he gave her that ring. She knew a part of her had been truly taken with him at that point and maybe it had started much earlier than that.

Her fingers ran over the cool metal, rolling the ring on her finger with indecision. Maybe it just had been put on the wrong hand that time. She bit the inside of her cheek and Kol could see the turn at the corner of her lips that she was trying to fight away. She glanced back up at him and he grinned, knowing she was debating whether or not to slide it onto the other hand.

"But," He had to stop her there.

Maggie froze at the way the smirk slowly faded off of Kol's expression. She wasn't sure what to the make of the indecipherable look he was giving her. The hands fell off the railing and he took a step back, to a normal and comfortable distance between them.

"I also already spoke with your father," Kol declared meaningfully. "He made me promise many things and one of them was doing this properly." A hand reached into his jean pocket without taking his eyes off Maggie, seeing the way her breath hitched.

Maggie felt her heart pounding, just about in her throat as her mind started to race. She tried to keep it rational and not let it get ahead of herself, but failed miserably. Especially when what he pulled out of his pocket caught the glint of the sunlight.

It only took her a moment to identify what it was. It was modest compared to what she saw today, but that's because it had been passed down through generations. It was a symbol of how hard her family worked to afford it and how proud of where they had come from. It was almost similar to the symbol of the statue they stood upon, the journey her family had made to the New World and the one that Maggie had undergone in the past few years.

"That's my mother's…" Maggie mumbled in a numb whisper, wondering how he had gotten it. Her eyes traveled up from his hand to the broad smile on Kol's face. She had rescued it from her parent's bedroom before they burned down the farmhouse with other pieces, but she had intended for them to go to Beth.

"Margaret," Kol rolled her name tenderly off his lips while he took her left hand in his, holding the ring out between them. "I love you," He expressed wholeheartedly, murmuring those simple, but powerful words.

Maggie barely registered the way her hands began to shake and she had to force herself to breath, when Kol very slowly and purposefully sank down to one knee in front of her. He grinned up at her broadly, for once not alarmed at the way her eyes began to glisten. He held the old Greene family ring up between them as an offering.

When she was younger, she had idealistic dream of her man and waiting a sandy beach somewhere for him. She dreamt of the ocean and what it offered for her, an unrestricted and endless opportunity to the world. She had thought that dream was an unrealistic whim.

But now, as she stood at the top of the Statue of Liberty, a landmark to the hardships endured and the history of her family, she realized that ocean was right there. And ironically enough, her sailor had belonged to a different century, but his humanity was in there and he was her mate.

"Will you marry me?"

* * *

_**Fin**_

* * *

_Author's Note: Pass around the tissues! This is it for Irish Rose. It's been an amazing journey and I'm completely honored that you all stuck with me through the end. It's hard to believe it's over. I never imagined I would make it this far when I began this story last year. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and followed this story. _

_It's not completely over, because as I've said before, there will be a sequel called Emerald Rage. It will be about a 30 chapter fic, filled with themes of season 4 of TVD and season 3 of TWD. There will be a lot of character deaths and action packed awesomeness. _

_However, I cannot promise WHEN I will be posting it. I am leaving the country tomorrow for a week and then I have a very busy two semesters coming up along with full time work, then I'll be doing some international travel. So I honestly cannot estimate at this time when the sequel will be up BUT when I get close, I will start posting previews and clips for it. So make sure you follow this story to receive email updates._

_At the same time, I also had an idea for an alternate sequel come to mind for an AU of this story. (Sounds weird, I know) But I've always wanted to try my hand at time-travel fics with my twist on it. The sequel would pick up where Maggie gets staked by Klaus and she instead wakes up back in the basement cellar of the boardinghouse the day she ran into Kol in the town square for the first time with all the memories of the months that hadn't happened yet. It would likely be a short, 15 chapter Kolie type fic, but let me know if that's something you guys would be interested in reading! _

_Lastly, I would like to thank a few specific users that had especially stuck with me throughout this and constantly offered me feedback. Eby Mikaelson, aka wileby, I honestly don't know if I would have finished this story without you and your support. The endless PM's and religious reviewing was a huge motivator, I can't thank you enough!_

_Some of the other people (and I'm sure there are more, so please forgive me if I don't mention you directly): IrishBeauty, the mysterious letter "M"!, Nynaeve55, UrieNanashi, Nethra, Kellie, Sky410, Freckles the Wanderer, thesummersky, LiveHappy247._

_Review responses –_

_Peace and Luv: I'm glad you liked that scene, it was a lot of fun to write! And don't worry, it's not the last of Klaus that we'll see. I'm sure many are wondering what exactly will become of him, but you'll just have to wait and see._

_Poohxnyah: Thank you! And yes, I left the details of the conversation between Kol and Lexi out on purpose, I think everyone can form their own idea of what could have been said between them._

_M: We will see more of Katherine, but I won't say what becomes of her. ;) I think everyone will be surprised by who the antagonist is in the sequel. I hope this chapter wasn't too fluffy, but I feel that's what epilogues tend to be for after all. I absolutely love the drawings and I can't wait to see more of them, especially some of the scenes between Maggie and Kol like them admitting their feelings to each other and getting him to turn back on his humanity. _

_Cricket V: I hope they do something to get back at Katherine. Having her in custody presents an interesting moral dilemma for them, because so many people would want revenge for what she's done, but they also have to keep in mind where they draw the line to keep themselves from stooping to her level. We will see what happens to Damon in the sequel. I hope it's not too much of a tease that I don't show Maggie's response to his proposal, I think we all know what it is!_

_L: Yeah, that whole Lexi thing with Damon in NYC just seemed way too OOC for me to even consider putting it into this story. And I already had the plotline written out with the character dynamics, and it just didn't make sense here. Emerald Rage is a strong emotional invoking title, so it does make ya wonder what will happen, huh?_

_Nynaeve55: I hope you pass your bar exam and get a chance to recover. I'm actually going on vacation for the next week, just to get away for a bit myself. I hope you feel better soon._

_Klaus is the ultimate villain in this story. That being said, he is not the antagonist of the sequel, but he may be able to redeem himself in some people's eyes (not by having a werewolf baby though). An unlikely alliance may form. _

_I was purposefully mean with that plot twist, don't feel silly. :P I got the idea from the season three finale when Alaric showed up in the house with Jeremy there. I thought it would be interested how the panic stricken mind would likely not consider the small details that would be enough to tip him off that it was Rose and he would make the wrong assumption. _

_That's a great point you made about Rebekah and Elijah's conversation because it relates directly to Kol's comment about their family being stuck (and if you think about the Salvatore's being stuck in their endless love triangle) and trying to hold onto this idea of family they never really had to begin with. _

_I actually toyed with three different ways of Maggie discovering Lexi's identity. One was just her and Jeremy, her overhearing Jeremy talking to the ghost. The other was from finding out through conversations with Stefan or Damon. I ultimately went with this route because I couldn't decide how Maggie would handle knowing that and whether or not she would keep it from Kol – just creating unnecessary conflict/drama. And I felt this route was important with Maggie symbolically feeling confident enough to walk away from Kol and Lexi's conversation (Anyone remember Elena's towel girl comment to Lexi?)._


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